Teens Affected By Social Media

In final analysis, social media is increasing day by day for young people which can later cause negative outcomes. Social networks will continue to be harmful, unless parents be aware of how much social media is used among their young kids. If there are no regulations or limitations on social networking the repercussion will accumulate. Young people need to know that social media can affect their lives in many negative ways when being stuck on their media too much. Social networks is not a necessity

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.

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.

Fitting in takes a major part in the negative effects of social media. Teens struggle everyday with the fact that they want to or need to “fit in” with the “perfect people”. A Teen said “I want to be a person everyone looks at” (Ring 2). Teens are encouraging other teens to become unhealthy (Yadegaran 1). 62,000 students in 36 high schools are being talked to about fitting in (Rosen 3). All teens are striving for is to fit in and feel comfortable in their own skin. Young girls know it's wrong to try and fit in but they do it anyway (Yadegaran). Women are bombarded with perfect images (Yadegaran). The sad part is teens are even turning to suicide to try and fit in. 5 to 8% of teens attempt suicide (Ring).

Modern media such as T.V., films, and social medias (mainly Tumblr) frequently advertise a parade of skinny models and actresses. These appearances, more often than not, make teenage girls self conscious about their weight and physical appearance. Anorexia is most common around females, especially women. “47% of girls in the 5th-12th grade reported wanting to see weight loss because of magazine pictures.” Success and worth are often associated with being thin and/or skinny. Peer pressure plays major roles in a teenager’s environment and peer pressure may help fuel the desire to be “perfect”, and to be perfect, you have to be thin.

Social Media has been a cause to many detrimental effects in teens and will continue on in the future. Models show off their “unattainable” body and flaunt it, surely causing envy in women that can’t get that body no matter how much they try. Media has its own way in showing what we could be, but what we're not seemingly mocking us. Teens will try and copy that image no matter how unhealthy or bad their choices are. The National Eating Disorder Association (2006) reported that in the past 70 years national rates of eating incidences of all eating disorders have dramatically increased across the board. This controversy erupted once everybody saw how "skinny" was admired and strived for it. Media has depicted the perfect woman to be someone

A Teenager’s life is not like it was for their parents. A generation ago, kids went out, hung out, did “stuff”. Now all they want to do is be in their rooms, on the computer or their phone, or both. Texting, sharing, gaming, liking, commenting constantly can’t prepare them for “real life”. This reliance on electronic devices can’t be good. How will they learn to relate to each other, to problem solve, to exist when the power goes out? The enormous amount of time spent online and plugged-in is harmful to a teenager’s development.

Visualize this: It is almost time to eat dinner, and the teenagers have not bothered to do their homework because they have been preoccupied with social media all afternoon. They are spending a majority of their time taking pictures and posting them for ‘likes’ to fit in with everyone else, or they are stalking other people’s posts and pictures, wondering why their lives are not as thrilling as the others’ lives appear. Worst of all, kids of all ages are committing suicide after being cyberbullied to the point that they cannot take it anymore. Picturing it now? Regrettably, that describes the scenery of how their generation is now – the effects of social media on young people are horrifying.

In this day and age, it is rare to come across someone who doesn’t own a smart phone,

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.

For Freshman Lyana Delgado at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, social media was key in establishing relationships with her neighbors before school started. By joining a Facebook group for residents of Bromley Hall, meeting her neighbors was not an uncomfortable or awkward task. (Rodriguez). This is just one of the many ways that social media sites, like Facebook, help guide face-to-face interaction and aide in creating relationships. Social media sites help teenagers meet people that have similar interests and experiences as them.Social media sites are not detrimental to teenagers because it allows teenagers to meet other likeminded people, and it makes young adults feel better about themselves.

Using social media websites has become one of the most common activity of today 's children and teenagers. A social media site is a website that enables social interaction. Some websites include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat, and YouTube. These sites present today 's youth with entertainment and communication which have increased greatly. Unfortunately, some people who use social media can apply it in a negative way. For this reason, it is necessary that parents begin to be knowledgeable of the essence of social media sites, considering that not all of the sites are appropriate for children or adolescents.

In modern life, social media is developing fast. It is used by many people all over the world. Social media is especially very popular among the young. However, there are many young people who cannot control themselves and are addicted to social media. Addiction to social media has many serious effects, including poor study habits, living away from reality and bad health.

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.