Causes Of Social Media Essay

Social media is nothing, but a distracting, timewasting, nuisance to everyone surrounded by it, right? Wrong. Social media has changed the world as we know it. People can share information quickly, publish their thoughts, and exchange their ideas. Social media is becoming a certainty in this modern age, which is why it should be embraced rather than criticized. Although there is concern over potential for cyberbullying and lack of privacy, the use of social media is inevitable in teenagers’ lives, and necessary to the positive development of adolescents because it allows adolescents to gain confidence when interacting with others, it encourages users to create and maintain friendships, and it can facilitate learning while promoting educational growth.

We live in an era ruled by social media, primarily when it comes to teenagers, social media is used for everything. From communicating with family and friends to being used as a news outlet, and even advertisement for business and companies. This article is titled “Social Media: What's Not to Like,” written by Alison Pearce Stevens. The topic of this essay is the effect social media can have on teenagers. Social media, on one hand, can be used as a great way to share with the world and boost teens’ self-esteem. On the other hand, social media can be used as a place for bullying, body shaming and can cause depression or even suicide in teens.

Social media itself is a huge danger to society. It causes many suicides within the world because of the cyberbullying and spreading of rumors. “Recent studies have shown that one out of four teens have been the victims of cyberbullying and one out of six have admitted to having cyberbullied someone” (Trautner 1). The internet and social media is supposed to be used to communicate with friends and for searching information, “Kids use technology different than their parents do. Sometimes it is hard for adults to understand that this can even be a possibility” (Trautner 1). It is not supposed to be used to bully someone, especially not to the point where the victim would think about suicide. “One of the statistics that has been highlighted within this news coverage is the threefold increase in the suicide rate for girls ages 10 to 14. The rates for girls in this age group increased from 0.5 to 1.5 per 100,000 during this time period. The increases for boys in this age group were not as high, climbing from 1.9 per 100,000 during 1999 to 2.6 per 100,000 in 2014” (Olsen

Social media has been a topic of debate for years. Some people are strongly against any use of it while others like the instant connection it provides. A major concern over social media is the lasting effects it has on teenagers. Social media can affect teenagers through many ways including things like their self-esteem. Cyberbullying is a raging topic of discussion centered around teens social media use. It can also effect their people skills and create a lack of community involvement. Some parents think that watching what their children do on social media is an invasion of privacy but is your concern for their privacy greater than your concern for their safety? Social media poses a great danger to today’s children. It can affect many aspects of their lives.

Utilizing social media has been shown to enhance communication, social interaction, and sharpen technical skills of teenagers. Benefits to teens of social media allow them to socialize with friends, make new friend, and even help each other on group projects or homework. Studies indicate that over 20% of teenagers log onto social media sites over 10 times in one day. A con in social media is that its has caused cyberbullying and online hate. Studies have shown that online harassment is no more common than offline harassment. Another con in social media is that sexting has increased 20% in teens. These teens have indicated that they have posted nude or semi nude photos of themselves. Teens do not realize the risk

The use of social networking sites is rising at great rates. According to a report conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project in 2012, ninety-five percent of individuals aged 12-17 use the internet; and eighty-one percent of those use social network sites (Pew Interest). Although it is known that social media can have a useful impact on lives, often times people forget that with a positive comes a negative. The continual use of social network sites will impact teen lives more negatively than positively because they can cause huge distractions from valuable and critical pursuits like education; they can also cause mental health issues and a reduction in communication skills.

Initially, social media is commonly used as a weapon to attack others on their opinions or simply because they despite other people. For instance, cyber bullying has caused huge problems ever since social networks have started becoming popular. “Nearly 43% of kids have been bullied online. 1 in 4 has had it happen more than once,” (“11 Facts about Cyber Bullying” www.dosomething.org). This is more targeted at teenagers and children because they are unaware of the harmful things they might say over the internet. To illustrate, cyber bullying can become a very serious issue when a minor commits suicide. “Bully-related suicide can be connected to any type of bullying, including . . . cyberbullying, and sexting, or circulating suggestive . . . about a person” (“Cyber Bullying & Social Bullying” http://www.bullyingstatistics.org). It’s the parent’s duty to filter the internet. Based on this information, social media is not necessarily safe, anyone can become a victim

