There has been significant interest in the questions that were raised concerning the reasons teenagers flock to social networking sites and whether their activities online have any profound implications on them (Kavi Kumar Khedo and Rajen Suntoo, 2013). In the past five years, it has been observed that social networking has become a global phenomenon that involves tens of millions of users, evolved from a niche activity (Lenhart and Madden, 2007). SNS provide a virtual life to students who use these to make new friends, albeit the premise that the contact is through virtual means (Shahzad Khan, 2011).
The research done on MySpace which was more popular during 2007 (Boyd, D., 2007) indicated that teens mostly joined MySpace to maintain friendships with their pre-existing friend groups. He noticed that race and social status/class did not deter the usage of the sites. Younger boys are more likely to participate than younger girls (46% vs. 44%), but older girls are far more likely to participate than older boys (70% vs. 57%). Researchers have also put across the point that social networking websites reduce transaction costs of maintaining social capital, more diverse and larger, and also facilitating extraction of resources from the network thus developed (J.S. Donath, 2007). Experts have suggested that self-esteem plays an important role (Valkenburg, P. M., Peter, J., & Schouten, M. A., 2006) in deciding the usage of SNS – adolescents with lower self-esteem use the Internet more for seeking out communication, as compared to those with higher self-esteem, since provision for positive social interactions is made available online, that may not be available in more conventional face-to-face social interactions. Reports indicate that so...
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...ve messages – online bullying. A report by the Berkman Centre (Berkman Center for Internet & Society, 2009) observes that while the Internet may provide access to negative experiences, technology alone is not the causal mechanism. Other factors such as age, underlying social, psychological and emotional characteristics of youth influence whether they involve in negative activity; technology provides another avenue.
The two complementary – good and bad effects of SNS indicates a trade-off; Tynes observes that online socialisation is more beneficial than harmful, aiding in the development of the youth by incorporating perspective taking, decision making, global awareness, emotional and social benefits and critical thinking skills – teens can learn and assist peers in racial and cultural issues even if they are located on the other side of the globe (Tynes,B., 2006)
Bullying has occurred for many years and via the internet is a new form of bullying, giving higher chances for bullying to occur more often due to technology.
There is no doubt that technology has changed our society. Now things are faster, easier, and more efficient than ever before. With all these changes, bullying has been impacted in a positive and negative way. Although technology has given victims of bullying an outlet to complete education without going to school, technology has made it easier for bullying to happen on anonymous apps and social media sites.
This sort of phenomenon makes major headlines regularly in recent times and effects a clear majority of today’s youth. State and local lawmakers have taken steps to prevent this type of bullying by making illegal under several criminal law codes. Michele Hamm, a researcher in pediatrics explained, “There were consistent associations between exposure to cyberbullying and increased likelihood of depression.” Cyberbullying became widespread among students with the rapid growth in use of cellular devices and the Internet. With this kind of technology bullies have the ability to send harmful messages to their recipients at any given time. This type of bullying is the hardest to control because it involves students but often happens off school grounds. However, because the evidence is material, students and parents could bring this evidence to the school and local police departments if a situation were to happen. Parents should be mindful of their child’s use of the internet and electronic messaging, cyberbullying usually takes place in a medium in which adults are seldom present (Mason, 2008). Also, instead of sending direct messages to other students, bullies use platforms such as social media and anonymous blogs to post harmful things for others to see. Educators must understand the significance of social media use to their students, especially
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.
Technology has given individuals the opportunity to change the game of bullying. Cyber-bullying is one of the most common forms of bullying as of today. The Internet has no boundaries so the public has access to endless and countless number of things. Cyber-bully is the electronic posting of mean-spirited messages about a person (as a student) often done anonymously according to Merriam-Webster dictionary. While traditionally bullying and cyber-bullying are very comparable in forms of technique that also have many differences. Cyber-bullying gives the bully the benefit of hiding their identity behind a screen. This makes it easier to tear people down because they do not have to come in contact with anyone. It’s the easiest form of bullying. These can happen in text messages, chat rooms, email, websites, excluding people from certain online activities, digital photos, and social media. Cyber bullies have unlimited supplies of ways to hurt someone. It is difficult to conduct a study on cyber-bullying because the majority of people will not confess or admit to it. Instead, in the article “Cyber-bullying among adolescents: Measures in search of a construct.” Researchers sit and listen through the grapevine on what is going on inside of schools. They found out that cyber-bullying is more dealt with within adolescents than traditional interaction bullying. (Mehari, K. R., Farrell, A. D., & Le, A. H.) Cyber-bullying can cause more
Generations after generations teens have used the actions of bullying to hurt others they felt as a threat or to be in the “in crowd” of popularity. Traditional bullying was physical and thus confined to face-to-face contexts. However, with the development of widespread social interaction via social media websites, email, and text-messaging, teens have additional avenues of expression and, as a result, other means of bullying. Over time the bullying taking place using digital means has come to be known as cyberbullying. Cyberbullying has brought the evilness out of teen’s actions, words, and thoughts whether they were the bully or the victim. Equally important, the ending results of these actions, words and thoughts have brought death, limited yet undefined punishable consequences if pursued, and slowly progressing methods to control cyberbullying as a whole.
In the end, social networking is the act of expanding one’s social circle by connecting other individuals, specifically in relation with the use of the Internet. It is rather common to find individuals of all ages using social sites to stay in-contact with others. While many can argue that social networking is more beneficial for teens, studies prove that the use of such forms of communication can negatively affect the lives of teens anywhere through its ability to create interpersonal and intrapersonal trials.
Even though social networking undeniably plays a large role in widening social connections and helps in acquiring numerous amounts of knowledge, it has quite a few dangers. Teenagers become susceptible to vices such as cyberbullying, depression and other factors leading to the youth having low self-esteem. Other issues such as internet addiction, sleep deprivation and social network- induced obesity continue to affect…………
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 allows students to be connected with their peers, teens who post positive status are more likely to be involved in extracurricular activities, and for many teens putting up “selfies” is a self confidence boost; however, too much social media can affect students GPA in school, cyber bullying can affect social health. Social media networks can give out personal information. Social media sites such as Facebook are one of the most popular social media sites that has 700,000-750,000 members joining each day.
Most common among young adults and teens, social networking plays a significant role in the social lives of adolescents. The teenage years are “a time of identity formation and role development” (Pew Internet and American Life Project 11). Online identity among friends and peers has now become as significant as one’s own personal identity, in that online information can be seen by many and online interactions have become a primary source of communication. As a result, teens tend to concentrate greatly on social life and now a majority use social networking sites and other social media as an outlet for this personal growth.
It is known that youth are positively affected with the benefits of social media in connection with positive behavioral outcomes. Several studies have mentioned a number of benefits that a youth receives out from being a social media user. Furthermore, the youth uses Social Networking Sites to make their own profiles and connect to even wider networks of friends (Ahn, 2011)
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
“The Effects of Social Network Sites on Adolescents’ Social and Academic Development: Current Issues and Controversies.” Journal of the American Society for the Science and Technology, 62(8): 1435-1445. Web. 2011.
For a number of youths today, the first thing when they wake up in the morning or the last thing before sleeping is to check the new information via their social networking sites (SNS) like Facebook, Onstagram and Google plus. They like to review what is posted by their friends. Today, using online social networking becomes an essential and indispensable part of our daily life. By the content on those websites, an individual could review the photos, blogs and status on of his friends(Hong & Shao,2012). It is tempting to claim that spending time on social network sites could consolidate and promote friendships significantly among us because we can keep connect easily through those sites. We have no evidence to deny the fact that the technology
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