COM101 Principles and Practice of Communication

Introduction:

A public health goal is to improve the physical and mental health of adolescents with severe psychiatric illnesses such as depressive symptoms, bipolar disorders, and psychiatric illnesses (Aschbrenner et al. 2019). Adults with severe mental illness (SMI) live 10 to 30 years less than the normal population. Completely avoidable and changeable physical health problems such as diabetes and heart disease are to blame for the majority of these early fatalities. Primary prevention may be the key to solving these hazardous health-risk behaviours in people with mental illnesses before they cause long-term harm. Although 50% of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin in the mid-teens and 75% by the mid-twenties (Ruscio et al. 2017), there are few evidence-based strategies that deliberately target appropriate interventions in youngsters mental health practitioners, especially by those who receive treatment in the community mental health segment, which serves many impoverished and low-income homeowners. Digital technology (e.g., Internet usage, cellphones, mobile applications, and social media platforms) are essential to the lives of teens and young adults in the normal community, according to national polls (Aschbrenneret al. 2019). As Dienlin and Johannes (2020) point out, each technological advance raises worries about its possible effect on the well-being of (young) people. Researchers and the general public have expressed worry in current history about the growth of digital technology, particularly smartphones and social media. A limited number of researches have been published on the topics discussed here. This is a measure of the complexity of the literature on teenage digital technology usage, social connection improvement, and psychological wellbeing. This field of study is critical, given the rise in teenage digital technology usage and the rise in mental health issues affecting young populations. This article proposes a systematic review study to present the results of a recent research review investigating the relationships between teenage digital media usage and social connection, as well as distress, anxiety, and isolation.

Research Background:

Over the last 15 years, the fast growth of access to and interaction with the Internet and digital technology has dramatically altered the social, educational, and therapeutic space inhabited by children and young people in modern society. To begin with, technology has opened up previously unthinkable possibilities for learning and development, as well as personal discovery and progress (Hollis, Livingstone, and SonugaBarke 2020). Second, it appears that the same qualities and characteristics of the Internet that allow for these significant contributions, such as suddenness, usability, connectedness, unrestricted reach, and a lack of content supervision and regulation, have exposed children and young people to a variety of serious social, academic, and mental health risks (Hollis, Livingstone, and SonugaBarke 2020). Finally, in addition to these ‘effects,' the digital realm is increasingly being used to effectively identify and treat mental health issues. As a result, when it comes to children's mental health, the Internet is more of a triple-edged sword than a double-edged sword.

