Social Media Fogs Depression

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socialized to take action…girls are pushed to dwell on their experience” (Bine 6). I think the validity in this statement captivates the essence in why young girls have sparked these trends over social media today. Teenage girls seek pity in their everyday lives, and they receive this distorted comfort from other teenage girls who suffer from the same “problems” that they do each and every day. Instead of finding a solution for this problem, or being proactive- like a boy would behave- girls log onto their Tumblr account and post a picture dramatizing their “depressed life”. This action is in hopes of receiving a numerous amount of likes, which builds their confidence back up. I find these recent youth trends extremely sad, for the act of posting a picture and receiving countless likes actually makes a teenage girl feel better about their worth nowadays. I don’t understand why receiving numerous likes on a post on Tumblr translates to success and confidence for a teenage girl. Furthermore, I think that this social trend is so dangerous because it is almost impossible for girls to break this habit of forming social bonds over the Internet once they have already committed to this lifestyle. Bine explains this phenomenon by stating that “they often don’t want to get out because to leave the community would be to lose the people who understand them” (Bine 6). I think that teenage girls need to be strongly educated and guided; an intervention worldwide needs to be organized in order to stop this social phenomenon today.

Lastly, It was incredibly hard for me to read this article without getting upset as well as offended because actual clinical depression should not be taken lightly. The fact that teenage girls toss around the words “depressed” and “depression” has subsequently caused these words to slowly lose their meaning. I have had family members who have suffered from actual clinical depression and it is a long, tedious road to recovery; it is not something that should be compared to the everyday struggles of life. Bine does an adequate job of explaining why this is a phenomenon today, but I think she fails to stress the major difference to her audience that lies in actual clinical depression and simply girls seeking self pity. The solution to this social phenomenon today needs to take place sooner rather than later; Bine suggests that help is needed from “professionals that work with young people at schools or other institutions”, and I think this is a good start (Bine 6).

Overall, social media and the Internet are playing a much greater role in the rising generations today. It is incredibly sad that the current youth would rather log onto Tumblr than play outside. However, the key role that technology plays in current and upcoming generations is a reality that must be accepted. However, I think teenage girls confusing the actual meaning of clinical depression is a major issue that must be addressed and fixed. Bine does an adequate job of explaining why this social phenomenon is currently taking place with an emphasis on the social differences between boys who seek action and girls who seek self-pity and attention from social media. All in all, I couldn’t agree with Bine more: education and guidance for the youth needs to be enforced immediately before this social trend gets out