What Is The Influence Of Social Media On Teenagers?

Addiction doesn’t only come from drugs and cigarettes, but also social media. When teens start using social media too much it can get as addictive as drugs and cigarettes.This is disturbing because of past studies drugs and cigarettes are one of the hardest things to give up, once you start. “Teens who get hooked on such forms of social media find it hard to spend too much time away from them.Their schoolwork can suffer as a result. So can their personal relationships and their moods,” states Source 1. One can see from this that social media has caused stress among teens by getting them to attach to their social media profiles that they lose touch with reality.

Social media is the way teens network. It includes applications such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram where individuals can connect, share photographs, and like others posts or images. These applications can be accessed through electronic devices such as iPads, phones, computers, etc. It is known to educate, engage, and impact individuals and their environment. The most well-known theory is that an individual can control what he/she sees, considers, or feels about a topic. To some degree this is valid. Nevertheless, does teenagers know that social media influence them in some way? Social networking is harming to a teens growth as it boosts their online identities, separates them from the universe of social connection, occupies their attention from television, and it also affects relationships. The 21st century has seen the internet change into a device that has made communication less severe and handier. This change occurred rapidly with thoughts of social networks that would allow the association of individuals in various nations. Teenagers, being the principle players of the online networks, has been caught *up in the blend of social networking as they have developed into a period where innovation has reformed the way individuals approach their day by day routines. However, because of the extreme measure of time spent on these sites, they are left to result in pessimistic consequences for their advancement.

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?

As of 2016, suicide has replaced homicide as the second-leading cause of death among U.S. teenagers because of social media bullying. Social media has taken a significant toll on our society, one that affects millions of students around the globe. Every day, online platforms are gaining in popularity. So much that study now shows that the average person spends more time each day on their phone and computer than they do sleeping! While social media offers some benefits in regards to education and relationships, the risks of cyberbullying, social anxiety and identity theft far outweigh these advantages.

Social media is another way of communication through technology. The social media trend is growing rapidly. It has become a daily routine for most people. Social media is affecting the world in many different ways. It was initially made to be a positive way of communicating, but over the years it has has a lot of negative impacts. One of the most known impacts is cyberbullying. Cyber Bullying is deliberately using digital media to communicate false, embarrassing, or hostile information about another person (Niemer 4). Although many adults experience this issue it is more common in teenagers. “For many teens, he explains, social media is not just a part of their life, it is their social world” (qtd. in Niemer 9). Studies show that 95 percent of ages between 12 and 17 have access to social media and 15 percent had experienced cyberbullying (Horn). These acts have caused depression in most teenagers. “In fact, a number of studies have found a connection between depression and social media victimization” (Miller 387). Some teenagers are afraid to stand up for themselves. The use of social media has caused an increase in fear.

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.

Many sources show there has been a significant increase in the use of social media by adolescents. According to Ward (2005), the amount of time that adolescents spend on social media averages 8 hours per day. This represents an increase in online social networking which has had dramatic effects on the interaction and communication among youth (Pantic, 2014). This excessive exposure has also been shown to have multiple negative outcomes regarding general development in adolescents. In fact, research from 2015 shows that in addition to these effects, excessive social networking also causes issues with loneliness, lack of sleep, and lack of proper nutrition and physical fitness (Cyr, Berman, & Smith, 2015). Three especially harmful effects include social anxiety, depression and self-esteem.

A study conducted by the Pew Research Center in which they discuss teens and their acts on social media, they state that, “…95% of all teens ages 12-17 are now online and 80% of those online teens are users of social media sites” (Pew Research Center). With there being over seven billion people in the world, just think about how many teenagers there are. Information from these teens is being transferred all over the world through multiple forms of social media including: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google+, Snapchat, Pinterest, and hundreds more. When you use social media, you are using, “forms of electronic communication through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content” (Merriam Webster). Social media can be a good thing, but there seems to be more of a bad influence than good when it comes to teenagers and their social media use.

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,

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.

Social media has gone from a great way to stay connected with friends to an obsession that has caused anxiety and depression amongst teenagers. “Researchers have found evidence that people who overuse technology may develop similar brain chemistry and neural patterning to those who are addicted to substances” (FCD Prevention Works). A solution would be setting boundaries on your phone. One should take periodical breaks, turn off notifications, establish phone free zones, set aside certain times to check your phone, have a phone fast, and engage in real human contact. Teenagers’ dependency on social media has caused teens to lose touch with the world going on behind their phones and laptops. This dependency social media has caused social anxiety, depression and an unhealthy need for social media.

With the creation of computers, cell phones and other handheld devices, we have benefited from the information that can be accessed nearly anywhere. Some from as old as teens to young adults have been empowered by the ways to express themselves and interact with one another in the digital realm. Whether it be through social media, video games, or a forum for their favorite comic or character, one can talk about anything on the web. However, the way we interact with technology can also hurt us by distracting us from the real world. Despite its usefulness in today 's society, technology can cause for us to be distracted and form various bad habits.

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.