The phrase "digital technology usage" refers to a wide range of devices, services, and applications (Dienlin and Johannes 2020). Mobile devices are currently used by the majority of teenage digital technology users. Smartphones, which combine the features and benefits of a variety of different media, play a critical part in teenage media consumption and are therefore referred to as a "metamedium" (Anderson and Jiang 2018). Smartphones and other digital devices may be used to access a wide variety of services. According to a representative study of teenagers in the United States, YouTube (85 percent) is the most popular digital service, followed by Instagram (72 percent) and Snapchat (69 percent) (Humphreys, Karnowski and von Pape 2018). There are two kinds of social media: social networking sites like Instagram and TikTok, and instant messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal. Various functions and affordances are available on all devices and services, resulting in different kinds of usage (Humphreys, Karnowski and von Pape 2018). Adolescents may use social media to communicate with others, publish, like, and share. These are often referred to as "active" usage (Dienlin and Johannes 2020). Adolescents, on the other hand, may participate in passive usage by just lurking and observing the material of others. The binary difference between active and passive usage leaves open the question of whether the activity is deemed procrastination or goal-directed. Chatting with others, for example, may be called procrastination if it prevents you from working on a more essential job. If the aim is to keep up with the lives of friends, observing but not engaging with others' material may be called goal-directed (Dienlin and Johannes 2020). Finally, there is a difference to be made between various kinds of usage: whether the use is social or nonsocial. Social usage encompasses all forms of active interpersonal contact, including talking and messaging, as well as liking and sharing pictures and posts (Dienlin and Johannes 2020). Nonsocial activities include reading (certain kinds of) and playing, as well as listening to music and viewing movies.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO 2017), 10–20 percent of children and adolescents globally suffer from mental health issues. By the age of 14, 50 percent of all mental illnesses are established, and by the age of 18, 75 percent are established (Keles, McCrae and Grealish 2020). Generalized anxiety disorder and depression are the most prevalent disorders in children and adolescents, respectively (Mental Health Foundation 2018; Stansfeld et al. 2016). The incidence of anxiety and depression among young people has risen by 70% in the last 25 years, according to the Royal Society for Public Health and the Young Health Movement (2017). Depression and anxiety have negative effects on adolescent development, such as poorer educational achievement, school dropout, worse social connections, and an increased risk of drug misuse, mental health issues, and suicide (Hetrick et al. 2016). According to Morgan et al. (2017), the rate of self-harm among girls aged 13–16 has increased by 68 percent in the UK over the past ten years. The reasons for the apparent rise in psychological illness among young people are unknown. According to McCrae (2018), educational efforts aimed at raising mental health awareness have impacted diagnostic activity. Many young people are unafraid to talk about their psychiatric problems and seek professional treatment, despite the stigma. Another significant element in the digital information era is the ease with which people may share their own experiences (Reid-Chassiakos et al. 2016). Unlike in the past, when mental health difficulties were experienced in solitude, today's suffering young person may easily connect with others who are experiencing similar issues via social contact or support groups. Doctors may be more likely to identify and treat mental health issues as a result of increased knowledge and help-seeking behaviour, thereby reducing the diagnostic threshold.

Using a longitudinal approach, Perret et al. (2020) improve our knowledge of the possibly causative relationship between young people's online behaviours and mental health. Cybervictimization, face-to-face victimisation, suicidal thoughts, and suicide attempts were all measured at ages 13, 15, and 17 in this prospective birth cohort research. The Ns for individuals reporting suicide thoughts or attempts are tiny, even with a sample size of 2000+, thus the results should be interpreted with care. After controlling for mental health, family, and other factors, including previous face-to-face victimisation, they discovered that both cybervictimisation and cybervictimisation coupled with face-to-face victimisation were linked to suicidal ideation/attempts. However, any negative consequences of cybervictimization seem to be transient; much more striking was the discovery that only face-to-face victimisation was linked to suicide ideation/attempt two years later. Based on the cross-sectional findings, it appears that cybervictimisation can exacerbate the negative effects of face-to-face victimisation; as is often stated, the actual impact is that the victim cannot easily leave their benefactor even at home or in other ostensibly safe spaces because they can be reached 24/7 via technological innovations (Hollis, Livingstone, and SonugaBarke 2020). Differences in sociodemographic and cultural dimensions working within social eco-systems significantly affect children's behaviour and development, according to current child psychology and psychiatry. Thereby, the primary question to be posed through this proposal is as follows:

“In what ways does Digital technology worsen the mental health of the youngster?”

Systematic Review Methodology:

Adolescence is a time of personal and social identity building, and social media plays an important role in this process. Adolescents may not be able to avoid the potentially negative consequences of digital technology and online media usage due to their low capacity for self-regulation and susceptibility to peer pressure, and as a result, they are more likely to acquire mental disorders. However, research on the impact of social media on teenage psychosocial development is still in its early stages. To far, most of the study has focused on late-adolescents and college or university students. Previous systematic reviews included more studies because they either focused on a diverse population of children, adolescents, and adults, or on general mental well-being, which included both medical and psychological evaluations as the result of interest. A lack of verified technology usage metrics contributes to this imprecision empirically. The majority of the work is based on self-reports of technology use. Self-reports, on the other hand, have been proven to be inaccurate and lacking in validity since they do not correspond well with objective measurements of technology usage. Self-reported smartphone use time corresponded marginally, at best, with objectively recorded usage. When self-reports of general internet usage are compared to scientifically measured use, the results are similar. In addition to losing accuracy by lumping all forms of technology usage into one behavioural category, the measurement of this category also adds to the loss of precision. To get precision, one must examine consequences for many kinds of usage, preferably objectively assessed. A limited number of research have been published on the topics discussed here. This shows the range of the literature on teenage Internet technology usage, social connection development, and mental health issues. This field of study is critical, given the rise in teenage Internet usage and the rise in mental health issues affecting young populations. The results of a systematic evaluation of current studies investigating the relationships between teenage digital technology usage and social connection, as well as depression, anxiety, and loneliness, are presented in this study. The systematic review technique used will help in engaging the research in a systematic evaluation of the literature focusing on teenage digital technology usage and the particular implications of adolescent feeling of connection on depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Furthermore, the evidence regarding the impact of social media usage on depression, anxiety, and psychological distress in teenagers will be examined in this comprehensive review. The goal was to educate policy and practise while also pointing to further study on the subject. The criteria for this systematic review were established with the goal of finding all immediately relevant publications to minimise potential selection bias. The protocol for this study will be registered with the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews to ensure openness. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement will also be followed in this report.

