Sanchez 1

M. L. Sanchez

Professor Lisa Cook

English 1201.B55

8 July 2020

Anxiety Research Literature Review

Anxiety is a mental illness that affects over 40 million people above the age of eighteen

in the United States. Anxiety is a disorder in which the sufferer feels threatened or fearful of an

object, idea, or event that would normally not draw a nervous response. Victims of anxiety might

suffer from different forms such as generalized anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder,

and/or separation anxiety. People who suffer from this illness will often perspire, experience

respiratory distress symptoms, and might even feel numbness throughout their body (“Anxiety

and Anxiety Disorders”). The ubiquity of this mental illness raises the question: why is anxiety

common among children, adolescents, and young adults? While there is no conclusive answer to

this question, there are many pieces of literature that can be discussed to find a solution.

The causes of anxiety disorders have been studied throughout time. Sigmund Freud had

coined many of the terms used when studying the illness. Charles Spielberger was another

psychologist who further analyzed the illness, as he studied trait anxiety throughout his career.

This form of anxiety is considered to be an innate personality trait (“Anxiety”). The study of

intrinsic anxiety has led to further research of the illness relating to the neurocircuitry of the

brain. An extremely reliable, peer-reviewed, scholarly research study that was published recently

in 2019, informs anxiety researchers about the amygdala having a decreased gray matter volume

in patients that carry a certain genetic variant, which puts them at risk of developing anxiety
 Sanchez 2

disorders (van der Merwe, et al). The increased technology use in recent years is also studied as a

cause of anxiety, which will be discussed further in this literature review.

As the research review was conducted, there were many patterns that emerged from key

points in the sources. All sources discussed in this literature review mentioned that anxiety can

be caused by extrinsic factors. These factors consisted of social media, technology, and life

experiences. The articles “Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders” and "Social Media can Cause or

Worsen Anxiety Disorders” discuss the effects of outside forces on anxiety. All articles were

collected from scholarly databases and speak to an audience of anxiety researchers. Their

purpose is to educate the readers about the causes of anxiety.

The article “Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders” discusses external factors that cause the

mental illness by mentioning that children who are raised in dangerous home situations are more

likely to develop anxious thinking. This means that childhood family dynamics is a factor

outside of a child’s control, which can cause anxiety later in life since it stems from previous

external trauma. The article “Social Media can Cause or Worsen Anxiety Disorders” describes

the effects of technology and social media on anxiety symptoms. The article discusses how the

“likes” on various social media applications cause one to feel anxious, since the user feels the

need to be accepted by others through that mechanism. Since the aforementioned article

describes how the extrinsic social media forces create anxiety through the needs of users to feel

validated, readers understand that the outside influence of social media causes anxiety. Both

articles discuss how external factors cause anxiety by social media exposure or a poor home life.

Although there were similar key points throughout the literature, there were also

disagreements. The articles "Social Media can Cause or Worsen Anxiety Disorders" and “Online

Gaming can Help Ease Social Anxiety" highlight anxiety and modern technology. Both works
 Sanchez 3

are reliable since they are found on reputable databases and they cite their sources. In the article

"Social Media can Cause or Worsen Anxiety Disorders," Duong discusses how different forms

of social media can individually cause anxiety through stress over the number of “connections”

and “likes,” while in the article, “Online Gaming can Help Ease Social Anxiety", Wythe

mentions how streaming video games allows for voluntary online interactions, which helps one

regain control over communication in a positive manner. The purpose of the essay, "Social

Media can Cause or Worsen Anxiety Disorders", is to help the audience of young anxiety

sufferers consider how different forms of social media can be the root of their illness. It is written

in a context that helps identify factors to remove from one’s life in order to alleviate anxiety. The

purpose of the article, “Online Gaming can Help Ease Social Anxiety", is to help the audience

search for creative methods to lessen social anxiety. This article is written in a context that

identifies therapies to add to one’s life in hopes of alleviating social anxiety. Since one article’s

purpose is to remove a factor that causes anxiety, and the other viewpoint’s motive is to add a

mechanism to relieve anxiety, their individual purposes and contexts fuel their different

viewpoints.

All of the articles and entries cited in this literature review were reliable, given that they

came from library-endorsed databases. They cited proper sources within the articles, updated

articles with current information, and were written by credible, published writers who were

known experts on their respective topics. These articles all shared a purpose in helping to relieve

anxiety and identify causes of the illness. The articles and reference book entries shared a

common audience of anxiety sufferers/researchers who wanted to find information about

relieving symptoms.
 Sanchez 4

Although most information was reliable, there were some sources that were not credible

and included common misconceptions about anxiety disorders. The article, “Can Anxiety

Disorder and Panic Attacks be Cured? Yes! No!”, is a source of information that contains a

misconception about the illness. This source was extremely unreliable due to the writer not

having any known credentials, the source being published on fringe media, and the lack of

references throughout the article. The article can be included in this literature review and

research essay to demonstrate the common misunderstandings of anxiety disorders and to show

how anxious audience members should be aware of these fallacies when they conduct their own

research. This article was written to discuss genetic anxiety, and how it can never be cured once

it inevitably develops because of one’s psychological makeup (Nichols). This is a common

misconception that surrounds this illness, as genetic anxiety does not necessarily mean that one

will acquire the disease. Anxiety is a mixture of genetic and environmental factors, and this

author failed to mention that environmental factors can trigger genetic anxiety symptoms,

causing the audience to be misled.

