Negative Effects Of Social Media On Teenagers

“How young is too young for cellphones in school?” by Donna St. George says there was “near-silence at lunch when [a] middle school allowed phones for a week.” These middle-schoolers were so absorbed in their phones they did not have a normal conversation. If teens are so obsessed with their social media life that they cannot function normally when given a phone, they will not make conversation and will have weaker relationships. Teens are literally withdrawing themselves from normal social life to become “social” online. As stated in “Is Technology Killing our Friendships” by Lauren Tarshis, “1 in 4 teens are online almost constantly.” This “1 in 4” could be doing things in real life, rather than staying online nearly endlessly. Therefore, youth is more into their social media than actual

Along with the expansion of social media, a concern that has cropped up in only the last couple of years is the effects of using social media platforms has on everyday teens’ level of self-esteem and general mental health. Published at the Child Mind Institute, “How Using Social Media Affects Teenagers,” Rachel Ehmke states, “Experts worry that the social media and text messages that have become so integral to teenage life are promoting anxiety and lowering self-esteem” (Ehmke np). Later on in her essay, Ehmke continues to argue that, “If kids aren’t getting enough practice relating to people and getting their needs met in person and in real time, many of them will grow up to be adults who are anxious about our species’ primary means of communication—talking”

There are 2.3 billion active social media users (Kit Smith 1). Meaning the majority of people go on social media every day. Social media is almost a part of every teen’s life it’s how they stay connected and meet up with people. But social media may be worse than what most people would think. It’s leading to much worse things for teenagers that they won’t see coming since social media is a huge part of their lives. Social media’s negatives outweigh the positives because it’s causing long-term consequences and impacts teen’s mental and emotional health.

Social Network has become an essential part of life for many young people. Teenagers have engaged on social network sites without stopping or thinking how long time they spend on it, or how could this affects them. Teenagers can access any site such as Facebook. Some researchers believe that social media has negative impact on young people. Others suggest that social network sites are useful for students. Social network sites have a dangerous impact on young people by making them have anxiety and lower grades in their schools as well as by being cyberbullied and lacking interpersonal skills.

Social media is a huge part in today’s world, however does social media cause teens to do dangerous things? No social media does not cause teens to do dangerous things. Teens have been doing risky things way before the internet, social media and even phones. People may think that social media does cause teens to do dangerous things because there are videos and there are memes all over the place about dangerous challenges, however we are the people putting those things out there for teens to see. Social media gives people the chance to become famous and that is what people want, we are the ones making these people famous.

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.

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.

WHY SOCIAL MEDIA BAD FOR TEENS In my opinion I believe that social media does more harm to minors than good. Such as going to taking their own lives to being emotionally scarred. A big reason why I think social media for teens it is because it causes cyberbullying.

I think Social media has a mostly Positive because you could talk and be entertain for adolescents.

Teens shouldn't be allowed to use social media. Do you think social media is bad for teens? Social media has many negative things that teens can learn from for an example, negative talk, suicidal thoughts and depression. Teens shouldn’t be allowed to use social media because it can cause depression. In the article “negative and positive effects of social media used on teens studies” it states that “studies have shown the around the world clock of social media takes a mental and emotional troll on some young people” this means that social media is harmful in many ways.

Cell phones, tablets, laptops, and any other device are items we use daily. What we don’t know is how they affect us. Social media is something everyone uses. According to Pew Research Center’s Internet, 80% of teenagers between the ages 12 and 17 use one of

Children and adolescents are growing up in a different world than adults and college-aged students did. They are constantly surrounded by people using advanced technology in their everyday lives and assimilate this behavior as normal. Social media is quickly evolving, and it is impossible to reject or hide from it. Not only is it an important part of socialization within peer groups, but now it is used to market and motivate people to become a part of a larger community. It is undeniably changing the way people communicate and how we find and share information. This change from basic to advanced did not happen overnight, but children being raised now for the next generation to come won't see it as a change. Having all this social media at our fingertips leaves room for many communication errors, which can affect humans overall well being. How should parents introduce a technology to their children that may not benefit their developing brains?

“According to a recent poll, 22% of teenagers log on to their favorite social media site more than 10 times a day, and more than half of adolescents log on to a social media site more than once a day.2 Seventy-five percent of teenagers now own cell phones, and 25% use them for social media, 54% use them for texting, and 24% use them for instant messaging.3 Thus, a large part of this generation’s social and emotional development is occurring while on the Internet and on cell phones.” (O'Keeffe, Gwenn Schurgin)

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.

Social media sites allow millions of people to interact with friends,family and anyone around the world. A large portion of social media users are teenagers; researchers and parents both believe that social media is having a multitude of possible effects on teenagers. This literature review will analyze research of the positive and negative effects social media are having on today’s impressionable youth. Much of the research focuses on the age range of 10-16 from well-to-do families and college students. Understanding the online environment that teenagers live in can help parents relate to their children and teach then about the dangers and benefits of being on the Internet.