Danny Bowman Essay

Danny Bowman was only 19 years old when he almost lost his life because of his social media addiction. He dropped out of school, never left his house, lost an unhealthy amount of weight, and attempted suicide, because he was obsessed with being his own personal model. He tried cleaning himself up to take the perfect photo, although he became so obsessed with this photo that he developed an unhealthy addiction. Bowman reported spending up to 10 hours a day and snapping over 200 photos on his iPhone. When he could no longer take anymore, he attempted to overdose, although thankfully was saved. The article states, “But Danny is not some bizarre one-off case in a world where smartphone and social media obsession is spiralling upwards. The top psychiatrist at the
clinic where Danny was treated revealed ­addiction to taking selfies is becoming so widespread it is now is a recognised mental illness. ‘Danny’s case is particularly extreme,’ said Dr David Veal who’s clinic has weaned the teen off his iPhone. ‘But this is a serious problem.
It’s not a vanity issue. It’s a mental health one which has an extremely high suicide rate.’ (Aldridge, Harden)”. Although Bowman took his addiction to the extreme, he is not alone in his struggle. Many people all over the world struggle with this addiction. One may ask what may lead someone down a path of social media addiction, and the answer is actually quite simple. Most teenagers are at a time in their lives where they are confused and frightened, full of insecurities hidden by a blanket of ‘confidence’. This is a time in their lives where their looks become a priority, because they are realizing the glory of an appearance and the advantages of having the ‘right look’ in this modern society. Social media has become a platform to exploit these insecurities; everything a person posts on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter is seen by thousands, maybe millions, of people and instantly judged. Some of these people who comment on photos are not the nicest, and the messages they write can either rise a teenager up, or send them spiraling downwards. Although these messages can cause drastic changes in emotion, it's not going to stop a person from checking their social media
accounts. In a 6-month long study of 13-year-olds, they were forced to answer exactly why they obsessively check their social media accounts. 21% of the students studied answered as they check their social media over 100 times a day because they “wanted to make sure no one is saying mean things about them”. 36% stated they did this because “they wanted to make sure their friends weren’t doing anything without them”. While a whooping 61% admitted to checking their social media obsessively because they “wanted to see if their posts are getting likes and comments (#Being13). These are just a few reasons as to why teenagers feel the compulsive need to check their social media accounts. They feel as if they are constantly being judged by everyone around them and are compelled to put up a facade, and to pretend as if their life is perfect. They put on this persona in order to gain popularity and friends, because somehow, that’s how middle and high school popularity contests work. The narrator of the documentary explains how middle schoolers use these social media platforms, more specifically Instagram. The kids feel compelled to make themselves look picture-perfect for the camera, and upon posting a selfie, they may take over 200 before choosing the perfect one. Then, once the picture is posted, the only thing running through their minds are ‘will they approve? Do I look good?’