Effects Of Social Media On Teenagers

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.

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.

When scrolling through your Instagram feed or watching Snapchat stories of classmates and friends, it can be very difficult and sometimes impossible to not feel jealous or discouraged. These days, teens post nearly every aspect of their lives on social media. You see everything from what someone ate for breakfast, what workout they did that day, to what cute new outfit they have on for their fancy family dinner that night. A wide range of pressures arises with social media usage. Teens feel they always need to be available, many gain reassurance from likes and shares, and they are faced with the struggle of keeping up with the constant image of a “perfect life”. This is very dangerous because many teens are experiencing discomfort in their own skin when they compare themselves to others. It is difficult not to judge yourself and others when you are constantly viewing what your classmates, friends, and celebrities are doing. When interviewing a friend, Brayden Xilas who has been personally impacted by social media, she said “There has become an unspoken competition for teens to prove they have the best life through social media”. Friends and classmates are constantly trying to “one up” each other which causes a lot of stress for people to always be doing something worthy of sharing on 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?

The topic I chose for my research paper focuses on Social Media Marketing. Social Media is the biggest form of communication now a days. It hasn’t only changed the way people interact with each other, but also the way companies communicate. “What are companies doing to teenagers through technology?” Additionally, technology has become part of our everyday life and how we do things. Not only has social media made things easier for numerous people, but it has brought money to many hands.

Furthermore, from a 2010 nationwide survey of more than 1000 girls aged 14-17 conducted by Girl Scouts of America, girls with low self esteem admitted that their online image did not match their real image and were more likely to claim that they portrayed it as ‘sexy’ (Muscari). Therefore, online social networking use should be monitored primarily on the creation of user identities to prevent teenagers from developing exaggerated identities which do not match who they really are.

Social media is destroying the way teens think, believe, socialize, and even their self-esteem. Teen depression has been increasing rapidly over the last 6 years and social media is the main cause of this. Depression among today’s teens are outrageous and most are even starting to commit suicide or self-harm daily. Being yourself is important and if they can’t be themselves than who exactly are they when they’re on these social media accounts. Suicide shouldn’t be a thought of anyone but really shouldn’t be one for a teen who has so much to look forward too. Depression is real but it going to come to end and I’ll find my own way to make it happen even if I must do it alone. Losing friends, family member, and even classmates over stupid things like someone not liking their picture is crazy. Embrace yourself who cares what those people behind a screen have to say.

Social networking has had a big impact on the social lives of teenagers. With the social networking platform, they are able to talk to each other, upload pictures, and be constantly bombarded with the breaking news of the day, but there are also negative consequences of having this type of network at their fingertips. Examples of these negatives would be cyber-bullying, identity theft, and viruses and malware. I believe that overall, despite all the negatives that may come with it, social networking vastly improves teenagers lives.

Social media seems like an opportunity to reach out to more people, but how does it really influence the lives of youth, specifically teenagers? Social media sites open up a door to new people, places, and advertisements. This content does not always show innocent material, and these people do not always provide an appropriate message. It is reasonable, therefore, to question whether social media's "social" aspect is worth the damages it may cause. Certainly, social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc., have made it easier to communicate, but these sites can have a negative impact on youth culture by increasing exposure to harmful content, limiting verbal interaction, and subjecting them to cyber bullying and peer pressure.

Teens spend hours and hours of their day on social media. Studies show that an average teen spends roughly about 27 hours a week on the internet. A majority of people today use at least one form of social media; it has it’s positives, there are lots of things good about social media- sharing photos and videos with your friends, getting to talk with people you know, seeing what other people are doing. Then there is the questions, is social media is putting too much pressure on society? Does social media ruin our connection/relationship with people offline? Do people feel like they need to change to fit in with what they see online?

With the economy the way it is today, most parents have to work. So how do we protect our teens when it comes to social media? They use text, snapchat, and an array of apps that can cause a plethora of issues. Teenagers do not always make the best choices when they use social media, which often puts them in unsavory positions with the individuals that they have shared with. The encounter everything from bullying to suicide because technology has invaded every part of their lives. Instead of the bullies being at school they are now in the homes of vulnerable kids. It’s time for parents to take a stand, educate, and hope that we can get through to these kids so that we can stop the damage that is being caused.

When you were a teenager, did social media impact your life? If not, it certainly has had an impact on the teenagers of America today. Social media has been around for a long time. There are many applications for social media, some of which are Twitter, MySpace, and Facebook. With the rapid evolution of social media, people believe that social media is impacting teenagers in a negative way. However, some believe that there are positive effects. The negative effects of social media on teenagers include poor student performance, lack of sleep, and increased vulnerability. However, before any of these arguments can be talked about, it is important that people know the history of social media.

Which of the following has the most negative effects on teens, Facebook, Twitter or Snapchat? Each social site has its own amount of negative effects on teens. Today there are teens doing things they have never done before. One reason, why this is happening is because of social media and its negative effects. Teens are starting to harm themselves and others because of what they are seeing on social media. There are different challenges on social media that teens can try, but the results never come out the same. For instance, the “Chubby Bunny Challenge” is one which can cause choking, “The Condom Snorting Challenge” which can lead condoms getting stuck in teens wind pipes, and the “Kylie Jenner Challenge” which can lead to cut lips. It is not only these challenges that are problematic, social media effects teens in other ways as well such as, cyberbullying, cat phishing, destroying relationships, suicide and sexting is also involved with teens and social media.

In the past decade, the development of vast social media networks has improved our communications and interactions. These networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, are essential to how information is shared and criticized. The Social Media Handbook defines social media as “networked information services designed to support in-depth interaction, community formation, collaborative opportunities and collaborative work” (Hunsinger, 2014 p.1). Having an account or profile on these sites is more than a social norm; it is a requirement to staying involved in our world. Being present on social media is a must for our youth to keep up-to-date with daily events and the lives of their peers. However, social media networks are negatively influencing younger generations by impacting their relationships, causing stress and dysfunction. They damage how youth view themselves, perceptions which are detrimental to self-esteem and mental health. Today’s youth take advantage of what social media offers but suffer the impact from its misuse.

Some of the top benefits of social media over the years are that it is free to anyone, the content can get out to resources virtually immediately, and it can be delivered to a wide variety of people. For these reasons, communication through social media has become an extremely accessible and convenient way to communicate. It is also popular for those who need to be in contact with others. One example that comes to mind is a teenager who goes away on a trip to visit a friend or family. They can be hundreds of miles away but still talk to their parents as if they weren’t. Another example is a person who is shy and has a hard time making friends face-to-face, social media sites are a great way to meet people and build relationships.