Could You Become A Mean Me?

The article, “What Adolescents Miss When We Let Them Grow up in Cyberspace,” written by Brent Staples discusses negative influences that internet has toward teens. The author elaborates that teens are far more comfortable with online conversations. Social Media has high expectations to how a teen should act or look. Media emotionally scars teens, demanding them to have clear skin and skinny body. The more people that are connected to their phones, higher the chance of losing relationships. The internet has left many teens with unreal social skills. Real life experiences such as law, teens are not knowledgeable. Teenagers miss out on life experiences that can help them grow into adulthood.

One of the many negative points in this article is that there has been a decline in teenagers’ social abilities in the recent generations. In the article it says, “The number of teens who get together with their friends nearly every day dropped by more than forty percent from 2000 to 2015 and the decline has continued to become steeper” (Twenge). After reading this article I realized the difference in the amount of times I hung out with my friends in high school than I did in middle school. Middle school was around the time I got my first smartphone and not many people had one, so I wasn’t constantly on it and neither was anyone else. We also couldn’t even bring our phones to school if we had them; this forced us to communicate in class and during passing period, instead of having our faces glued to our phones. Since we were always talking face to face, it was easy to have many

Older generations don’t realize how much technology has affected this generation of teenagers, along with the social media that comes along with the technology. As stated in “How Social Media Changed Teens’ Lives Forever”; “Negative posts or comments also can do great damage to a teen’s self-esteem.” (Ashley Black, Thomas Atseff and Colleen Kaveney) While many parents think social media is just a way to connect with others, many teenagers take it for granted. For example, “quitting social media because it made her miserable and obsessed with appearing perfect online”, is what a teenager felt about social media and what it has done to her. Though many think that social media is a great way to connect, teenagers take it to another level.

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.

Social media has been known to help students develop important knowledge and social skills. “At first glance this may seem like a waste of time; however it also helps students to develop important knowledge and social skills, and be active citizens who create and share content.” (Chen 3). The more time teens spend on social media the more they become aware of their own social side and how to interact with others, especially their peers. “Some types of social media has beneficial effects, like helping adolescents establish some sense of identity and build networking skills” (Riley Davis). Too much time being spent on social media can also exploit teens to some harsh realities that they’ve probably never experienced in their lives before.

Social media might be destroying the American youth of today. Social media are several websites and applications created so people may commutate, collaborate, or share information through social networking. Enough though social media sounds great, there are big issues such as, cyber bullying, lower grades, and wasting an incredible amount of time. These are things we should all be cautious about when we allow younger folks enter the world of social media.

Over 94% of American teenagers claim to access social media daily, today teenagers and social media tend to be the butt in everybody’s joke, but what are the effects of social media? Bethany Mota is a 21-year-old women who has been able to start her own fashion line at the age of 17 because of social media. Amanda Todd was just 16 when she decided to end her life, due to the fact that she was persecuted relentlessly on social media sites. Many young people get bullied or harassed through social media daily, while others are given amazing opportunities to express themselves and connect with others with the same passions as them. So, what is the impact of teenage participation in social media?

Although others may say that the use of media leaves teens in their rooms for hours and in the end makes antisocial, it is proven to create a chance for a new friendship. Many people also may say that teens could post something that they will later regret, or that they will encounter a cyber bully or perhaps be hunted by an online predator. Teens are more likely to show how responsible they are with their use of social

The internet is one of the world’s most influential platforms. Since the creation of the internet, social media and media itself have made their way into being more and more prominent in the lives of humans, especially in the lives of our youth. According to an article in The Washington Post, “Teens spend nearly nine hours a day consuming media” (Teens Spend Nearly 9 Hours a Day Consuming Media). , which means it is where most of their time is being spent, whether that is in school, at work, or, at home. Although there are many great things that are learned and shared on the internet through all types of media, there are many negative factors shared as well that are just as impactful.

Teens usually felt more comfortable to talk to someone when it is not face to face. In another article on technology it says, "This technology also provides opportunities to make rewarding social connections for those teens and those barely younger who have difficulty developing friendships in traditional social settings or because of limited contact with same-aged peers"(2). Accordingly this shows, that teens are more likely to communicate with a digital device than by any other

Although cell phones unify the online world, they cause teens to be distracted and unable to focus on what’s going on around them. Teens are attached to their phones, they never leave their sides and are constantly being checked for new notifications. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat keeps teens involved in the online world. Teens are interested in what’s going on around them and want to stay informed. Cell phone have a way of connecting today’s youth but have become extremely distracting. This attachment is causing teens to suffer without knowing. The daily lives of today’s youth are being interfered due to the constant use of cell phones.

She explains that social media causes positive impacts on teens. Knorr points out several advantages of how social media can increase a teenager’s confidence or general well-being, such as allowing them to express their individuality. Teenagers have a desire to express their talents or uniqueness out to the world, but often don’t know how to. Social media allows self-expression. Another advantage Knorr points out is that social media gives a teenager a sense of belonging. A study by the Griffith University said that despite American teens having fewer friends than the past decades, they still feel less isolated or alone than teen in the past, due to the increase in the usage of social media. Caroline Knorr is an experienced Digital Editor, credit analyst, and writer at Common Sense Media, a non-profit organization that gives independent reviews and information on technology and promotes safe media for teenagers and kids. Caroline Knorr has had over 20 years of experience over editorial and creative marketing writing. Because of Caroline Knorr’s experience and insightful knowledge over media and technology, she is highly credible to be writing about this specific topic. This article that Caroline Knorr made, was written for The Washington Post, a credible newspaper

Social media is causing teenagers to be negatively influenced. This is an issue, because teenagers are extremely impressionable and social media is negatively impacting their lives each day whether they are conscious of this or not. One anonymous author who wrote the article, “Teen’s Use of Social Media: Positive or Negative?” states, “90 percent of teens have used social media” (Teens’ Use of Social Media). In this statement, it is clear that a large majority of teenagers have already been exposed to some type of social media. Since teenagers learn from direct observation and experience, it is a huge problem when they witness things on social media that concern sexist, racist, or homophobic content. Many teenagers even say that they have an addiction to social media. Teens who have had bad experiences online or who do not use social media on a regular basis said that they have a stronger urge to stay away from the internet. Even though there are many negatives to social media there are some positives as well. NickMcGillivray who is affiliated with the website, TurboFuture wrote the article, “What Are the Effects of Social Media on Youth.” In his article, he states, “There are many positive aspects, but there are equally as many dangers that come with the use of sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Google +, Tumblr, Instagram, gaming sites, and blogs” (McGillivray). In this statement, he makes it clear, that social media has both positives and negatives. One positive of social media that impacts teenager’s lives would be, how they are able to communicate with their teachers and other classmates at any time. This makes it easier for

Studies have shown that the average person now spends more time each day on their phone and computer than they do sleeping according to Nick McGillivray (“What are the Effects of Social Media on Youth?). Social has become part of our social society, especially for the many youths. There are positives to being on social media and also equal amounts of danger that come with using social networking sites, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. These social networking sites also have effects on today’s youth by altering the way they behave, the way they learn, in not only a classroom setting but also in the real world setting, and the way that they socialize with their peers and others.

Every day, a story runs in the news media that relates to teenagers and the internet or social networking or digital media. There are many stories –one of them for example- about sexual predators tracking down teen users through social networking site, or tons of stories about personal disclosure. Whatever, there no many stories explained about young people using new digital media for good.