Over 3.96 billion people around the world are active social media users. That’s more than the 3.15 billion people who have working toilets.

Around 75% of teens aged 13 to17 have one or more social media accounts, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 

Junior Trinity Yager is a part of that 75%.  She has many social media accounts which she uses daily. She has three Instagram accounts, a Snapchat account, TikTok and Facebook 

Yager uses social media throughout the day. she said it gets her going throughout the day and just overall functioning. 

“I wake up early around 7 a.m., and I go to sleep between 10-12 p.m., so I’m probably on social media a good amount of time,” Yager said.  Yager said she uses mostly TikTok because it keeps her entertained. She said having many accounts signifies that she does take her time on social media using each account. 

“I’d say that I’m on social media seven hours a day,which is a lot and technically a whole school day,” shesaid.

A study from 2008 from the brand Healthline states that interacting online through social media can be addicting. It adds that it can have a significant impact on a person’s health. West Virginia Education Association (WVEA) states that American teenagers aged13 to 18 average about nine hours of entertainment media use daily, which excludes time spent at school or for homework.

Yager finds that social media opened her eyes to its concealed abilities.

“Social media has definitely changed my view on a lot of things, like how much a person can go from being confident to so insecure,” she said.“Social media is also dangerous because of strangers.”

Yager said that over the years she has struggled with her confidence and that  social media has exacerbated her challenges. 

Helpguide provides examples of how social media has taken a negative toll on society’s mental health, such as high levels of anxiety, depression, loneliness, sleep problems and the fear of missing out, known as FOMO. 

Societal standards, such as meeting beauty expectations or achieving a certain “look,” have affected Yager’s mental and physical health. 

“I’ve had my days where I have been so insecure,” Yager said. “It did take a long time, but social media has also helped me grow and learn how to feel more confident and comfortable. Which affects both mental and physical health because in order to have that good mindset of your physical self, you need the confidence boost or a push to get you there.”

Yager said her confidence when it came to social media has declined.And to make it worse for her, she was always caught up with the constant likes and followers she got on Instagram. But now she says that she tries to put all of that behind her and care about her likes and followers.

 “I used to care so much about likes and people liking me, but it’s really not worth going through the mental process,” Yager said.

She said that sometimes she wishes that social media didn’t exist at all or that she hadn’t created any accounts since it has affected her health so much.

“I personally would rather have no social media than any social media,” Yager said. “Where you were your true self and not just how people view you on Instagram. You were forced to talk to people since you didn’t have that shortcut of Snapchat or anything. I think that sometimes it’s better to appreciate everything away from your phone.”