In the span of only eighteen years, from 1999 to 2017 suicide rates in the United States have been recorded to have increased by a whopping 33%. Amongst gun violence and police brutality, suicide leads as the second most popular cause of death for ten to thirty-four year olds, so it seems as that at this time our own minds can pose a greater threat against us as than other people.

     Generation Z, those born between the mid 1990s and debatably 2012, is the first generation to grow up with technology, so is the internet and social media the motivator behind this rapid growth of self harm?

     While the influence of the internet and social media can be tied to people’s depression, no true tether can connect the two with certain affirmity. Although, I personally believe that particularly social media is indeed a main cause of such a drastic incline. 

     Social media has rewarded many with amazing opportunities, allowing people to gather a large following and make a career out of it. Those who do such can be found on applications such as Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. 

    While providing entertainment to their audience, they also hold significant power over their supporters. Many influencers, specifically on Instagram, are followed due to their appearance of which forms a standard of beauty amongst their audience. When growing children, adolescents, and even adults are witnessing the traction grown by the people and models on these apps, they are subconsciously brainwashed into believing that to be liked and loved, they must look like these people. 

    This newfound source of self comparison can become extremely harmful, because everyone is unique physically, and therefore not many can compare to those they idealize. This leads to a multitude of insecurities and desires to try to practically become carbon copies of these influencers. I have watched the damage of self comparison on my friends and family and felt it myself. My younger sister, only eleven years old, is already subject to this as well, verbally expressing her jealousy over certain women on the internet for their faces, bodies, and lifestyles. 

     This pattern of linking fame with beauty and beauty with being wanted has always been prevalent. For instance, Marilyn Monroe at her time grew a large following and arguably single handedly changed society to approve of women be sexually attractive. She became extremely famous, causing many girls then and even now to aspire to look just like her because of the attraction people felt towards her. Now with social media, there is a greater platform for fame and therefore a greater platform for comparison. Social media has become the soil for comparison to root itself and grow into weeds of insecurities and self hatred.

     Furthermore, in this digital era, a significant number of people have reported feeling lonesomeness in general. While consumed into one’s phone, people obsess over watching other people live their lives instead of living their own. People would rather play a game or watch videos on TikTok then to spend time socializing and fetching their own opportunities. Yet, people have such high expectations for their life, but still don’t take the steps to reach their goals, setting themselves up for a stale lifetime. The quality of life, in my opinion, has seen a drastic hit because of this. Instead of absorbing what life has to offer and making their own life meaningful with experiences and connections, many simply invest their time into technology and mope over their shortcomings.

     This insecurity, lack of motivation, and general sulking around of people on top of stress from things such as family difficulties and school, creates a snowball effect leading towards mental illnesses like depression and anxiety. Without medical help or any help in general, these illnesses can cause thoughts of suicide as a cause of it seeming like the only resolution to end their internal pain. 

     Heightened suicide rates have swelled as an indirect result of the avalanche of issues technology creates from the unavoidable challenges faced already by the everyday person.