With the explosion of visual social media, big data, artificial intelligence, and technological advancements, the internet has become an essential part of our lives. Social media has now become a popular and necessary communication tool, frequently used for communication, networking, and transmitting messages. During this time, people can expose themselves many times and create a self-marketing platform. This can have both direct and indirect impacts on adults and children, bringing both positive and negative effects, such as mental health problems, depression, self-esteem issues, body image concerns, eating problems, and the formation of a unique concept of self.
Social media is a prevalent and incredibly influential subculture and network that has impacted societies as a whole, causing changes in both physical and psychological conditions. It seems that social media has a wide range of prosperity, advancements, depth, and wealth. Concern for appearance and body image has existed for centuries, but now, with social media, people can expose themselves globally. Social media continues to be popular, fast, and powerful in various cultures. People can expose different aspects of their lives through social media, which can affect the mental health of many individuals.
Adolescents and children have become central users of social media. Society's obsession with the thin ideal has spread to a myriad of users, influencing their perceptions and cognitions, leading to disordered eating behaviors and attitudes among those who are keen on appearance. When obsession and dissatisfaction with body image increase, it can lead to other mental health problems such as depression, comparison, and envy. At the same time, body image dissatisfaction can also affect one's lived experience and overall mental health.
Judging one's flaws based on snapshots of so-called friends and strangers who use filters and technology continuously creates unrealistic perceptions. On social media, it is possible to use filters and technology to present a better and idealized image. With the prevalence of fake and false images and videos, individuals spend very little time self-correcting but instead accept and appreciate them.

While not a new problem, the emergence of our hyper-networked media ecosystem has accelerated the spread of mis- and disinformation. Prior to the Internet, mobile technologies, and social media platforms, people often relied on widely trusted sources such as local and regional media, national publications, and nightly broadcast news programs to receive information. Today we are hyperconnected. From Snapchat articles that resemble salacious clickbait content to microblogging posts on X, TikTok videos, and Instagram infographics, anyone with a digital device holds the power to disseminate news and information. When consuming information this way, it can be hard to track claims to their original source or verify whether the information is based on fact.
At the same time, information shared online is often free to consume, unlike fact-based articles and stories that trusted news sources publish. Today people are more reluctant to pay for news, as they can source what they perceive as quality information online. This dynamic has significantly impacted local news outlets—the most trusted source of news across all political affiliations. Partly as a consequence, local news outlets are shutting down, decreasing their workforce, or being bought out by corporate companies.
Bad actors have leveraged this new information ecosystem by deliberately spreading disinformation to influence public opinion regarding vaccines, the COVID-19 pandemic, international affairs, political candidates, U.S. democracy, and other critical topics. These attempts at sowing distrust in our institutions have fueled vaccine hesitancy and skepticism, leading to major public health challenges. Disinformation has contributed to a rise of hate speech and political violence and initiated a revolving cycle of voter challenges and the introduction of voter suppression laws that have made it harder for voters—particularly older voters, voters of color, and voters with disabilities—to participate in democracy.
Some experts have warned that the rampant spread of mis- and disinformation has contributed to what they call a “post-truth” society, defined by Oxford Dictionaries as “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.”

Along with shaping one’s perception of love, consuming media often influences personal views of societal norms and values. Though the push for diverse representation in media has made strides, people with minority identities remain underrepresented in mainstream entertainment.
A lack of diverse love, such as interracial love, LGBTQIA+ love, and many other forms of love in mainstream media, may harm one’s perception of love. Media often dictates views of what love “should” look like, which is shown to children and people who are impressionable. When a young BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ child only sees heterosexual or white couples on TV, they might assume that the type of relationships they crave are unhealthy or unrealistic. They may believe that they must hide themselves or seek out unfulfilling or traumatic relationships.
Alternatively, media that depicts many different instances of love can positively affect those it represents. Diverse representation also has the potential to widen the lens of love for those who may hold a limited view.
Another potentially harmful effect of modern media comes from idealizing certain unhealthy relationship behaviors, such as jealousy, possessiveness, and controlling behavior. While these characteristics are often portrayed as romantic or passionate on screen, these behaviors are detrimental to the health and functionality of a relationship in real life.
An example of this behavior comes from the movie and book series Twilight. In the series, a main character pursues his love interest by obsessing over her with possessive behaviors, including sneaking into her house and watching her sleep. Although portrayed as romantic in the movie, this behavior would be illegal and scary in real life.
When a child or adult sees this portrayal of love in their media acted out by attractive actors and actresses pretending to be in love, they may believe that the behavior is romantic. If someone enters an unhealthy relationship with patterns like these, they might romanticize it, believing that the push and pull of an unhealthy relationship is part of “passionate love”.