Funding outcome

Every day, more and more Canadian adolescents aged 11-15 are spending time on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. While social media can have certain benefits, such as providing social support, spending too much time on social media has been linked to mental health struggles like anxiety and depression. One reason for this may be that teenagers tend to compare themselves to others online, especially to those they see as better than them. Over time, this can lead to lower self-esteem and more negative views about themselves. At the same time, as teenagers gain more awareness of their own identity, their experiences, including those on social media, may begin to shape their self-schemas - how they think about themselves. Research has shown that these self-schemas can affect youth mental health. However, no study has looked at how comparing oneself to others on social media might shape self-schemas and lead to anxiety and depression, especially in teenagers who are already at risk of these mental health problems. To explore this, I am proposing a study that follows high-risk adolescents for one year. I will examine whether frequent social comparisons on social media lead to more negative self-schemas, which in turn may cause more anxiety and depression a year later. The results of this study could help create better strategies to support youth mental health, such as teaching youths healthier ways to use social media.