Pre-Teens, Teenagers and Social Media

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are commonly used among the younger generations, but can the excessive use of these apps cause mayhem? According to a new study conducted by the Family Technology Education Non-Profit Group, teenagers are spending nearly 9 hours a day on social media. The excessive use of social media is a bad influence on adolescents because of the negative impacts it has. Social media can cause direct impacts to the mental health, safety, and lives of its users. Teenagers need to ensure that they are being cautious and responsible while using different social media networks.

With the widespread presence of teen suicides, parents can 't help but wonder and worry, but they never find out where the child’s depression came of. A review of data collected between 2004 and 2010 via survey studies indicated that “lifetime cyberbullying victimization rates ranged from 20.8% to 40.6% and offending rates ranged from 11.5% to 20.1%” (PubMed Central) There are several specific ways that social media can increase the risk for the suicidal behavior. Cyber bullying and cyber harassment are serious and prevalent problems, as “approximately 2000 middle school children that indicated that victims of cyberbullying were almost two times as likely to attempt suicide than those who were not” (PubMed Central). Although cyberbullying cannot be identified as the only factor for suicide between teenagers, it increases the risk by intensifying feelings of isolation, instability, and hopelessness. According to the recent study, “approximately 43% of the students report experiencing cyberbullying during their lifetime, and 15% of students admitted to cyberbullying others during their lifetime” (Patchin, 2015). There are even more statistics showing how cyber bullies affect teenagers’ emotion and push them to self-destruction. Nowadays, social media has created virtual

About 80 percent of teens use a cell phone regularly, which makes it the most popular form of technology. Between 1990 and 2004 suicide rates decreased 28.5% among young people, but upward trends were found in the 10-19 year old age group. It is said that only 1 in 10 teens tell their parent if they have been cyberbullied (Hinduja & Patchin, 2010). Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are the most used social media, cyberbullying is very common on all of these social media platforms. Most cyberbullies have said that they they cyberbullied someone just to get back at them or because the victim deserved it. Many people think cyberbullying is a serious issue, 68% of teens agree that cyberbullying is a serious problem that needs to be

Some may shrug off the fact that so many kids are being bullied, that they don’t realized that some of those bully victims are committing suicide. “ Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year, according to the CDC. For every suicide among young people, there are at least 100 suicide attempts. Over 14 percent of high school students have considered suicide, and almost 7 percent have attempted it.” This was found in the article “Bullying and Suicide” This proves that bullying is becoming a bigger and bigger problem every year.

Teens are at more risk today because of social media then in the last 5,000 years of human existence. In the 1990’s the popularity of the internet changed the way people received information. Before social media teens developed their relationships by playing with each other on playgrounds, at the park, or in the neighborhood. With the expansion of social media teens soon became addicted to using various applications and websites. Technology is advancing so quickly that the dangers of social media are unpredictable. The growth of social media for teens is harmful because it is threatening teens well-being.

Despite the fact that cyberbullying occurs in the virtual world, the emotional and behavioral consequences, such as anger, sadness, frustration, fear, low school commitment, substance use, and delinquency, affect students in a very real way. A survey of 1,913 middle school students found that victims of cyberbullying were 1.9 times more likely and perpetrators of cyberbullying were 1.5 times more likely to have attempted suicide compared to other students in the study. Some of the students in the study reported high levels of emotional distress, including frustration, sadness, and anger. Additionally, the article goes on to reveal exposure to cyberbullying increases the risk of delinquent behavior.

If a child is on social media bullying can follow them everywhere, they get picked on in school, then go home and read it on the internet. Because of bullying, it is stated in the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance: 2013 report, an average across 39 states survey, 7.2 percent of students miss school because of personal safety concerns. Around 28 percent of kids 12 through 18 say they have been bullied at school, according to the Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2013 report. While bullying has been around forever, cyberbullying has been on the rise in the last decade. According to a report by the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance, from the Centers for Disease Control, 14.8 percent of student’s report being cyberbullied, by e-mail, chat rooms, instant messengers, websites, and texting. In the 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey 16 percent of high school students were electronically bullied in the past year.

