The Negative Effects Of Social Media And Its Effects On Children

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).

In today`s society, it is simply impossible for anyone to go a single day without hearing these phrases, “Hey guys did you hear there`s a new iPhone?” or, “I`m out of Xbox live so I can`t talk, Sorry bud!” maybe even, “My phones at 12%, I am going to die!” They sound so familiar in today`s time, don’t they? This leads to take a step back and ask ourselves, “Is society addicted, and dependent on Technology?” The amount of technology used has tripled since the 1990`s. Look around to see all of the people glued to I-Pads versus books or even newspapers. Technology is used every day in schools, friendships, and even in our food. Technology is overused because it is dumbing down society, negatively affecting our health and ruining socialization

People in society nowadays spend their time using smartphones to communicate, be entertained and obtain information in their daily life. Texting and social media sites have become the means in which people communicate with others. When I was a kid I used a gameboy to be entertained by these days entertainment comes by using a phone, person, device, or a console which can easily be transported. Information is spread within seconds by using social media. As you can see, society has become overly dependent on technology in their daily lives for three reasons, because it negatively affects children, people are obsessed with buying and using advanced technology, and social media can lead to dangers for the user.

Modern media such as T.V., films, and social medias (mainly Tumblr) frequently advertise a parade of skinny models and actresses. These appearances, more often than not, make teenage girls self conscious about their weight and physical appearance. Anorexia is most common around females, especially women. “47% of girls in the 5th-12th grade reported wanting to see weight loss because of magazine pictures.” Success and worth are often associated with being thin and/or skinny. Peer pressure plays major roles in a teenager’s environment and peer pressure may help fuel the desire to be “perfect”, and to be perfect, you have to be thin.

Is social media really harming modern kids of today? According to Hilary Stouts kids today are less interested in Face-to-Face communication and that they are missing on the real emotions from communicating Face-to-Face.I think social media is not harmful to kids today because even though many complain about this topic we need it.How do we communicate with those we cant reach like the families with loved ones across seas fighting a battle with no end date,we need all the social media we can get.

Before technology advanced children would spend most of their time watching television. That was the main issue that parents faced with their young children. They complained about young children spending most of their time in front of a television screen rather than getting some exercise or hanging out friends. There was a time when nickelodeon had cancelled all of their Tv shows for an hour, so that children would get up and go play. Exercise is very important, especially in the US because we are battling obesity. Now that the children are getting older, maturing, and growing up faster, they believe that they should advance on from the basic television stage.

When was the last time one stopped to think how much time he/she spends on the media, or the last time that one had a face to face conversation? According to the Pew Research Center, the use of smartphones in particular has increased an astounding 33% from 2011 to 2015 (Anderson). The media is affecting the general population, but most of all the development of children in more ways than adults, of which some may cause lifelong problems for the children. The use of the media and other electronics has drastically increased over the past 4 years, but it is said to increase even more in the coming years. This is leading harmful effects, specifically on children and adolescents, causing bad behaviors and attitudes, decreased intelligence, and worst of all health problems/concerns.

Let’s say about seven years ago a child would always look forward to going home just so he/she could play outside. Most kids would get off the bus, and try to get home as soon as possible. The majority of these kids wouldn’t even spend more than five minutes inside the house when they were already outside jumping rope, playing hop scotch, or playing cops and robbers. Kids didn’t even need for their mothers to call them in, as soon as the street lights came on they knew it was time to head home. However, now in days kids come home slip their shoes off, lay in bed, and spend the rest of the day on their phones. IPhones have come to change the way we now socialize, have “fun”, and learn. Who would’ve thought that technology would be the biggest part of our lives.

