Expanding High School Counseling in a Social Media World: Improving Student and Community Well-Being

Abstract

Adolescent competence and resilience are indicators of adulthood behavior. High school is a pivotal time for adolescents to foster a stable temperament for adult development. The contemporary state of adolescent depression prevalence and an increase in social media-related risky behavior calls for an update to mental health services. We review the nature of modern social comparison that is fueled by social media, mental health help-seeking stigma that prevents individuals from seeking services, and provide mental health advances to remedy the severity of mental health concerns in a social media society. Social media distortions of normative life promote a standard of expectations that can decrease self-esteem and increase depressive tendencies. Expanding high school counseling such that students see a counselor multiple times a year in a proactive rather than reactive school counseling system can provide transformative changes to community mental health.