The Idea Of Using Social Media On Adolescent Health

Social media, it has taken the lives of everyone who has heard it over the years from teens to adult and changing the life of everyone. But, has social media been harming the minds of the new generations? Being in a world where social media is available to approximately everyone, many have been affected negatively by social media.

My target audience would be adolescents and their parents. The average reader will have some prior knowledge regarding social media use. My tone will be mostly informational, but I will also be applying the use of emotional appeals. This will help me address the concerns parents have related to their children. In order to relay my stance on the benefits of social media use effectively, I will need to use research evidence as well as results from various studies to give accurate information. I plan on incorporating specific examples of benefits as well as risks to social media use in the lives of adolescents.

Furthermore, the introduction talks about how technology used for communication has been found to be helpful and hurtful in the development of an adolescent’s development. Researchers discovered that adolescents around age 13-14 who were on social media and having healthy peer

Social media seems to be changing how we communicate through society. Adolescents are consumed with media for an estimated 7.5-8.5 hours per day (Georgia, 2014; Giedd, 2012). Instead of interacting with each other face to face adolescents are socializing through their phones (George, 2014). The purpose of the paper was to research how social media affects the brain, sleep, and cyberbullying (Lemola, Perkinson- Gloor, Brand, Dewald- Kaufmann, & Grob, 2014; Mills, 2014; Betts & Spenser, 2017).

Social media is defined as websites and applications used for social networking, in other words it is a way for people to interact and express themselves without being face to face. Social media has become a large part of the life of teenagers, who make up most of the population of people who are subjected to using social media in their daily lives. Many college students are faced with balancing their social lives with school and even athletics making priorities a big dilemma for them. College students in America are affected in many ways by social media whether it be their social life, their happiness, or their grades.

Social media plays an important role in the lives of teenagers and potentially young women. It can actually be a big influencer on their decisions being as it’s a place to express yourself in many ways even if those ways put off negative connotations to those around. Daily on social media you typically see a lot of ads, people who you might perceive as “beautiful” or “pretty”, along with statuses and pictures that talk about how the “perfect” relationship or person should be. As a teenager myself, I recognize that a lot of young girls struggle with finding themselves and wanting to be different. Females in general have a hard time This current generation of teenagers are more concerned with social media sites like facebook, instagram, twitter, and snapchat. More people are concerned with the number of likes or favorites they get rather than actual important or real world things. For a teen that struggles with self-esteem issues, it could be confusing to see a lot of “pretty” girls and not know why you don’t or can not look like them. Social media when used addictively has negative or harmful effects on young girls self-esteem.

An overview of the literature discusses the influence media portrays on adolescents. Some propose that the authors are projecting that the youth are negatively effected by the media. Others, however, believe that violence portrayed by the media does not have any real long-term effects on the well being on youths. The three articles selected consider their evidence for this controversial subject.

"All the lonely Facebook friends: Study shows social media makes us MORE lonely and unhappy and LESS sociable." This is a title of an article that states social media is making us less social. Over 1.1 billions users across the globe uses Facebook. Social media is making us less social, due to bad comments , losing to talk face-to-face, and making unhappy. While most critiques argue that social media is good for teens these reason are to show why social media is not good for teens. The following reasons are why social media is bad for teens.

Most parents believe that it is just either school or friends as to why teenagers get into drugs and alcohol (Impact of Social Media on Teen Substance). The one thing parents do not think about at to why their teenager is involved in drugs and alcohol is social media, and it could be a big reason (Impact of Social Media on Teen Substance). Parents talk to their children on how to make the right decision related to drugs and alcohol, but forget they need to address how to make right decisions on social media (Impact of Social Media on Teen Substance). It was found that teenagers who use social media regularly are much more likely to abuse illegal substances (Impact of Social Media on Teen Substance). Some teens might also feel pressured by

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.

In the article " Teen depression and how social media can help or hurt" by Dr. Melinda Ring explains how social media helped her son see that kid were also facing mood disorder. Social media have a positive and negative impact when it comes to bullying. According to the story 's highlights "23% of teens report they are or have been the target of cyber bullying" and "social media can also be a crucial part of recovery from depression and anxiety". (1) The media allows the user to gain attention from around the world, but it can also ruin someone 's life. The internet allows us to make friends or foe, but no one can trust a person from the internet. Cyber bullying is the bullying or harassing of a person or group of people using technology. Cyber bullying can lead to serious emotional consequences, including depression, low self-esteem, anxiety disorders and suicide. Therefore, the use of technology has a negative impact on bullying

Life at home is normally peaceful until my mother shouts “Switch of that television and do something more constructive”or“No phones at the table,”or“switch off that laptop and get some good night sleep.” My little brother is always watching cartoons on television or playing video games while I spend most of my time on the laptop or on my phone twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Instagram or on blogs, or Youtube or any other social media website having a portal for good entertainment and communication of trending events. My mother always says we shall spoil our eyes or become fat and lazy. She always goes on and on about how she used to play a lot of outdoor games as a child and how they are important for the growth and development of children.

How does social media usage by teenagers and young adults affect academic performance, attitude towards school, and concept of identity?

In general, the use social networking has many health and developmental benefits for the youth of today. Most teens have online accounts that they use to strengthen their friendships and stay connected with the people around them such as, school friends and teachers, groups they may be involved in, and maybe even family that are far away. Social networking also allows for an outlet to help teens with mental and moral support that they may lack in reality. This is really important especially for the youth who don’t necessarily have anyone to talk to or be there for them. Although one might argue that there are hotlines to help depressed youth, sometimes it’s not the same as having the support from your favorite social media site.

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.