Popular Culture: The Role Of Networked Publics In Teenage Social Life

With social media growing and growing into a mass of accounts and profiles and different groups of people and clubs and websites and other things, what adolescents do on social media is something that many parents worry about. Not every parent is at ease with the fact that their child/teenager is out in open water; one young human being surrounded by millions of other human beings who are younger, the same age, or older than them. The article “Teenage social media butterflies may not be such a bad idea” takes a look at teenagers ' use of social media. Social media is a very important tool, allowing people to connect or continue their relationships without

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.

"Social Butterflies: How Social Media Changed Teens' Lives Forever." Chicago Tribune, 26 Feb, 2016, pp. 8, SIRS Issues Researcher, https://sks.sirs.com.

Social networking is the mainstream way to communicate with anyone. Teenagers are obsessed with social networking, no one calls each other unless it’s extreme circumstances or their mother. Sharing pictures, sharing life stories, and sharing opinions online has been the way of life and the norm for kids growing up with computers and smart phones. The parents to this generation have not grown up in the same environment and have different standards for online activity. In the Article “ 10 Reasons Why I Avoid Social Networking Services” written by Alan Norton, he lists why he does not use social networking services. His personal beliefs are backed up with statistics and hold true to many people in his generation but not in the younger ones.

In her book It’s complicated Dana Boyd explores adolescents’ usage of social media. Her book covers seven different facets of social media usage. Those being: Identity, bullying, privacy, addiction, danger, inequality, literacy, and being public. Boyd uses countless personal interviews with teenagers varying in age but primarily teens ranging from ages 13-17. Her main objective throughout the novel is to empathize with today’s youth to better understand how and why they use social media. She believes that a lack of understanding by older generations is what leads to the negative stigma around the younger generation and it’s social media usage. Throughout the book you can find thematic elements of power, social norms, and race. Boyd believes the teen network phenomenon is not a completely new concept but one that is a deviation from past events.

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 Nowadays it is very unlikely to find a teenager that does not use social media. Social media is a way for young adults to keep in touch with their peers. Many teendagers do not use social media to harm their well-being, but some risky kids might.

Teenagers and Social Networking - Is it good for them? Many teenagers are entering the world of social networking, and while many parents see this as a threat, I see it as being a useful tool for teenagers. In Thompson's "Teenagers and Social Networking", he argues how many adults only see the dark side of social media, and that while parents should be cautious, they should also look at the bright side of social media. This is what Clive Thompson tries to prove in his essay, and in my opinion, Clive does an excellent job proving his thesis and supporting his facts. He structures his points effectively in a way to counteract the myths and lies concerning social media as well as stating his own reasons afterwards on why he believes social media is good for teenagers.

Denoir, (2011). The role of networked publics in teenage social life. Boyd Denior. Retrieved from April 2011. https://www.rd.com/health/wellness/negative-effects-of-social-media/

Various individuals long for a time when technology did not take over the world. For teenagers, it is difficult to imagine a life without the World Wide Web and its countless perks at their fingertips. Social media consumes young lives more than any other form of technological advancement. Social media has a few pros, but also its fair share of cons.

In modern communication, there are various types of culture. The most widely known of these types is pop culture. Pop Culture in short, is every meme, perspective, image and phenomena that are within the mainstream of a culture which has created an active audience. This active audience has a role in pop culture as to how it creates and defines music, movies and race in popular culture.

American culture has evolved so much in the last 40 years, it is amazing. So many things that are acceptable now, would have never been considered in the past. I will be discussing the social trend of using my space on the internet to create friendships and more serious relationships, the newest political trend of a women name Sarah Palin with a very controversial pasts running for vice president, the personal trends of drug use among young people, and last the religious trend sexual abuse cases in the roman catholic church.

At any given time of day, anyone can access an abundant amount of information at the click of a button. Men, women, kids, teenagers, adults and even the elderly are learning how to use the internet to their advantage. Among all the benefits the internet has provided to us, online communication has proven to be the most beneficial. Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace have made it easy for everyone to stay in contact with each other. Regardless of how far apart a family member or friend is, everyone is just one click away. If someone is not having a good day, they can share their feelings with everyone in a matter of seconds. These social networking sites have become quite popular among adolescents. They allow teens to stay more connected with their friends outside of school. Now teens have become more obsessed with their friends Facebook or Twitter status than engaging in outdoor activities like football or

Social media sites allow millions of people to interact with friends,family and anyone around the world. A large portion of social media users are teenagers; researchers and parents both believe that social media is having a multitude of possible effects on teenagers. This literature review will analyze research of the positive and negative effects social media are having on today’s impressionable youth. Much of the research focuses on the age range of 10-16 from well-to-do families and college students. Understanding the online environment that teenagers live in can help parents relate to their children and teach then about the dangers and benefits of being on the Internet.