The first social media site that was actively used, Myspace, was created in 2003. In the upcoming years after this, numerous social media sites were created, such as, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The effects of social media on people have been researched for several years. Two authors, Shirley Lee and Eva Wiseman, have similar and different views on social media. Using their views and persuasive methods, they wrote an article on the outcomes of social media. The conclusion of social media, from both authors, is that it can be useful in everyday life, damaging to teens mental health, and cause lingering effects.

In a time where almost everyone owns a smartphone, social media and technology have evolved into a crucial part of daily life. Most people engage with social media without stopping to think what the effects are on our lives, whether positive or negative. Are we as a society becoming more concerned with Instagram "followers" than we are with the people we interact with face-to-face in our daily lives? It is worth researching the impact it has on our lives for both users and nonusers. According to a report by Common Sense Media, 75 percent of teenagers in America currently have profiles on social networking sites. There are positive aspects, but there are equally as many dangers that come with the use of sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Tumblr, Instagram, gaming sites, and blogs. The impact social networking sites have, range from politics to mental health. Although it has advantages and drawbacks, it is up to each user to use social sites in moderation with right intentions and exercise caution to online dangers; users decide what impact they want to make.

Author Dr. Gwenn O’Keeffe, CEO and editor of in-chief of Pediatrics Now, “Social media sites are mostly good. They’re where kids socialize and where they connect together today,” (Media has Good). This foremore proves my point that social media and technology can be good as long as it used in the correct way. Because, of course there are always negatives and positive ways of everything, it really just depends on the user.

Social media has proven to enhance children and adolescents communication and social skills. It enlarges their network or friends and other people who share similar interests. This is done through playing video games online with others, interaction with family, relatives, friends and classmates throughout the day and night irrespective of the territorial or global divide is also enhanced by the use of social media such as Facebook and MySpace. The increased use of mobile phones, tablets and laptops and the readily available access to the Internet promotes access to social media in the shortest time possible. These children and adolescents spend a lot of time on the media which would

Cyberbullying is not the only form of bullying there are a handful of different ways children and teens are being bullied. There's your typical face-to-face bullying, such as physical, social, and verbal, and cyber. Physical bullying would include hitting, punching, kicking, tripping, and property damage. Social is bullying that is done behind the victims back in order to ruin their social life. Verbal would include, anything that is hurtful to an individual using words. Such as name-calling, racist remarks, insults, teasing, and or intimidation. Lastly, as stated above cyber bulling is done with the use of technology. It can happen at anytime and anywhere such as at home, at school, at the playground, etc. The uses of hurtful things are said through text message, email, social media, etc. Cyberbullying can also include humiliating information such as videos and or pictures on a social media website or text messages.

The increased use of technology by teens in high schools has caused an increase in cyber bullying and suicide. A study by The Oregonian shows that 12 out of 17 teens have phones which means nearly 80 percent have the capability and access to platforms to bully other people (Hammond). Bullying is something that everyone knows when they see it. Many people have witnessed cyberbullying first hand or have witnessed or heard of it. Bullying is intended to hurt, harm, or disturb the victim. They way cyberbullying can happen is because of an imbalance of power, a person with lots power can normally send harm to someone with little power (Hogan).

Cyberbullying bullying isn't always in person now that we have the internet many people are affected by cyberbullying. And it is not a good thing because bullies on social media can hide and harass

Social media is a huge part of today's society. Recently social media sites have had huge effects on teenagers. Teens are constantly using social media for many hours at a time during the game. Teens are not just using social networking sites at home it is also at school and anywhere else they go they have it with them 24/7. It has becomes normal to use it every day and people don't see the harmful effects that it causes the youth. Social media is detrimental to teenagers because it causes distractions, produces anxiety, and alters self-esteem.