A Look at Social Media Addiction in Adolescent Girls

A graduate of the University of Idaho and the University of Idaho College of Law, L. Jay Mitchell founded the Greenbrier Academy for Girls in 2007. L. Jay Mitchell serves as the principal owner and program director of the West Virginia therapeutic boarding school, which combines academic learning with therapeutic interventions for emotional and behavioral problems in adolescent girls.

As social-media use continues to rise across all US populations, mental health professionals are becoming increasingly concerned about social media addiction in young women. People with this condition devote so much time to social media use that it negatively affects other aspects of their lives. According to a study from Pew Research, teenage girls have the highest usage rate among individuals aged 13 to 17 and log an average of more than 140 minutes daily on sites such as Snapchat and TikTok.

These and similar applications often become the primary source of social connection for teenagers addicted to social media, leading to extreme emotional reactions to boundaries on usage. Other signs of addiction range from anxiousness when unable to check accounts and correlations between mood and the amount of attention received online. In addition to interfering with relationships and hobbies, excessive social media use leaves adolescent girls particularly vulnerable to cyberbullying due to its links with isolation and depression. For instance, many develop low self-esteem as a result of judging themselves against unrealistic standards.

Treating social media addition can involve equipping girls with the tools to navigate online platforms in healthy and constructive ways, thereby helping them to build confidence and connections rather than feed insecurities.