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.
Karrie Lager, a child psychologist practicing in Los Angeles, says. “However, excessive internet use can have serious negative consequences,” she explains in response to a survey published by CASA Columbia (Stein, 2014). Dr. Lager has a great point, she believes that the use of technology for communication is a great thing for children, but she also agrees that using it to excess can be harmful and dangerous to a child. A lot of children, as well as adults use social media as fuel to their self-esteem and their self-worth, by doing so they become addicted wanting to use it more and more to never feel less than they should. Unfortunately because of this the addictive tendencies are becoming more apparent “Social media is simply providing a quicker peeling of the onion, however in most cases the problems were already there,” Dr. Sophy says, “Many people are genetically predisposed to use excessive amounts of potentially harmful tools (sex, substances, food, social media, etc.) to self soothe. And yet there are others who learn these behaviors due to life circumstances and events” (Stein, 2014). As you look closer to the problem one can understand that there are beneficial factors to social media but they can also see that there are factors that are harmful. If children are using social media more and more there is naturally going to be
Social media has impacted everyone that has used it some point in his or her life. Since the world is increasing in technology advances, so is social media which can be good and bad. Technology has made a huge difference in the world and definitely how people are doing things now. Yes, the Internet can be good for the majority of things we use it for such as finding research, keeping in touch with family or friends who are far away, and saving time and money. Others like to take advantage of social media and use it in a way that can hurt people; it may not hurt them physically, but it can hurt them emotionally. Examples of how some people use the Internet in a bad way include cyberbullying, identity theft, or cyberstalking. Social media has impacted the Millennial generation for sure.
“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 can have detrimental effects on the formation of an adolescent’s identity such as social isolation meaning that the individual will spend excessive amounts of time attached to any electronics that will provide him with social media access. Social networking has been debated to have beneficial or detrimental effects, as overuse and abuse of the Internet can be harmful to someone, such as an adolescent. According to the National Crime Prevention Council, over one million teenage girls are victimized psychologically as well as physically, through social media.
An astonishing 46% of American children will experience some sort of psychological disorder in their lifetime such as ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and anxiety according to the National Institute of Mental Health (Rosen, 2012). Children as young as four years old are at risk of becoming addicted to technology because they are being “baby sat” by an iPad or table (Miller, 2013). About 20% of children between the ages of 8-16 have a computer in their room, out of those, 11% of them have internet access (Shields & Behrman, 2013), which can lead to social isolation by making more friends online than in real life. Consumer reports found that more than 7.5 million children had created a Facebook account under the age of 13, even though Facebook requires users to be at least 13 years old. Other research shows that on average, teenagers are texting about 3,400 times a month. The research done is in its early stages, which already shown that we have an epidemic on the rise and must be identified (Clinton & Stayer, 2012).
We live in a world that has become addicted and dedicated toward social media and it is driving America’s youth into the ground. Teenagers and adults are so wrapped up in social media that is runs their lives every day. Constantly people are checking their phones for the latest on social networks. They have to see pictures, tweets, statuses, comments, likes, and the list goes on and on. Social media is becoming the focus point in the modern American society that it is beginning to control people’s social skills, communication skills, and their livelihood.
While this research gave her a very detailed insight into how social media can have a positive effect on younger people by improving social interactivity it also revealed that when a child is bullied on social media it can have an extremely injurious effect on their mental health. She feels that with the presence facebook especially, it leads to narcissism antisocial tendencies and aggression, while overuse cases anxiety and depression. The two main causes of anxiety and depression due to social media are researched to be bullying and unrealistic expectations such as unrealistic looks, weight and valuables. When teenagers, especially females, see these unrealistic expectations and understand that it is unreasonable to achieve these so called desirable factors they put an immense amount of pressure on themselves as they feel that they aren 't good enough which causes anxiety and depression (Sternberg Clinic, 2015). Another major negative impact that social media can have on an young individual 's mental health when used excessively is impacting the quality of students school work and overall performance. Teens are masters at keeping themselves occupied in the hours after school and way past their bedtime, which results in them not attempting to complete their homework. When students try to multi-task by studying and checking
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
Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest. These are only a few of the websites that have become omnipresent in the typical teenager’s life. First launched in 2004, Facebook seemed like the perfect means to connect with old friends and take part in organizations. Eleven years later, the social media industry has snowballed from its original purpose of simply a network for interaction. Most likely launched by the incredible popularity of Facebook, other networks have popped up. According to The Huffington Post, 71% of teenagers engage in more multiple social media networks, 24% of these teenagers admit to checking social media almost constantly. Scrolling, posting, and liking are actions