With the way the world is now it should be no surprise to anyone that social media has very literally taken over the world in this day and age. From late 2008 to early 2009 the size of Facebook users doubled from 100 million to 200 million in eight months, and was already up to 400 million by early 2010. Twitter also raised its number of users in 2009 from 4.5 million to 20 million (Zandt). With a few clicks of a button or taps on a screen, a person can be connected to family and friends in every corner of the world and even see what their favorite celebrities are doing with their lives.”Social media defines an array of internet sites that enable people from all over the world to interact. This can be through discussion, photos, video and audio
When parents and older siblings all have social media accounts, children want to be a part of it too. However, due to COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act) a child under thirteen must be granted permission from their parents before using the app. However, it is very easy to get around this law. In a survey done at UCLA to determine who had social media accounts, a little over twenty percent of the children under the age of thirteen said they had accounts; sixty percent of the children who said yes were under eleven years old. Another survey done by Consumer Reports discovered that almost forty percent of people under eighteen years old using Facebook were not even teenagers (Uhls 88-89). The only way social media sites monitor their users age is by asking for a birth date when creating an account; they clearly state before asking for a birth date that one must be over thirteen to be able to make an account. Naturally, children will insert a random birthday to fit the age requirement. Like children, adults also lie about their age. This puts children’s privacy at a greater risk. A grownup could pose as a young person and talk to an unknowing minor. While many argue that chatting with people online encourages disclosing personal information and that it helps form “high-quality” friendships, this can go very wrong (Gold 50). If an adult is posing as
The use of social media (which includes such media as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr) has become so popular among today’s youth, that it is becoming more than just a fragment of the youth’s world, it is becoming their world. According to a social network statistics report conducted on August 18, 2013, ninety-eight percent of teens are already using some form of social media. Teens are spending more and more time online, typically on a social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter. Instead of being limited to an online life at home, most teens now have smart phones that allow them to be on social media sites at any time of the day. They are constantly tweeting, updating statuses, and posting pictures via Instagram. While social media is used by most teenagers today and it introduces them to people they would never have met in the days before the internet, social media, overall, has a harmful effect on how teenagers interact socially face-to-face because of cyberbullying, false identities, and sexting.
Social media sites have taken over almost everyone’s house; almost everyone has an account in one of social media sites or at least knows what social media sites are. Rouse and Wigmore (2012) pointed out that “Social media is the collective of online communications channels dedicated to community-based input, interaction, content-sharing and collaboration.” So basically, social media sits are free sites that anyone can sing up for in order to keep in touch and communicate with others. In addition, Rouse and Wigmore gave some example of social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit.
Many people think that minors shouldn't have any connection to social media because they are worried that the minor won't be mature enough to own one and will use their account for the wrong reasons that
In recent years, the privacy issues on social media have aroused controversial debates. It was argued by Albarran that people are losing control over their personal privacy, given the rapid boom of social sharing (146). No matter what viewpoint one holds towards secrecy, it is undeniable that the intrusion of social media privacy has become so intense that should no one ignore the possible consequences: Users’ information is constantly exploited for commercial use, while privacy loopholes on social networking sites might also intrigue many safety issues, internet fraud, for instance. Youngsters, aged from 13 to 19, are arguably the biggest prey of the struggle of social media confidentiality, for they have merely no choices, but to live with social media (Albarran 148). In order to protect the future generations, regulations on social media privacy have to be formulated: It is necessary to amend internet regulations according to the pace of social changes, while extra protection should also be provided to the underage because of their higher vulnerability comparing with adults. Meanwhile, the stealing of personal privacy should in no way be tolerated.
When it comes to having an account online it can get quite dangerous. Not only is it dangerous but having the gadget lying around the house or even having their own at a young age can make it easier for them to have easy access to those social media accounts. Parents need to take precaution with their children and the internet. Meeting someone online is so much more different from meeting them in person. It is hard to tell if people and kids are their real age that they put on their information because you can actually lie about how old you really are. There has been many cases where involving younger girls talking to older men, a 15-year-old can be talking to a
Today social media has become a big influence on society. There are many different social media sites that allow people to interact with others. Such social media sites are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. There are many more different sites, but these are the popular networks that are being used today. These sites allow you to connect with anybody you want to. Social media sites can make you feel connected with others and seem like the best thing, but at the same time it can be a weakness that many of us have.
