This past week, I met with my instructor to review my thesis topic ideas, which I found to be very helpful. Although I knew what I wanted my thesis to be before I even applied to graduate school, the idea shifted slightly since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Millions of young Americans are struggling under a mental health epidemic, struggling in school, struggling with addiction or isolation, struggling to make it from one day to the next. Our country is in danger of losing much of a generation if mental health care remains business as usual. — Dr. Vivek Murthy, US Surgeon General

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “emergency department visits for suicide attempts among teen girls were up more than 50% at the beginning of the pandemic, compared to the same period in 2019” (Source: ABC News). While the pandemic has affected all of us in various ways, young adults seem to be struggling the most. And with all of our time spent on the internet and social media, I started wondering what effects social media is having on the mental health of young adults. Facebook, in particular, is well aware of how their platform is toxic (Source: WSJ), but what initiatives are they taking to address this issue?

Last week I attended a book talk with Hannah Zeavin who discussed the history of teletherapy, the crisis hotline and community health from her book “The Distance Cure”. She also discussed how teletherapy always follows crisis and how it's as old as therapy itself. I am looking forward to reading it to support my research topic, which is “ I want to study mental health and the effects that social media has on young adults because I want to understand how we can create safe spaces online, and remove the mental health stigma.”

The help is there, but how do we utilize it and create safe spaces for young adults to explore and express their feelings? I am still exploring this topic and refining it with my secondary research.

Next Steps

• Compare mental health statistics from before & after the creation of Instagram (2012), Facebook (2004), Twitter (2006), Snapchat (2011)
• Read “The Distance Cure” by Hannah Zeavin
• Read through Reddit, and other message boards to research and study the conversations users are having with each other.