The Harm Consequences Of Social Media And Its Effects On Teens

Social media is nothing, but a distracting, timewasting, nuisance to everyone surrounded by it, right? Wrong. Social media has changed the world as we know it. People can share information quickly, publish their thoughts, and exchange their ideas. Social media is becoming a certainty in this modern age, which is why it should be embraced rather than criticized. Although there is concern over potential for cyberbullying and lack of privacy, the use of social media is inevitable in teenagers’ lives, and necessary to the positive development of adolescents because it allows adolescents to gain confidence when interacting with others, it encourages users to create and maintain friendships, and it can facilitate learning while promoting educational growth.

We live in an era ruled by social media, primarily when it comes to teenagers, social media is used for everything. From communicating with family and friends to being used as a news outlet, and even advertisement for business and companies. This article is titled “Social Media: What's Not to Like,” written by Alison Pearce Stevens. The topic of this essay is the effect social media can have on teenagers. Social media, on one hand, can be used as a great way to share with the world and boost teens’ self-esteem. On the other hand, social media can be used as a place for bullying, body shaming and can cause depression or even suicide in teens.

Social Media Use is the use of Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. In 2017 around 81% of Americans use social media. In 2008 only 24% of Americans used social media, that is a 57% increase in less than 10 years. In this paper I’m going to talk about, teen use of social media, the long term effects of social media use, and the advantages and disadvantages of social media.

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.

Did you know social media can change you? Social media can cause problems with your health? In the article, “Student examines negative effects of social media on teens” by Aurelie Krakowsky and “The Upside of Selfies: Social media isn’t all that bad for kids” by Kelly Wallace talks about social media, but clearly it’s harmful to people. Social media is for people to enjoy on a daily basis and be updated on what is happening in the world; however it can be harmful to your health and even your education. It can lower kids self esteem and make them feel uncomfortable about themselves. It can also cause health issues and distant yourself from the people around you.

Melissa Healy, a reporter of the Los Angeles Times, in the article Teenage Social Media Butterflies May Not Be Such A Bad Idea, claims that kids who spend lots of time on social media are not the least well-adjusted, but psychologically healthiest. Healy supports her argument by demonstrating how social media is beneficial to a teen’s health. According to a three-year Digital Youth Project, when teengars use social media, it helps them develop important social skills such as communication, grappling with social norms, and developing technical skills. Psychology professor Kaveri Subrahmanyam describes that teens behave the same between offline relationships and online ones, so most teens will use the internet safely. The author’s purpose is

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.

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.

The use of social networking sites is rising at great rates. According to a report conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project in 2012, ninety-five percent of individuals aged 12-17 use the internet; and eighty-one percent of those use social network sites (Pew Interest). Although it is known that social media can have a useful impact on lives, often times people forget that with a positive comes a negative. The continual use of social network sites will impact teen lives more negatively than positively because they can cause huge distractions from valuable and critical pursuits like education; they can also cause mental health issues and a reduction in communication skills.

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?

73% of teenagers use what seems to be harmless, social media. Although it’s main function is to provide online communities for friends to interact on the internet, social media is a direct link to developing mental illnesses. Mental health is a very important issue, especially in the millennial generation, because it can impact a life drastically. Mental well-being is at risk when using social media because it flaunts what society considers “perfection” to be, can become easily addictive and social net workings can be a hostile environment. All of these issues that are promoted by social media or that exists there can seriously deteriorate mental health and drive illnesses forward.

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 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.

Social media seems to be one of the many hot topics of discussion recently, and consequently many people have the false sense of security that they have a profound knowledge on how it affects the health of the teenage population. A sedentary lifestyle, decreased sleep, as well as other physical health conditions seem to come to mind when one links health and social media. However, there is a much bigger problem that can go unnoticed because it can be impossible to see: the impact it has on mental and emotional health. These branches of health are just as important, and even arguably more important than physical health is. Social media can be utilized to connect with distant friends and express oneself; however, teenagers should refrain from the overuse of social media due to its detrimental effects on their mental and emotional health.

Social media is one of the most common ways for people to communicate anywhere and at any time in modern society. Some people think that it is beneficial to have in society. Although, many people are starting to see negative effects arise from the use of social media as well. These negative effects are increasing and becoming more problematic every day. The disadvantages of social media far outweigh the advantages. Social media effects everyone in society, especially teenagers by negatively impacting their lives, face-to-face interactions, and mental health.