Nobody is immune to the harmful side effects social media including privacy invasion, cyberbullying, depression, anxiety, and lack of empathy. The negative risks involved with the extensive use of social media by youngsters are significantly serious than the few positive things they get out of using social media. Youngsters should be educated about negative consequences of social media so that they won’t get trapped by social media. Appropriate use of social media by youngsters is required to minimize the negative

As of 2016, suicide has replaced homicide as the second-leading cause of death among U.S. teenagers because of social media bullying. Social media has taken a significant toll on our society, one that affects millions of students around the globe. Every day, online platforms are gaining in popularity. So much that study now shows that the average person spends more time each day on their phone and computer than they do sleeping! While social media offers some benefits in regards to education and relationships, the risks of cyberbullying, social anxiety and identity theft far outweigh these advantages.

It’s no coincidence that a 16-year-old teenage girl, who thought she was meeting with her teenage pen pal, met with a 43-year old man and came up missing the next morning. It’s also no coincidence that a 13-year-old homosexual boy, who was constantly harassed with cruel messages online, hung himself last night. CNN reports that teenagers in the US spend approximately nine hours on social media a day. That’s over 250 total hours of average social media usage a month! Meanwhile, within the countless hours that the typical teenager spends online, it only takes one second for trouble to transpire. The large amount of time that teenagers spend online paired with the millions of users on major networks leave the door for social media abuse wide open.

Today, social media is used by almost all teens. There are so many unrealized negative effects of online apps that adolescents do not know about. In my paper, I wrote about how media can affect many parts of life. One of the quotes that helped demonstrate the great effect was written by Andrea McDaniels, “Studies have shown the around-the-clock world of social media takes a mental and emotional toll on some young people; it has been linked to increased anxiety, depression, and decreased relationship skills”. This showed the many different parts of life that can be impacted by onlinemedia. Overall, this research was inspiring to begin making change by bringing awareness to the numerous mental health risks associated with social media

Social media is another way of communication through technology. The social media trend is growing rapidly. It has become a daily routine for most people. Social media is affecting the world in many different ways. It was initially made to be a positive way of communicating, but over the years it has has a lot of negative impacts. One of the most known impacts is cyberbullying. Cyber Bullying is deliberately using digital media to communicate false, embarrassing, or hostile information about another person (Niemer 4). Although many adults experience this issue it is more common in teenagers. “For many teens, he explains, social media is not just a part of their life, it is their social world” (qtd. in Niemer 9). Studies show that 95 percent of ages between 12 and 17 have access to social media and 15 percent had experienced cyberbullying (Horn). These acts have caused depression in most teenagers. “In fact, a number of studies have found a connection between depression and social media victimization” (Miller 387). Some teenagers are afraid to stand up for themselves. The use of social media has caused an increase in fear.

Social media has negative effects on adolescents who overuse it. It is important as parents or guardians to remember to monitor how much kids use social media and when they use it. As a parent or guardian, you must remember that the disorders kids can get from overusing social media is real. Also remember that the internet isn’t always the safest place for our children. The use of social media can be damaging and it has no benefit. Keep control of your children’s use on social media to avoid these negative effects. The internet does interfere with daily

The 21st century is defined by its obsession and advancements in technology, the younger generation in particular. Technology plays as a key factor in most lives, social media especially. Among the most popular of social media are Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, all with the main purpose to share or view personal information and experiences, communicate with others and meet new people on social or professional grounds. There are several positives and negatives effects associated with social media, making it a topic of debate whether it is creating more good or harm for today’s society.

Despite the positives, there are many negatives associated with social media. Using social media can make a person more vulnerable to predators and cyber bullying. In this age, “Cyber bulling is quite common, can occur to any young person online, and can cause profound psychosocial outcomes including depression, anxiety, severe isolation, and tragically suicide” (“American Academy of Pediatrics”). Cyber bullying impacts society in a negative way because it is harming young teenagers’ minds. Bullies, torment, threat, harass, and even embarrass their victims by using different forms of social media. Using social media can also decrease privacy for an individual. People often give out their personal information not knowing who can see it. To average internet users, “A false sense of security may leave social networking site users vulnerable to security attacks such as hacking, leaking sensitive information, and sending viruses” (“ProCon”). Furthermore, Social media can also lead to brain disorders and can cause people to have a hard time interacting with people face to face. “Social networking entices people to spend more time online and less time talking to a person face to face.” (“ProCon”)