Once the research essay was written, a thesis statement was created which argued that

modern technology was the cause of anxiety in young populations. In order to defend this thesis

throughout the essay, many new articles had to be included to strengthen the argument. The new

articles included in the final essay were: “Constant Interruptions from your Smartphone can

Change your Brain’s Chemistry to Make you Feel Anxious, Stressed, and Distracted”,

“Cyberbullying Victimization and Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety Among Chinese

Adolescents: Examining Hopelessness as a Mediator and Self-Compassion as a Moderator”,

“Psychiatric Impacts of Video Games, Internet Addiction on Children”, “Is Our Obsession with

Health Data Making Us Crazy?”, “Swipe-Based Dating Applications Use and Its Association
 Sanchez 5

with Mental Health Outcomes: A Cross-Sectional Study”, “Digital 2019: Global Internet Use

Accelerates”, "New Bullying Findings Reported from Swansea University (Self-Harm, Suicidal

Behaviours, and Cyberbullying in Children and Young People: Systematic Review)", “Anxiety

and Social Media Use”, “Millennials Stand Out for Their Technology Use, but Older

Generations also Embrace Digital Life”, “Health Experts Say Parents Need to Drastically Cut

Kid’s Screen Time”, and “Yes, Instagram is Making you Anxious, According to a Psychologist”.

The article “Constant Interruptions from your Smartphone can Change your Brain’s Chemistry to

Make you Feel Anxious, Stressed, and Distracted” was included to describe biological stressors

of smartphone technology. The articles “Cyberbullying Victimization and Symptoms of

Depression and Anxiety Among Chinese Adolescents: Examining Hopelessness as a Mediator

and Self-Compassion as a Moderator” and "New Bullying Findings Reported from Swansea

University (Self-Harm, Suicidal Behaviours, and Cyberbullying in Children and Young People:

Systematic Review)" were used in the essay to describe the effects of cyberbullying on anxiety

and mental health. The article “Psychiatric Impacts of Video Games, Internet Addiction on

Children” was used in a counter argument in response to the article "Online Gaming can Help

Ease Social Anxiety". The articles “Is Our Obsession with Health Data Making Us Crazy?” and

“Yes, Instagram is Making you Anxious, According to a Psychologist” were used to describe the

anxiety surrounding self-esteem that comes with technology. The articles “Swipe-Based Dating

Applications Use and Its Association with Mental Health Outcomes: A Cross-Sectional Study”

and “Anxiety and Social Media Use” were used to describe the anxiety that stems from online

validation. The articles “Digital 2019: Global Internet Use Accelerates”, “Millennials Stand Out

for Their Technology Use, but Older Generations also Embrace Digital Life”, and “Health

Experts Say Parents Need to Drastically Cut Kid’s Screen Time” were all used to describe how
 Sanchez 6

technology has advanced in recent years and how children are spending excess amounts of time

on their devices. These were used in the introduction to give readers background information.

As mentioned in this literature review, there are multiple causes of anxiety and many

viewpoints that drive the discussion of this topic. Some causes of anxiety might be neurological

issues, genetics, and social media/technological influences. Although these are all valid causes, a

more extensive literature review must be conducted regarding the effects of social media and

modern technologies on the development/progression of anxiety. There is plenty of discussion on

this topic, and it is a vast concept with many different studies and viewpoints left to research.
 Sanchez 7

Works Cited

"Anxiety." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, edited by William A. Darity, Jr.,

2nd ed., vol. 1, Macmillan Reference USA, 2008, pp. 145-147. Gale eBooks, https://link-

gale-com.sinclair.ohionet.org/apps/doc/CX3045300100/GVRL?u=dayt30401&sid=GVR

L&xid=81d3d82d. Accessed 8 July 2020.

"Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders." Human Diseases and Conditions, edited by Miranda Herbert

Ferrara, 2nd ed., vol. 1, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2010, pp. 128-135. Gale eBooks,

https://link-gale-com.sinclair.ohionet.org/apps/doc/CX2830200035/GVRL?u=dayt30401

&sid=GVRL&xid=13763092. Accessed 8 July 2020.

Brown, Aaron. “Constant Interruptions from your Smartphone can Change your Brain’s

Chemistry to Make you Feel Anxious, Stressed, and Distracted.” Daily Mail, 1 June

2018, www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-5794435/Smartphone-notifications-alter-

brain-chemistry-make-feel-anxious-stressed.html. Accessed 8 July 2020.

