Social pressure is the influence that is exerted on a person or a group by another person or group. It can also be defined as an influence by a group in a social situation that has influence on a person’s behavior. Social pressure can also be referred to as social influence. [1]

Social media is used by 1 in 4 people with Facebook having the most users every month averaging 1.4 billion users every month. 42 percent of adults, the majority of whom are under 30 years old, use multiple social networking sites, 45 percent of people aged 65 and older use Facebook.  The average person spends 7.6 hours a month on social media.[2]

The expansion of social media has led to ill effects in the mental health of teenagers according to university of Glasgow doctor’s Heather Cleland Woods and Holly Scott. According to recent studies done by the medical professionals, teenagers aged 11-17 have been effected the most by the pressures of social media. A group of 467 teenagers were asked questions about self- esteem, anxiety, depression and sleep quality with the main question being, “How many hours do you use social media a day?” The results found that the group of teenagers had poorer sleep quality, lower self- esteem, higher rates of anxiety and depression. The teens who were more emotionally invested in social media mostly used it a night and felt like they if they did not immediately respond to a social media post or text message that they were “missing out”. [3]

  1. ^ "Psychology Dictionary - Free Online Psychology Dictionary". Retrieved 2015-10-04.
  2. ^ Vernon, Jonathan (September 12, 2015). "Social media pressure may lead to anxiety, depression in teens". www.medicalnewstoday.com.
  3. ^ "Social media pressure may lead to anxiety, depression in teens". Retrieved 2015-10-04.