The Dangers Of Social Media

Social media itself is a huge danger to society. It causes many suicides within the world because of the cyberbullying and spreading of rumors. “Recent studies have shown that one out of four teens have been the victims of cyberbullying and one out of six have admitted to having cyberbullied someone” (Trautner 1). The internet and social media is supposed to be used to communicate with friends and for searching information, “Kids use technology different than their parents do. Sometimes it is hard for adults to understand that this can even be a possibility” (Trautner 1). It is not supposed to be used to bully someone, especially not to the point where the victim would think about suicide. “One of the statistics that has been highlighted within this news coverage is the threefold increase in the suicide rate for girls ages 10 to 14. The rates for girls in this age group increased from 0.5 to 1.5 per 100,000 during this time period. The increases for boys in this age group were not as high, climbing from 1.9 per 100,000 during 1999 to 2.6 per 100,000 in 2014” (Olsen

In the world of social media people from all over the world are able to connect. However, is this connection really good? Are strangers being able to view your every move ok? Why not social media? You as a social media user are in charge of what your audience is able to see, but at the age of 12 are you really capable of understanding this power and controlling it? Adolescents under the age of 18 should not be allowed to have a social media account, where they can encounter potentially dangerous and life threatening situations such as bullying, child molestation, and sex trafficking. The innocence and immaturity of a learning and growing child prevents them from understanding the potential online dangers they can encounter, such as

Her one sided article is a barrage on the emotions with the clever use of interesting statistics and past mistakes on social media, to inspire a change in the protection of young people on social media. She is not alone on feeling social media can be dangerous, Dr. Bruce Johnson agrees saying "…students and educators need to be aware of hidden dangers of social media” (Johnson Par 1).

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.

One simple post, comment, or share on the internet could ruin that adult or teen. It does not matter how long ago the incident was, or how serious it was meant, one poor decision on the internet and that person’s future in any category could be in jeopardy. The regret one may receive from what seemed to be a very simple and harmless act on the internet could be enormous. Whether one is planning on going to college, acquiring a job, or just simply living a stable life, never let the cause of social media

Recently more teenagers than ever have multiple social media accounts, and it’s not uncommon to see a group full of teens sitting together, glued to their phones, sitting in silence. The author of Hazards of Social Media, Brittany Tate, includes that studies have shown that this could be bad for both mental and physical health reasons. Teenagers that are hyperactive texters and excessive users of social media are more likely to try cigarettes, try alcohol, be binge drinkers, use illicit drugs, be in a physical fight, and have sex.

According to a study from the Pew Research Center, 92% of American teens go online to post, like, comment, tweet, and re-tweet at least a hundred photos a day. Preadolescents between the ages of 9-15 primarily use social media websites as a portal to communicate with past friends, find new ones, and to post about their day. However, the use of these sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube etc. can put young kids at risk of being bullied online, stalked by predators and pedophiles, and subjected to inappropriate pictures and videos. The truth is today youths lack the basic understanding of the dangers that lurk within social media, and therefore should not be allowed to use them until they can fully comprehend all the risks attached to using these sites.

In the offline world, communities are much more easily managed, and rules enforced. However, in the virtual world that is the internet, rules become arbitrary. It is scary how much we have incorporated social media into our lives, to the point we are almost dependent on it. While social networking sites may have started off as places where we could share thoughts with our peers and communicate with our family, they has since evolved into wild beasts. Privacy has become practically non-existent, security concerns are arising, people are becoming more isolated; these, among many others are the side effect of these so popular social networking sites. But what’s worse is most people can’t see the dangers associated with them, and even those who do are too afraid to be left out.

Despite the positives, there are many negatives associated with social media. Using social media can make a person more vulnerable to predators and cyber bullying. In this age, “Cyber bulling is quite common, can occur to any young person online, and can cause profound psychosocial outcomes including depression, anxiety, severe isolation, and tragically suicide” (“American Academy of Pediatrics”). Cyber bullying impacts society in a negative way because it is harming young teenagers’ minds. Bullies, torment, threat, harass, and even embarrass their victims by using different forms of social media. Using social media can also decrease privacy for an individual. People often give out their personal information not knowing who can see it. To average internet users, “A false sense of security may leave social networking site users vulnerable to security attacks such as hacking, leaking sensitive information, and sending viruses” (“ProCon”). Furthermore, Social media can also lead to brain disorders and can cause people to have a hard time interacting with people face to face. “Social networking entices people to spend more time online and less time talking to a person face to face.” (“ProCon”)

Social media has had a major influence on pop culture and the general public since its rise to a common platform. It is not unusual for a person to be active on more than one social media site from Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and others. As social media flourished and became what it is today, researchers and parents alike began to question the positive and negative attributes associated with social media altogether. Social media is a digital representation of ourselves and how we choose to market ourselves to the general public. Due to the accessibility of a large audience people are susceptible to cyber bullying, online stalking and threat of identity theft. These are evident downfalls of social media and things that a user’s are willingly expose to.

Social media has become to be such a big platform over the years. You use it to interact with family members that live far away, friends, or even complete strangers that you want to get to know. Social media is known to create conflicts interacting and showing complete strangers what is going on in your life on a daily basis and you not knowing their intentions. Social media even gives out false information can be news or just blogs just posting about what they have heard around or seen. Social media can take over a life with a touch of the button various ways, it is up to the person behind the screen to control it.

Social media is incredibly and increasingly prevalent within America’s modern culture. It is nearly impossible to avoid - television shows often depict characters using social media, large stores and little shops alike post signs with links to follow them on Instagram or Facebook, and even some churches are joining Instagram or Snapchat as a means to publicize their events. For my generation, while we can vaguely remember a time before technology and social media were so widespread, this is normal. For newer generations, imagining a time without the presence of dozens of social media platforms is difficult. Younger generations have had iPhones and iPads handed to them basically since birth, have grown up watching their parents and older siblings become more invested in their phones than in them, and have begun turning away from people and towards machines. Because children are growing up immersed in technology and social media, it can hardly be surprising that they turn to social media for approval and confirmation of their behaviors and lives in general. The dangers in this are youth feeling pressured to portray their lives dishonestly, becoming unknowingly addicted to social media, and fall victim to cyberbullying.

Social media can play a dangerous role in our lives by many ways like damaging friendships, bullying, losing respect from others, and can even affect your chances of getting a job and being accepted to college. As stated by Alan Finder from the assignment Social Networking Timed Write, “Many companies that recruit on college campuses have been using search engines like google and Yahoo to conduct background checks on seniors looking for their first job. But now, college career counselors and other experts say, some recruiters are looking applicants on social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and other media sites where college students often post risque’ or teasing photographs and provocative comments about drinking, recreational drug use and sexual exploits.” What Alan Finder is stating is that whatever you do on social media can have an a huge affect on being accepted to college. I must easily agree with Alan Finder since social media has been affecting many people’s lives in a bad way ever since everyone started using it.

As the years go by, the amount of users on social media is continuously increasing. People often think about the positive attributes that technology has brought us, however there are many negatives as well. As a result of excessively indulging in social media, adolescents face numerous problems in developing their brain. Although this problem is often ignored, it is very important for the public to be informed about the dangers of social media on their health. Due to an immoderate use of social media in children, they often have a constant distraction, have inferior sleeping habits, and have their brain’s “reward center” overly active.

There are dangers of online communication such as social networks where users can lie about who they are [4]“Megan thought she was being abused by 16-year-old Josh Evans, she was actually talking to Lori Drew, the 49-year-old mother of one of her former friends who, it is alleged, had set up a fake profile to taunt Megan.” in social networking sites it is very easy for people to