Chu, Xiao-Wei, et al. “Cyberbullying Victimization and Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety

Among Chinese Adolescents: Examining Hopelessness as a Mediator and Self-

Compassion as a Moderator.” Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 86, Sept. 2018, pp.

377–386. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.chb.2018.04.039. Accessed 8 July 2020.

Dingle, Arden, and Jay Kothari. “Psychiatric Impacts of Video Games, Internet Addiction on

Children.” Psychiatry Advisor, 6 Feb. 2015, www.psychiatryadvisor.com/home/

topics/child-adolescent-psychiatry/psychiatric-impacts-of-video-games-internet-

addiction-on-children/. Accessed 8 July 2020.

Ducharme, Jamie. “Is Our Obsession with Health Data Making Us Crazy?” Time Magazine, 30

May 2019, time.com/5066561/health-data-tracking-obsession/. Accessed 8 July 2020.

Duong, Dana. "Social Media can Cause or Worsen Anxiety Disorders." Does the Internet

Increase Anxiety?, edited by Tamara Thompson, Greenhaven Press, 2016. At Issue. Gale

In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link-gale-com.sinclair.ohionet.org/apps

/doc/EJ3010967205/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=4835b365. Accessed 8 July

2020. Originally published as "Anxiety Disorders: Social Media Edition," Anxiety.org, 26

Feb. 2014.

Holtzhausen, Nicol, et al. “Swipe-Based Dating Applications Use and Its Association with

Mental Health Outcomes: A Cross-Sectional Study.” BMC Psychology, vol. 8, no. 1,

Mar. 2020, pp. 1–12. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1186/s40359-020-0373-1. Accessed 8 July

2020.

Kemp, Simon. “Digital 2019: Global Internet Use Accelerates.” We Are Social, 30 Jan. 2019,

wearesocial.com/blog/2019/01/digital-2019-global-internet-use-accelerates. Accessed 8

July 2020.

"New Bullying Findings Reported from Swansea University (Self-Harm, Suicidal Behaviours,

and Cyberbullying in Children and Young People: Systematic Review)." Mental Health

Weekly Digest, 7 May 2018, p. 238. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link-

gale-com.sinclair.ohionet.org/apps/doc/A537525060/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC

&xid=6ec5b4c4. Accessed 8 July 2020.

Nichols, Mike. “Can Anxiety Disorder and Panic Attacks be Cured? Yes! No!” Anxiety, Panic,

& Health, anxietypanichealth.com/2013/06/19/can-anxiety-disorder-and-panic-attacks-

be-cured-yes-no/#:~:text=make%20me%20happier.-,No!,for%20Anxiety

%20and%20Panic%20Attacks!&text=The%20tendency%20toward%20Anxiety%20and,s

tudies%20have%20proven%20this%20fact. Accessed 8 July 2020.

Reed, Phil. “Anxiety and Social Media Use.” Psychology Today, 3 Feb. 2020, www.psychology

today.com/us/blog/digital-world-real-world/202002/anxiety-and-social-media-use.

Accessed 8 July 2020.

van der Merwe, Celia, et al. “Concordance of Genetic Variation That Increases Risk for Anxiety

Disorders and Posttraumatic Stress Disorders and That Influences Their Underlying

Neurocircuitry.” Journal of Affective Disorders, vol. 245, Feb. 2019, pp. 885–

896. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1016/j.jad.2018.11.082. Accessed 8 July 2020.

Vogels, Emily A. “Millennials Stand Out for Their Technology Use, but Older Generations also

Embrace Digital Life.” Pew Research Center, 9 Sept. 2019, www.pewresearch.org/fact-

tank/2019/09/09/us-generations-technology-use/. Accessed 8 July 2020.

Welch, Ashley. “Health Experts Say Parents Need to Drastically Cut Kid’s Screen Time.” CBS

News, 6 Aug. 2018, www.cbsnews.com/news/parents-need-to-drastically-cut-kids-

screen-time-devices-american-heart-association/#:~:text=Kids%20and%20teens

%20age%208,is%20one%20hour%20per%20day. Accessed 8 July 2020.

Wythe, Anastasia. "Online Gaming can Help Ease Social Anxiety." Does the Internet Increase

Anxiety?, edited by Tamara Thompson, Greenhaven Press, 2016. At Issue. Gale In

Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link-gale-com.sinclair.ohionet.org/apps/doc/

EJ3010967214/OVIC?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=616b63ac. Accessed 8 July 2020.

Originally published as "Shyness on the Battlefield—Gaming with Social

Anxiety," Gamemoir, 31 Jan. 2015.

“Yes, Instagram is Making you Anxious, According to a Psychologist.” Body and Soul, 27 Sept.

2017, www.bodyandsoul.com.au/wellbeing/yes-instagram-is-making-you-anxious-
 Sanchez 10

according-to-a-psychologist/news-story/21ceda1767e2b7ef648b4fa75a0e85b4. Accessed

8 July 2020.