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

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.

One Click Away! The year is 2008, the smartphone is now becoming a common thing among the general population. With this new technology comes a new reasonability, people now can reach millions with the press of a button. This rapid delivery can be very treacherous if not cautious of the dangers when using them. Dana Fleming discuses the threat in her article “Youthful Indiscretions: Should College Protect Social Network User from Themselves and Others?”

Social media has led many benefits. For example, people are able to spread awareness about mental illness, connect with support groups, and expand searches for research participants. However, users of social media may unknowingly spread false information. Social media also has other drawbacks, which include decreases in-person interactions and increases in cyber-bullying. Children are now have the availability to access a vast amount of information through social media, but the responsibly of having a social media account may be beyond their developmental age abilities. Therefore, the vast increase and interest in social media may lead to researchers investigating human behaviors while noting differences among groups. Additionally, researchers will likely investigate how to assist parents in maintaining appropriate boundaries with social media while remaining safe. From a prevention viewpoint, educating parents and teachers about talking to children about proper use of the internet may be a practical

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.

How does one feel, when going online and talk to a random person through a social media? Does one feel invincible? Like, one has a voice? We all feel that one way or another, because what kind of harm can come to a person through a screen. As it turns out, there is a danger to social media and the online world. This is true, especially for the youths of today; it is also true for the adults as well. Though many know the dangers of Social Media, there are many kids that will still ignore it; which is why it is important to not only educate, but to also educate the parents about the steps they can take to ensure safety on the internet.

The world of social media can be a broad spectrum of various possibilities and a deep pool of the unknown. When diving into the world of social media you have to consider the fact that technology has become so advanced that people don’t even have to meet you in order to know who you are without even being present in your person lives. Nowadays you have all sorts of spyware which gives a predator the capability of invading your daily life. We will get more into the different types further along the way. Social media although can be exciting to those that are unaware of these dangers. To people like these; they are prone to damaging their devices and having their most sensitive information stolen. Information such as social security numbers, credit card information, utility billing, and so on. Many people become engulfed in this way of living which in turn makes their devices their lives in a sense. It makes people depended on their electronics, many people wouldn’t be able to survive or get around without a cellular device in today’s age. Many people turn to the world of social media to bring them up to date in on the hottest topics or trends, the latest news, or as a way to feel socially accepted. It kind makes it hard for people to actually socialize normally in person and tend to come out of their shells further when behind a computer screen. In my opinion it is sort of an outlet for most people who are afraid to be them actual selves or real

The world has changed dramatically since the creation of social media sites around the year 2000. Today, people communicate face to face or on the telephone less frequently. Fewer individuals obtained knowledge or information through books, newspapers, or television. With the creation of social media sites like Facebook, society has moved into the digital age where information and communication are just a quick click or search on our phones. Children born after 2000 will only know of a world with social media, a primary example being Facebook. One in seven people have a Facebook page and one of every four minutes on the internet is on Facebook. Left unchecked, Facebook can have grave consequences on a teenager’s physical, psychological, and social development and can lead to cyberbullying.

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”)

"I am thankful my childhood was filled with imagination and bruises from playing outside instead of apps and how many likes you get on a picture" (Anonymous). In the 21st century, everyone's lives revolve around the next message or notification received from various social networking websites. It has become a societal norm to be glued to a screen, and face to face conversations are starting to become extinct. This is becoming a global issue as the world is constantly creating new ways to entertain people via technology. Out of all dangers, children are the most at risk when it comes to social media. Social media is extremely problematic to people everywhere because of the constant threat of online bullies, decreased privacy, and sexual

Social Media is dangerous. Predators uses websites like social network, sexting, online gaming and chat rooms to harass and can lead to many dangerous situations. Many students send inappropriate pictures, videos of themselves to their friends and they send it to other friends. Anonymous people can see these pictures and send hurtful messages to teenagers. It could harm teenagers because students in school begins to call names and bully them which increases students to commit suicide.

Power is the goal of most users of the Internet, and they are persistent to make their opinions known on social media platforms. Our constant practice of opening our email, blogging, and utilizing the many social media sites has opened us up to the potential danger of being controlled. Interacting with the search engines that do not hold privacy as a priority, can give sensitive information to those who have less than honorable intentions in mind. Because we often need to collaborate on projects, we use WEB Sites that enable easily changeable text to get the message and our thoughts expressed. Sites such as Wikipedia can be used as an information data bank to create documents. These texts can easily be altered by other users to fit another topic. Although this site has dangerous and ethical flaws, there are some good to its existence. One advantage is that you can look at all the writing that was done previously and view how the writing had continued its development.

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.