Social media is a serious topic in today's society. Most teenagers and young adults use social media, which can have a negative effect on many people's lives. Since you can access social media at any time, social media is at your fingertips all day. How can social media be negative? Well, there are multiple social media platforms, and everyone is connected. By clicking one single button, you can make a post; this post can be something along the lines of showing off a new car or maybe a selfie or group picture of friends hanging out. You may think, How can that be negative? Well, when a struggling kid or adult comes across this post, they may start to think negatively about themselves or others. Some people have more than others, such as phones, cars, a house, etc. Maybe a kid is sheltered or unknowledgeable about certain things, and they go onto social media and are exposed to things like curse words, drugs, and inappropriate songs/videos. Depression is worse than it has ever been. Teenagers feel so isolated because they have a deep connection with their phones and think that is all they need. We tend to feel overly connected with everyone because of the fact that there is many apps where people can just post whatever. Think about how a post can affect someone and then they have to see it on not one social media app but multiple. Self-esteem is the other thing that plays a huge role in depression. Many teens will see a post of a kid at the beach or wearing an outfit that may complement their body, and someone dealing with self-esteem issues might compare themselves to the person in a certain post. Some ways we can help people with these issues are maybe stepping out of our personal space/ comfort zone and making a way to check on someone you know struggling. Another way we can try to spread awareness is maybe using social media to spread a nice, encouraging post, maybe saying things like "you are worth it" or "keep going, you're doing great". Even by doing small things like maybe saying "hey" or just generally talking to one another, we could possibly be saving a life or more. Parents could also limit a child's use of social media. Instead of let's say screen time or not having the app at all we could teach children that not everything can be bad and teach them that we can use these apps in a good and encouraging way. Parents can also check on their kids.