The survey, which gathered responses from 2,000 Gen Z social media users, found that Instagram and TikTok (both at 20 percent) and Facebook (13 percent) were the platforms most often linked to declines in mental well-being.

For older members of Generation Z, born between 1998 and 2004, growing up with nearly a decade of social media exposure may have contributed to what one expert referred to as “problematic internet use.”

Commissioned by LG Electronics, this survey was carried out online by Talker Research between June 20 and June 24.

The study shows that people start to feel negative emotions just 38 minutes after using social media. This is often because they encounter upsetting content (51 percent), feel unproductive with their time (49 percent) or experience “fear of missing out,” or FOMO (36 percent). On average, individuals spend about five and a half hours each day on social media and 45 percent believe they use it more than their friends do.

Louis Giagrande, LG Electronics head of U.S. marketing, pointed out that spending a lot of time online can leave people feeling drained. He said people should be mindful of the content they engage with to improve their overall well-being and focus on positive content to help manage life’s challenges better and find more happiness.

Interestingly, 62 percent of Gen Zers wish they could reset their social media feeds. Many are frustrated with the content they see, with 53 percent saying it doesn’t match their interests and 54 percent feeling they have little control over what appears in their feeds. Only 16 percent believe they have full control.

Despite these issues, 80 percent of respondents also find that social media can positively impact their mood. Content that tends to lift people’s spirits includes comedy (65 percent), animals (48 percent), beauty-related posts (40 percent) and prank videos (34 percent). Conversely, content related to violence (50 percent), politics (40 percent) and sexual themes (32 percent) often leads to negative feelings.

The study found that two-thirds of people have managed to turn a bad day into a good one thanks to social media. They are also 70 percent more likely to use social media when they’re in a good mood and 44 percent believe it has a positive effect on their outlook on life. Looking ahead, 38 percent think social media platforms will improve their impact on mental health over the next five years.

Gen Zers use social media daily for various reasons, according to the study. Sixty-six percent do it out of boredom, 59 percent seek laughs or smiles, 55 percent need a distraction or break, 49 percent want to stay updated on global events, 44 percent check in on friends, 42 percent seek connections with others, 33 percent look for relaxation and 32 percent search for specific information.

How smartphone addiction affects mental health

Recent findings reveal a concerning link between excessive smartphone use and serious mental health issues. Teens who spend more than three hours daily on social media face an increased risk of developing mental health issues, especially those related to internal stress and anxiety.

Research from JAMA Psychiatry, which studied nearly 6,600 U.S. adolescents, suggests that boosting media literacy, limiting social media time and redesigning social media platforms could help alleviate these mental health issues.

A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal consolidates evidence from numerous research efforts – showing that heavy smartphone and social media use is associated with greater mental distress, self-harm and suicidal thoughts among young people. This effect is particularly pronounced in girls and follows a pattern where more screen time correlates with more severe problems.

Visit Mental.news for more stories about social media and smartphone use and mental health.

Watch this video from SciShow discussing how people can overcome FOMO and lessen their social media addiction.

This video is from the Daily Videos channel on Brighteon.com.

Sources include:

• StudyFinds.org
• ScienceDirect.com
• SWNSDigital.com
• JAMANetwork.com
• NCBI.NLM.NIH.gov
• PsychologyToday.com
• Brighteon.com

If I was a member of Gen Z, I would feel the exact same way.

The economy has been ruined, and it is people my age and older that did it. We should be absolutely ashamed of ourselves, but we’re not.

For many years I have been warning that someday young people would be absolutely furious because of what we have done to their future, and now that is precisely what is happening.

One Gen Z TikTok user named Nicholas Summers recently made headlines all over the nation when he ranted about the fact that he is struggling to survive each month even though he makes three times the federal minimum wage…

But when Nicholas Sumners took to TikTok to rant about the difficulty of surviving in America, millions of people tuned in to agree. He claims that he makes three times the minimum wage , which would mean he’s making at least $21.75 per hour and is still struggling to survive.

This isn’t surprising, considering the rising inflation and wealth gap between America’s richest and poorest. Some see America as the greatest country in the world, but many citizens live like it’s a third-world country. And now, the masses are angry and ready for a revolution, as evidenced in Nic’s rant, which he concludes by saying, “The American dream is dead.”

A lot of my readers can identify with what he is going through.

It can be absolutely soul crushing when there simply is not enough money month after month even though you are working as hard as you can.

