Through my internship here at Olive Branch Counseling Associates this semester, I have been reading the book The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt and have written several blogs about the implications screens and social media have on our society and our youth. The most recent chapter I read from this book addressed how social media companies design their apps to maximize engagement at all costs. They are aware of how their apps are contributing to the mental health crisis, and even the fact that minors are being exposed and exploited prematurely throughout the internet with the help of their social media apps.
Designers of social media software have the primary goal to increase engagement within the app. They do this by using artificial intelligence to put more videos on your feed that relate or coincide with the videos and posts you interact with. This causes the unstoppable scrolling, time wasting, and procrastination of your everyday responsibilities. Your brain is getting a dopamine overload and does not know how to resist the temptation to watch just one more video. You’re addicted!
There are dangers that this brings besides the procrastination of the chores and tasks you have to get done around the house. Not only does social media make you addicted to watching short videos, it has created attention and social validation addictions that add to the mental health crisis that is currently apparent in our society. We are addicted to showing people what is going on in our lives and striving for a sense of acceptance and validation through likes, comments, and shares. On top of this, despite age requirements on social media apps, there is no way to ensure that a user is being truthful about their age. So, it is very easy and possible for a child to engage with social media at an age that could pose danger to their safety, privacy and innocence. Social media companies are aware of this threat to our youth, but the truth is, the younger an audience is that they can attract to their app, the longer they are ensuring lifetime customers.
It is disappointing how greediness causes people to disregard the health and safety of product customers. It is time we take this into our own hands and reject the addictions that pollutes our lives by using social media. There are amazing things that do come from social media resources. For example, connection to friends and family that don’t live nearby and communication between cultures. We can use social media for these positive attributions without needing to feel socially validated or exposing our children to premature information and communities.
If you wish to learn more about how social media is attacking your mental health, read the book The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt and reach out to us at Olive Branch Counseling Associates. Our therapists offer a wide variety of services both in person at our office (6819—167th St. Tinley Park, IL 60477) and via telehealth calls. Call 708-633-8000 to book an appointment today!
Myleigh, undergrad intern, 2025
Olive Branch Counseling Associates, Inc.
Reference
Haidt, J. (2024). The anxious generation: How the great rewiring of childhood is causing an
epidemic of mental illness. Penguin Random House.
CounselingMatters.live 
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