Methodology:

Database Search:

Articles from the following five online databases will be used to compile the data for this review: PsycINFO, Embase, and CINAHL. (adolescent OR adolescence) + (social connectedness OR feeling of connection) + (depression OR anxiety OR loneliness) + (adolescent OR adolescence) + (digital technology OR online technology). However, the search terms were used in a broader search: (teenager OR young people OR youth OR adolescents OR adolescence + (digital technology OR Internet technology OR social media OR social network OR social networking) + (social connectedness OR connectedness OR connection or connect OR relationship OR relationships OR friendship) + (social connectedness OR connectedness OR connection or connect OR relationship OR relationships OR friendship) + (mental health OR depression OR anxiety OR loneliness). The first pool will be defined as the resultant collection of chosen articles. The necessity for a second, more widely defined iteration will highlight an intriguing feature of this literature, and as a result, the criteria that academics working on this subject will use are far from uniform.

Data Collection:

A total of 15 papers will be chosen, with those that meet the following criteria being excluded: (1) they were not published in English, (2) they were not published in an academic journal, and (3) they were not published after 2015. The second screening included filtering through the abstracts of the remaining 236 publications in order to limit the study to research that was (1) most directly related to the substantive emphasis chosen, and (2) utilised systematic techniques that allowed for strong conclusions. Four additional inclusion criteria were used to achieve this: (1) a clear emphasis on teenagers, and (2) the use of experimental or observational research methods in the papers examined. The treatment of digital technology usage as a causative factor or prospective intervention, as well as an explicit emphasis on social connection and its possible effects on depression, anxiety, and/or loneliness, will be examined. The article was included in the final screening process if it was unclear from the abstract whether the requirements were fulfilled.

The Three-Tier Screening Process:

In the three-tier process, the inclusion/exclusion methods mentioned above functioned as the initial stage of screening. The PRISMA flow chart will be used to decide which articles are eligible to be included in the final analysis throughout the screening phase.

Ethical Issues:

Throughout the study, strict ethical standards will be observed. If approval from any authority is needed, it will be obtained, and a letter of authorization from the University will be shown wherever. In order to prevent plagiarism when doing secondary research, reference is crucial. As a result, no method should be made to breach the ethical standards' norms and regulations.

Conclusion:

Despite almost 30 years of study on digital technology, there is still no conclusive scientific data on whether it impedes or promotes happiness. General impacts are most likely to be minor at best, and most likely to be negative. When additional variables are taken into consideration, this conclusion is no longer valid. Active usage with the goal of forming meaningful social relationships may be beneficial. Passive usage is likely to have negative consequences. Both may have a nonlinear trend. However, there is a scarcity of research on the causal impacts of widespread digital technology usage on happiness. Given these constraints, many researchers believe that technology plays a mediating role69: pre-existing issues promote maladaptive technology usage, which lowers life satisfaction. Excessive usage of digital technology is more likely to be a sign of an underlying socio-psychological issue than the other way around. To summarise, one of the better responses when evaluating the impact of technology usage on teenage well-being is that it's complex.

