The Effects 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.

Among adolescents aged 12 to 17 years, 9.8 % are estimated to be current users of illicit drugs, with 4.9 % using drugs other than marijuana. Nearly three quarters of students have started to drink alcohol and nearly half (47%) have tried using an illicit drug (not including alcohol or tobacco) by the senior year of high school.” (Hassan, Harris, Sherritt, Van Hook, & Brooks, 2009)

Teenage drug abuse and social media Even though the majority of parents may not appreciate the impact that social media platforms can have on their children's willingness to consume alcohol, use tobacco and use drugs, the majority of teens are influenced by social networking websites.

Nauert attributes friends’ social media to risky or bad teenage behavior. Teenagers are influenced to drink and to smoke by seeing other friends’ party pictures on social media. Social media is a strong weapon for teenagers to start doing risky things.

“We summarize what is known about the media’s effect on four adolescent health issues that have been studied most comprehensively: violence and aggression; sex; obesity, nutrition, and eating disorders; and alcohol and tobacco use. A number of approaches that have potential for helping turn the media into more positive forces for adolescents’ health are discussed” positivity through social media has increased that efforts have been put into place to fight off the negativity.

Social media corrupts the mental health of teens in high school by causing an addiction,

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

About how many kids currently have cell phones? Some people believe that kids don't need a cell phone. Others think that kids do need a cellphone. The use of cell phones by adolescents poses many challenges and benefits.

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.

This paper examines the affect social media has on adolescents, ranging from ages 12-18. It is argued that social media has both positive and negative influences on todays youth. The aspect of social media being researched would involve how social media is being utilized. Through the research of academic resources, statistics will reveal whether or no social media truly affects adolescents in a positive or negative way.

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.

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.

Everyone knows that teens love going on social networking sites such as Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, or Instagram, but what some don’t know is that these sites can actually cause harm to them. Social media has been around since 1997, about 20 years. Social media is intended to help people stay caught up with their friends, and family, and also with what’s going on in the world today. Social media, however, is causing negative effects on today’s teens, such as, causing anxiety and depression, lowering self-esteem, and also affecting their brain development.

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.