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With the recent traumatic news of Danny Bowman, the 19-year-old UK resident who attempted suicide after being obsessed with taking ‘selfies,’ the general public has vocalized strong opinions on both sides of the social media debate. It’s no question that we are developing a dependence on the technological advance that unifies billions of people, but are we addicted? The Fix spoke with four different leaders in the field to uncover the growing obsession with status updates, and what this means for our psychological well-being.

“In moderation, social media can be a great way for teens to connect to others, to relate to their peers, and to express themselves,” Dr. Karrie Lager, a child psychologist practicing in Los Angeles, says. “However, excessive internet use can have serious negative consequences,” she explains in response to a survey published by CASA Columbia. The survey explores the relationship between teenagers, social media use, and drug abuse. They found that 70% of teenagers age 12-17 spend time on a social media site in a typical day, which amounts to 17 million teenage users. Those that interact via social media on a daily basis are five times likelier to use tobacco, three times likelier to use alcohol, and twice as likely to use marijuana. 40% of these teens surveyed admit to having seen pictures of people under the influence, and are four times likelier to use marijuana than those who haven’t scrolled through these images. The data makes sense: those exposed to pictures of drugs and alcohol are more inclined to seek and experiment with it themselves.

Dr. Charles Sophy, a Los Angeles-based psychiatrist and Medical Director for the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services, explains that “no matter what genetics a teen may possess, they are impressionable and adding social media to the already prevalent peer pressure only ramps that pressure up further.” He has treated several young adults that are now confronting the aftermath of prolonged social media exposure.