24 | JUNE 1 • 2023
Author’s Note: Parents are more
concerned than ever about their
children’s mental health. Studies
show that social media use has a
strong effect on our teens’ daily
emotions and behavior. Rather than
write yet another article lamenting
teens’ social media usage, I invited
my 19-year-old son, Joshua, to
co-author this Jews in the Digital
Age column with me to ensure it
includes perspectives from both a
parent and a teen.
P
arents of teens are familiar
with and use social network
applications like Facebook
and Instagram. They have also, in
recent years, begun to use TikTok,
the popular video application.
However, Snapchat is different
because most parents do not use it
and are generally unaware of their
teens’ activity on the platform.
Snapchat’s own annual reports
explain that it is used primarily by
high school and college students.
The mobile application allows
users to share photos, videos and
messages. As of February 2023,
Snapchat has approximately 750
million monthly active users,
63% of which use the application
regularly, and more than three
billion snaps are created and
exchanged each day.
Snapchat causes negative mental
health issues, such as anxiety and
depression, in high school and
college students, making it an
activity that should be high on the
concern list of parents, teachers
and mental health professionals.
There exists a worldwide mental
health crisis among teens and
college students, and the use of
Snapchat is prevalent among this
age demographic. Studies have
been conducted to show a causal
relationship between Snapchat use
and this mental health crisis.
FOMO
Many teens will be enjoying a fun
experience with family or friends,
and then experience a sudden
mood swing upon opening the
Snapchat application on their
phone. The phone screen will
display photos of their friends
and their activities, who they’re
with and where they are currently
located using Snapchat’s “Snap
Map” GPS (global positioning
system) feature. The teen who
seemed to be happy and content
is now feeling lonely, anxious and
depressed, thanks to the “fear of
missing out.”
Commonly known by the
acronym “FOMO,” Snapchat
contributes to this fear by making it
appear that others in the teen’s peer
group are enjoying life more. The
teen often feels they have not been
invited or included in a competing
activity even though they were
satisfied with their situation prior
to looking at the “Snap Map.”
Seeing what others are posting on
Snapchat, the teen loses focus and
cannot be present with the people
they are actually with in real life
(“IRL”).
Teens feel that Snapchat is
necessary to have on their mobile
devices because it is one of the most
popular forms of communication
for this age demographic. Many
young people prefer communicating
quickly through Snapchat over
text messaging, phone calls or
video chatting apps like FaceTime.
Snapchat messaging has become the
norm for young people, making the
app essential to their daily lives.
A teen who removes the app from
their phone over concerns that it
leads to increased FOMO, and thus
anxiety and depression, soon finds
they are not able to stay in contact
with their friend group because
their peers are using Snapchat to
communicate and make social
OUR COMMUNITY
Snapchat’s Effect
on Our Teens’
Mental Health
COMMENTARY- JEWS IN THE DIGITAL AGE
Rabbi Jason
Miller
Joshua
Miller