By Adwoa Ampofo
At 20-years-old, I’ve lived almost two-thirds of my life inside social media platforms. They helped me discover interests, build identities, and find people like me fans of Marvel, DC, horror movies, comics, video games and fashion. But now, I truly can’t deal with social media anymore. What was once a doorway to self-exploration has become a maze of comparison, anxiety, and hollow connections particularly in friendships that exist only through screens.
The Rise of Connection and Disconnection
Social media use isn’t going down anytime soon. By 2025, over 60% of the world’s population roughly 4.7 billion people are active users, with young adults aged 16–24 engaging daily at the highest rates. While platforms often promise connectivity, recent surveys show a paradox: many users feel less connected to real life. About 35% of U.S. adults have taken a break from social media for their mental health, signaling growing awareness of its toll.
National polls reflect this shift. According to the American Psychiatric Association, 50% of adults in 2025 have reduced their social media usage, even as 62% feel anxious without their phone. But the effect isn’t uniform: a March 2025 Pew Research Center report found that nearly half of teens (48%) believe social media has mostly negative effects on people their age, even though the majority also say it helps them stay connected.
“Social media makes me feel closer to my friends,” one teen respondent told researchers. “But it also makes me feel like I’m not enough.” (Pew Research Center, 2025)
Parasocial Bonds and Fading Real Friendships
In my own life, I’ve realized that a large portion of my closest connections maybe 70% exist more as digital impressions than real friendships. If I deleted all my platforms today, many of these “relationships” would evaporate.
This isn’t just personal intuition. Research into parasocial connection one-sided emotional attachment to online figures or communities has grown in prominence alongside AI and influencer culture. Studies show that emotionally responsive chatbots and curated feeds can mimic the feeling of friendship, without reciprocal, real-world support.
This feeling of shallow connection pairs with heavy usage patterns. In 2024–2025 surveys, 62% of U.S. adults aged 18–34 use social media daily, and over 60% of college students report feeling addicted to these platforms.
Mental Health Cost
Social media’s psychological toll is well-documented in recent studies:
• 45% of 2025 teens say they spend too much time on social media, up from 36% in 2022.
• 37% of U.S. teens report feeling sad or hopeless nearly every day, and heavy users who spend 3+ hours per day have around 2.7× higher risk of major depressive symptoms.
• Over 60% of social media users report feelings of loneliness linked to their online behavior.
These patterns echo a broader public health concern. Just this year, the French health agency warned that social media use among adolescents is associated with anxiety, depression, and sleep disruptions, sparking debates about age limits and digital protections.
The Push for Regulation
Global awareness of these risks has grown. In New York State, a new law now demands warning labels on apps like TikTok and Instagram to educate users about mental health effects.
Meanwhile in the U.K., tech companies like Reddit have been fined for failing to protect minors’ data a signal that governments are beginning to hold platforms accountable for design choices that expose youth to harm.
My Personal Reckoning
I’m in the process of stepping back. I use screen-limiting apps. I try to get numbers instead of handles. I spend more time with people in real spaces.
But it hasn’t been easy. In January this year, I hadn’t had a mental breakdown like that in almost a year until one hit, triggered partly by the relentless grip of scrolling and comparison. It brought sharp migraine pain and an emotional realization: this cycle I’ve lived with since age 12 isn’t just a habit it feels like fixation.
I know people can text me, call me, and care about me. But sometimes that digital dissonance doesn’t fill the gap it highlights it.
Why It Feels So Hard
For many, social media isn’t just distraction it’s identity. It’s community. It’s escapism. It’s the first place friends connect, events are shared, ideas spread.
But there’s a cost:
• Curated realities breed comparison.
• Engagement algorithms reward emotional triggers over genuine care.
• Parasocial bonds can feel like friendships until they disappear with a tap. These aren’t just my conclusions. Researchers warn that platforms designed for engagement can create self-reinforcing cycles of dependency where liking becomes decoupled from genuine belonging.
Moving Forward
I’m not asking for pity. I’m asking for honesty about what social media gives us and what it takes. I want a life that exists beyond screens: laughter that isn’t filtered, nights out that aren’t documented, joy that doesn’t require double-tap validation. I want to be known for genuine connection, not curated content. Social media helped me find who I could be. Now I’m trying to find out who I am without it.