#random internet strangers plz dont follow me thank u xx

[olivers-english-blog]

Finding a Direction: The Research Question

For my culminating assignment, I chose the question, "How does social media affect teens mental health?". Finding a question was much more difficult than I had anticipated. The question had to relate somehow to my own experiences, while also being within my comfort level of what I could share with my classmates in the presentation. In the end, I chose the question I did because while also relating back to my own life, I know many other teens who are affected by social media and mental health. The subject of teen mental health in relation to social media is a subject that has been extensively studied, so I knew I would have no trouble in the researching process.

Social media affects my mental health in a multitude of ways, and I felt that this topic would be a good way to explore that. I was on social media from a fairly young age, and that has impacted my teen years. I feel as though it has drastically shortened my attention span, as well as exposing me to topics very early on that weren't beneficial to my growth (crime in the news, political issues, arguments, etc). As I moved on into my teen years, I began posting on social media and interacting more with the online community. While certain things have benefited me (finding community, a creative outlet, education on certain topics, and seeing relatable/funny/interesting posts from others), other things have negatively impacted me. Negative comments about my body, depressing news on my timeline, and hateful/inappropriate content are all things that I have been exposed to on social media. All of these things have an affect on my mental health, which is why I chose to do my assignment on this topic.

"How does social media affect teens mental health?" is a good question, because it is,

a) relevant to myself/my peers,

b) an important subject,

and

c) highly researched.

I have many creative options when it comes to the final product of this assignment, and the question is broad enough that I have some choice in what information would be best to include in my research. I hope that by choosing this question, I can understand myself better, and help my peers understand how social media impacts them as well.