References:

Anderson, M. and Jiang, J., 2018. Teens, social media & technology 2018. Pew Research Center, 31(2018), pp.1673-1689.

Aschbrenner, K.A., Naslund, J.A., Tomlinson, E.F., Kinney, A., Pratt, S.I. and Brunette, M.F., 2019. Adolescents' use of digital technologies and preferences for mobile health coaching in public mental health settings. Frontiers in public health, 7, p.178.

Dienlin, T. and Johannes, N., 2020. The impact of digital technology use on adolescent well-being. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 22(2), p.135.

Hetrick, S. E., Cox, G. R., Witt, K. G., Bir, J. J., and Merry, S. N. (2016). Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), third-wave CBT and interpersonal therapy (IPT) based interventions for preventing depression in children and adolescents. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (Online), 9, 8.

Hollis, C., Livingstone, S. and Sonuga‐Barke, E., 2020. The role of digital technology in children and young people's mental health–a triple‐edged sword?.

Humphreys, L., Karnowski, V. and von Pape, T., 2018. Smartphones as metamedia: A framework for identifying the niches structuring smartphone use. International Journal of Communication, 12, p.17.

Keles, B., McCrae, N. and Grealish, A., 2020. A systematic review: the influence of social media on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 25(1), pp.79-93.

McCrae, N. (2018). The weaponising of mental health. Journal of Advanced Nursing. doi:10.1111/jan.13878

Mental Health Foundation. (2018). Children and young people. Retrieved from https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/c/children-and-young-people

Morgan, C., Webb, R. T., Carr, M. J., Kontopantelis, E., Green, J., Chew-Graham, C. A., … Ashcroft, D. M. (2017). Incidence, clinical management, and mortality risk following self harm among children and adolescents: Cohort study in primary care. BMJ (Online), 359. doi:10.1136/bmj.j4351

Perret, L.C., Orri, M., Boivin, M., Ouellet-Morin, I., Denault, A-S., Côté, S.M., and Geoffroy, M.-C. (2020). Cybervictimization in adolescence and its association with subsequent suicidal ideation/attempt beyond face-to-face victimization: a longitudinal population based study. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 61, 866–874.

Reid-Chassiakos, Y., Radesky, J., Christakis, D., and Moreno, M. A. (2016). From the American Academy of Pediatrics. Children and adolescents and digital media. Council on Communications and Media. Pediatrics, 138, 5.

Royal Society for Public Health, & Young Health Movement. (2017). StatusOfMind social media and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. Retrieved from https://www.rsph.org.uk/uploads/assets/uploaded/62be270a-a55f-4719-ad668c2ec7a74c2a.pdf

Ruscio, A.M., Hallion, L.S., Lim, C.C., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Al-Hamzawi, A., Alonso, J., Andrade, L.H., Borges, G., Bromet, E.J., Bunting, B. and De Almeida, J.M.C., 2017. Cross-sectional comparison of the epidemiology of DSM-5 generalized anxiety disorder across the globe. JAMA psychiatry, 74(5), pp.465-475.

Stansfeld, S., Clark, C., Bebbington, P., King, M., Jenkins, R., and  Hinchliffe, S. (2016). Chapter 2: Common mental disorders. In S. McManus, P. Bebbington, R. Jenkins, & T. Brugha (Eds.), Mental health and wellbeing in England: Adult psychiatric morbidity survey 2014 (pp. 37–68). Leeds: NHS Digital.

World Health Organization. (2017). Maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/maternal _child_adolescent/topics/adolescence/mental_health/en/ [Google Scholar]

Looking for the best assignment help in the UK? Look no further! We have got the best assignment paper writers to back you up with quality solutions on the go. So, if you are wondering, “Who will do my assignment for me?” or “Can I pay someone to do my assignment?” simply count on our expertise and soar high in your academic pursuits. No matter whether you are looking for essay help, coursework help, dissertation help or primary homework help, we have got your back. Connect with us today and allow our experts to craft the finest of academic papers exclusively for you.