“Engaging in various forms of social media is a routine activity that research has shown to benefit children and adolescents by enhancing communication, social connection, and even technical skills” (O’Keefe). From using the different sites, children and adults get better motor skills, and they can stay in communication with friends and family. The amount of users of online sites has increased, and kids in today’s society use the sites as a getaway for entertainment and communication (O’Keefe). The amount of time that people are on a social media site is an astounding number. “According to a recent poll, 22% of teenagers log on to their favorite s...
Social media is described as content created and shared by individuals on the web using freely available websites that allow users to create and post their own images, video and text information and then share that with either the entire internet or just a select group of friends (Affilorama, 2012). They are more like a website allowing you to express your daily activities, beliefs, locations, likes, dislikes, photos, music, etc. They are used by creating a profile, and logging in through either the website, or apps now used on smartphones, or any portable device with Wi-Fi connection. Although most social media networks are directed towards adults and young adults, young children are getting into these websites as well. There are usually age limits but there isn’t a certainty that all the users provided their actual age, allowing whoever wants to be a member of these sites to bypass an age limit “security” procedure. Facebook and MySpace require users to be at least 13, but they have no practical way to verify ages, and many young users prete...
In today’s society, much advancement has been made throughout the universe. However, one that seems to stand out in particular is the use of social media. Social media has both positive and negative effects on society. This advancement has led to a difference in communication to everyone by reconnecting with others, or even informing the public nationwide through televisions such as the news or talk shows. However, is social media safe to use? Social media has a great impact on everyone in society. While allowing your children or teenagers to engage in social media a few things to consider are the risks of youth using social media, what age is too young, and also how social media is useful in some cases. Children participate in cyber bullying now and even find themselves involved in bad habits, such as sexting (Schurgin O’Keefe). According to a recent poll conducted, over 22 percent of teenagers log onto their social media site more than ten times a day (Schurgin O’Keefe). Not everything is negative towards social media, but there are precautions that need to be taken when there is the youth involved.
In the twenty -first century, teenagers live in a life of social networking and life’s online. It’s hard to believe how much the world has changed over the decades, especially in technology. Technology helps people to contact relatives and friends from long distance more easily and conveniently. People can now talk to each other from everywhere in the world simply through chat and video calls. By time, internet connections have spread throughout households and social networking such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram has increased gradually. However, the internet and several modern technologies have wasted many times and has hurt the society. Social media plays such a big role in people’s lives that some people couldn’t even imagine
Social media is quickly evolving in front of our eyes and it is almost impossible to reject and hide from this new form of media. 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 one communicates and how one finds and shares information. Most websites offer communication through the use of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn and many various blog formats. With new apps on smartphones and photography and video made digital, media can be created, edited and shared quickly and once it is in this new digital cloud it is not yours anymore. Through these new advances in technology one can share things about themselves to the world to view, and prior to social media one would have to communicate and share physically. These social media site offer adolescence new ways to access communication and entertainment and the long-term effects are still unknown. For this reason, it is imperative for parents to be more aware of this new media and what it offers both good and bad for our children.
There are about one and a half billion users of social media worldwide. It can be used to meet new people, find old friends, chat the day away, join interest groups, or even to share pictures. Social networks were mostly created so people could meet and find new friends. What most users of social media don't know, are the dangers of using social media. One example is when you meet a person online, because they are not always who they say they are. If someone is not who you may think they are, who could they be? They can be a stalker or a person that wants to steal your identity; which could be done easily thanks to new developments of new technology. Also thanks to new technology it is now easier for people using your information to track you. Posting personal information can risk your family and friends lives. Social media can be used as a weapon against you. It can even lead to a kidnapping, or even someone's death. Many people use social media to help to waste time, but could also become an unhealthy addiction. Also social media can damage your future. When you are a teen you tend to post pretty much anything you want. This is dangerous because you can post too much personal information. What most teens don't realize is that what they do on social media now can affect them for the rest of their life. It can even come back to haunt you in the future. Social media is dangerous because it makes it easier to be stalked, identity theft to happen, kidnappings and murders, and also can ruin your future.
There has been controversy as to whether parents should limit the use of social media by teenagers. Teenagers feel that there is no need to limit the use of their social media networking, but on the other hand parents should feel the need to limit their use and also keep track of their teen’s social networking. Social media has allowed to be connected with their peers, teens who post positive status are more likely to be involved in extracurricular activities, and to many teens putting up “selfies” is a self confidence boost; however, too much social media can affect students GPA in school, cyber bulling can affect social health. Social media networks can give out personal information.