Justice, Glen. "Misinformation and the Media." CQ Researcher, 28 Jan. 2022, pp. 1-30, library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2022012800.

Misinformation and mistrust in the media are the significant problems of the report. The misinformation spreads through social media as well as through politicians and the news. The mistrust in media has been increasing for a while now. As a matter of fact, the last time the media was trusted by the majority of Americans was in 2003. The article implies that this problem of mistrusting the media exists because of the partisan of this country. The main group harmed by this issue are American adults who rely on social media to get their news. These American adults are making decisions, like who they vote for or whether or not they get vaccinated for COVID-19, based on misinformation. One debate about this problem is what the definition of misinformation is. This is because it is really easy to hide the fact that you're spreading misinformation by disguising it as an opinion when asked about it.

Lyons, Christina L. "Suicide Crisis." CQ Researcher, 12 July 2019, pp. 1-29, library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2019071200.

The problem this report talks about is how the suicide rate has been going up since 2000. The problem of suicide has always been part of western culture, but has been seen to be increasing. This problem exists because of people getting overwhelmed with their economic status, mental health, and social media. Social media is part of the problem mainly because as the usage of social media increases, there has also been a correlation with the increase of anxiety and depression, especially in younger people. There is also a decrease of in-person social interactions between adolescents since social media, which probably also contributes to the issue. Not only does this problem affect those who take their own lives prematurely, but this problem also affects those who love them. The article says that the suicide rate is increasing rapidly for all groups, but especially adolescents, young adults, and middle aged men.

3. 

"However, a study led by University of Michigan psychology professor Ethan Kross found that the more time people spent on Facebook, the worse they felt psychologically. And a British study found that, among social media sites, Instagram and Snapchat were the most detrimental to the mental health of young people (ages 14 to 24), based on their responses to questions about anxiety, depression, loneliness, sleep, body image and cyberbullying."

Ethan Kross et al., “Facebook Use Predicts Declines in Subjective Well-Being in Young Adults,” PLoS One, Aug. 14, 2013, https://tinyurl.com/yy6l2dl9 (Links to an external site.)

Who- young people (ages 14 to 24).

What- their mental health is worse the more time they spend on Instagram and Snapchat.

When- since the increase of social media usage

Where- online

Why- they spend more time online which makes them feel worse psychologically.

"Girls are more often … cyberbullied [than boys] on social media,” said Joan Luby, a psychiatrist at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and “they tend to have much more negative psychological effects to that cyberbullying.”

Who- Girls

What- Are usually targeted more for cyberbullying and have a harder time with it

When- Since social media became a thing

Where- Online

Why- They tend to have worse psychological effects to it.

4. 

The paradox of the term "social media" having the word "social" in it but, in reality, makes us less social and have more issues has always been an intriguing topic to me. I have caught myself comparing myself to other people on social media multiple times, forgetting that social media is fake in the sense that we post what we want others to see about us. This makes me feel insecure and sad about myself when I forget social media is fake. This is what drew me into this topic. I think that the issue of increased use of social media being tied with worse mental health is a very prevalent issue today and will only become more and more of an issue if left unchecked. For my research paper, I would like to write about something along the lines of the effect if social media on teenagers' mental health. I am currently undeclared, but I have considered majoring in psychology or sociology at one point to become a therapist, so the topic is related to a future career idea that I have had. Another point that I would like to explore in my paper include influencers' actual influence on teens. In addition, due to the Netflix documentary Coded Bias, I would also like to explore the algorithm of social media and how that affects teens as well, as I am aware that social media tries to market off insecurities of teenagers, like, for example, marketing weight loss drinks or skin care products.