A study conducted in 2004 found that around 45% of the children in the U.S possessed a cell phone and in 2010 those numbers rose to include 75% of the population (Hofferth and Moon 108). As of today, according to Fox 28 News, around 96% of children now don a cell phone, practically doubling the amount of child cell phone users in the year of 2004. With this increased amount of cell phones among children, one must wonder what kind of effects these devices can impose on these children. From the time the cell phone was first introduced to society, it has served as a communicational device. However as time has progressed the cell phone has become more than a mere device of communication, it has become a tool in which to escape reality and to enter a world of social media. As this device grew in its new capabilities—such as the Internet, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook—the owner of the device only grew in his/her attachment. Now this attachment, this dependence on technology, is being passed down amongst the next generation. In fact in today’s day and age it would not be uncommon to see a child under the age of five holding a cellular device. This image, which at one time was considered to be a faux pas, has now become an image of normalcy. Without knowing it, parents are likely altering a child’s wellbeing when they grant them with a gift-wrapped cell phone and an unlimited data plan. By

These smartphones and devices we give to kids can create mental health issues. Julie Evens, a child psychotherapist for 25 years, isn’t anti-technology yet she is against the negative side effects it has on our young saying “It is battering our children's brains.” Which makes kids miss out on “kindness, acceptance, conversation, face-to-face, nature, nurture” (qtd. In Stanford). Moreover, Farnum, a 49-year-old father, came to the realization that the smartphones he gave his kids were changing them stating “There were some real problems,” and then told The Washington post “If you tell them to watch the screen time, all of a sudden the fangs come out.” (qtd. In Mettler). Once you give a kid one of these devices they can change into a completely different person and worse of all, these changes are happening when they are still developing. Some developmental traits can prove useful, although there are many scary traits that overcome the them that may prove more serious than just handing over something for their entertainment. Jean Twenge, a San Diego State University professor of psychology and author, shows the statistic of teen electronic device use saying “Teens who spend three hours a day or more on electronic devices are 35 percent more likely to have a risk

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.

What happened to the good old days when kids would be outside playing with each other, rather than being inside burying themselves in technology? It is scary how much technology people use on a daily basis. People are buried in their phone’s using Facebook, Instagram and other types of social media. This generation has become one where technology has almost completely taken over the way everyone communicates. The worst part of technology has changed many individuals’ lives from children using it at a young age, teenagers and adults using their electronic device while operating a moving vehicle, and electronic devices affecting relationships.

Children have malleable minds. Videos posted to social medias and its surrounding media influence a child’s learning and their behavior on a daily basis. Social media has amazing benefits as well as detrimental drawbacks. Social media helps children learn easier and teaches them how to behave correctly in multiple situations. More shows are being directed toward children, but some of those shows may have been created from disturbing minds. Shows such as Courage the Cowardly Dog, Ren and Stimpy, and other late 1990s shows now are not suitable and accepted among some parents. Such shows corrupt the children’s young minds and introduce unacceptable behaviors. Other technologies such as electronic books (E-books) have a more positive effect on a child’s mind; whereas the demented shows have a negative effect. Social media can teach inappropriate behavior and give children an unrealistic outlook on certain subjects.

Steven Spielberg once said, “Technology can be our best friend, and technology can also be the biggest party pooper of our lives. It interrupts our own story, interrupts our ability to have a thought or a daydream, to imagine something wonderful, because we are too busy bridging the walk from the cafeteria back to the office on the cell phone.” This is an example on how telecommunications affect social interaction between people. As technology evolves, so does its negative outcomes towards young children. One can see that technology in cell phones are more harmful than beneficial since it creates distractions, cyberbullying, and connectivity to harmful predators.

First of all, The increased use of technology by society negatively affects children. Granted, it is known that young children want their parents phone and they will sometimes throw themself on the floor and cry just to get it. However, society does not agree that children should be entertained by their parents phone. For, example children can become lost in what is reality and what is fantasy, like when Peter and Wendy get lost in the nursery veldt land (“The Veldt”). This is important because it shows that when children spend most of their free time using technology they try to make the fantasy world real. Wendy and Peter couldn't risk losing the veldt in their precious nursery, so they took matters into their own hands when the risk became too real. Furthermore, when children use to much technology, when peter said “ You better not consider it