Teens spend hours on end immersed in the blue light emitted from their cell phones, scrolling through their crush’s Instagram account. For today’s adolescents, social media stalking appears as a fixation in their lives- this seemingly harmless act could potentially psychologically and ethically impact the lives of those who participate.
So, what’s the appeal behind this phenomenon? The reason social media stalking is so popular is because of how easily accessible others’ lives are. Looking at oneself, it’s easy to point out and find insecurities. On the other hand, finding the beauty in others on social media is just as easy– it’s literally at the tip of your fingers. As the saying goes, “Comparison is the thief of joy,” and many teenagers have been robbed.
Teenage minds are easily malleable, making addiction even easier to form. Constantly checking to see if the “prettiest girl” or “hottest guy” updated their account with a new post, profile picture or bio can send hearts racing. The thrill of anticipation is something a lot of teens fall in love with, unaware of the psychological effects that eventually become rooted within.
Social media stalking can negatively impact teenagers’ mental health. The Cybersmile Foundation shows that 77% of people compare themselves to others using social media. Feelings of jealousy, anxiety and inadequacy arise from routinely checking one’s social media. Seeing a girl from your school, who’s nowhere near an acquaintance go to Hawaii with her boyfriend will start to create thoughts that range from, “She’s so slim. She looks amazing in that bikini.” to, “I hate my body. It’s not fair that she looks so good. She’s ugly in the face.” Repeated exposure to images that distort how one views themselves can cloud judgment and foster feelings of envy and desire, and those feelings can worsen with the addiction of social media stalking.
Ethical and privacy questions can also form from social media stalking. Feelings of guilt can arise due to the addiction of stalking. Teenagers often go to great lengths to find relatives of their acquaintances on platforms like Facebook or X (formerly Twitter). Extreme measures can lead to looking up voting records, as well as driving past stranger’s homes. Assumingly, none of this is behind any malicious intent, but it’s still a concern. Although accounts and records are made public, watching someone’s entire life behind your screen can raise many questions, such as “Why did I waste my time doing this?” or “Imagine if someone were to do this to my family.” Now, let’s flip it. Imagine if the person doing said stalking is a 62 year old man, with no malicious intent- just out of pure curiosity- that would probably feel like a complete invasion of privacy, and would most likely urge you to file a restraining order, right? There’s no difference between the intent or actions with the 62 year old. The analogy goes to show that social media stalking is unethical, due to the fact that if someone in an older generation participated, feelings of unease would arise.
To stop this from happening, teens need to take a step back and truly acknowledge that social media stalking does much more harm than good. Rather than constantly joking about it on social media platforms like TikTok, teens need to grasp the fact that social media stalking can hurt them over time. In addition, adding on applications such as screen-time limits, to stop teens from staying on social media long enough to cause self-deprecation or positive affirmation apps, like I am – Daily Affirmations, can give many teens a boost throughout the day. Understanding the harm social media stalking can cause is the first step towards teens creating healthier self-image and respecting privacy.