In his video, he asked if someone can explain to him “in crayon-eating terms” why even the basics have become so difficult to afford…

With hot inflation numbers to prove it, one hacked-off Gen Z American took to TikTok, where he detailed a “struggle to survive” and pay for everyday items.

“Can somebody explain to me in crayon-eating terms why I make over three times the federal minimum wage and I cannot afford to live?” the user allegedly named Nic started to say.

“And I do not want to hear the ‘Pull yourself up from your bootstraps, work 90 hours a week.’ That’s not the goal, guys,” he continued ranting. “A one-bedroom apartment, $1,800. Two-bedroom apartment, $2,200. Who the f*** can afford that? It is embarrassing to come out and say that it is a struggle to survive right now. But I know so many people are struggling.”

I can certainly understand his frustration.

I have been writing about these things for years, but our leaders never listen.

Conditions have been deteriorating for a very long time, and in a subsequent video Nicholas observed that this has been happening no matter who has been in control in Washington…

“I just now realized that regardless of which side I vote, it won’t be fixed,” Nic said. “They continue to pull this bulls—. The spending budgets that they keep approving, the foreign aid they keep sending out when we need that in America.”

“How many homeless veterans are out on the street right now?” he added in the recent post. “Government overreaching, government overspending has continued to happen and it is getting worse and worse.”

Our leaders are just going to keep doing what they are doing until the entire system completely and utterly collapses. Another rant about the economy that has already been viewed more than 6 million times was posted on TikTok by a Gen Z woman named Chailyn…

In her candid video, Chailyn, a Walmart employee, stated, “I cannot stand how the news has been dogging Gen Z and calling them lazy for not wanting to work 9-5 for the rest of their lives… I work five days out of the week, 40 hours a week. I [still] do not make enough to live on my own.”

She then highlighted the stark financial disparities that exist between her generation and previous ones.

“Twenty years ago, when you were getting started [with your career], you could live on your own. Twenty years ago when you first started, you were able to do everything that I am now struggling to do,” she said.

Woman defends Gen-Z not wanting to work a 9-5 for the rest of their lives

"I don't want to work my tail end off, wasting all of my life working, just to barely be able to pay my bills" pic.twitter.com/BxaTXjaxcd

— Unlimited L's (@unlimited_ls) January 8, 2024

And she is very clear about who she thinks is responsible for creating the giant economic mess that we are now facing…

“You can sit here and call Gen Z lazy all you want, but I have been working my tail-end off just to barely make it by, and respectfully, I don’t want to do that for the rest of my life,” she said. “I don’t want to work my tail-end off, wasting all of my life working, just to barely be able to pay my bills.”

Chailyn concluded her message with a pointed argument, shifting the blame to previous generations for the current state of the economy and the burden it places on Gen Z.

“You tell me how it got ruined. We can sit here and we can call Gen Z lazy all you want. But you let the economy turn into what it did.”

She added, “You let it all run to hell, and now it’s Gen Z’s ‘fault’ because we don’t want to work to fix your mistakes.”

Bingo.

She doesn’t want to work for the rest of her life to pay off the 34 trillion dollars that has been ruthlessly stolen from her generation and future generations of Americans. And I don’t blame her one bit.

If we lived in a just society, those responsible for getting us 34 trillion dollars in debt would be in prison. But instead we treat them like heroes. Shame on us. Because the cost of living is so ridiculously high, most young adults cannot make it on their own in this economy.

As a result, vast numbers of them are living in poverty, and debt levels among our young adults have risen to very alarming levels…

Then there’s Gen Z, which has higher debt levels and delinquency rates for a number of credit products—from credit cards to mortgages and student loans—than Millennials did at the same age a decade ago. The Gen Z frustration is real, writes Jonathan Levin for Bloomberg Opinion. “If you have a job, a house and some stocks, you’re probably doing just fine. But America’s two-track economy is leaving many behind, particularly young adults.”

In recent years, the Federal Reserve flooded the system with trillions of dollars, and the “experts” assured us that there wouldn’t be any serious consequences. They were dead wrong.

And our politicians have been adding about a trillion dollars to the national debt every 100 days, and the “experts” assured us that everything would work out just fine somehow. They were dead wrong about that too.

Our leaders are destroying our currency, they are destroying our economy, and they are destroying our future. And if you think that things are bad now, just wait until you see what the next few years bring.

We are on a highway to economic oblivion, and when Gen Z blames the generations that came before them they are right on target.

Michael’s new book entitled “Chaos” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.