Effects of Social Media on Teenagers

Effects of Social Media on Teenagers
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Effects of Social Media on Teenagers
Introduction
The focus of this paper will be on how social media use continues to impact the lives of teenagers today. Every development or technological innovation leaves an imprint on society. Social media platforms are not any different. Their introduction to society has led to some changes that will influence society for decades. Therefore, this paper aims to showcase the impact social media has had on teenagers. In doing so, it will be easier to estimate how much influence social media platforms have had on teenagers. Such research is crucial as it helps society plan and develop mechanisms to deal with issues and instances that deviate from the norm. Also, this research offers a great benefit to society as it helps explain the rise in certain issues among teenagers, including depression and suicidal tendencies.
Literature Review
The advent of social media brought with it a lot of fears and expectations. Some people saw social media as a threat to society's way of life, while others saw it as an addition to society. However, despite the different takes and perspectives people have had over the years, social media continues to be a part of everyday life. For teenagers, social media platforms have become a crucial part of who they are, who they present themselves to be, and how they see themselves. But, people question the effects these platforms have on teenagers. Are these platforms helping to enhance the teenagers, or are they taking away from them? Asking such questions has proved to be quite crucial, especially considering the many developments and stories covered in the mainstream media today. On the one hand, social media platforms are seen as a godsend by some teenagers because they have helped them to open up about things they could not even share with their parents. Others have been able to form friendships regardless of their personalities. However, there are those who have been on the receiving end of social media's dark side. For example, some teenagers have taken their lives because of the bullying that happens online. Also, there are reports that indicate teenagers are losing the essence of conversation or communication as a result of excessive use of social media platforms. All these reports have some truth in them and help showcase the different ways social media platforms leave an imprint on teenagers. Presented herein is a discussion that involves both the positive and negative impacts that social media has had on teenagers since its advent.
Positive Impacts
While some evils are associated with the use of social media platforms, there are some positive effects that these platforms are deemed to have on teenagers. Some teenagers credit social media platforms for the development of their social life, others believe their eyes are opened to what is happening around them because of social media use. So, it is impossible to discredit the positive social media platforms have had because of a few bad ones. However, as will be shown, it is crucial to discuss or compare the weight of the impacts, and make apt adjustments. Below is a discussion of these impacts.
One way that social media positively impacts the lives of teenagers is by helping them make friends and new connections. The initial expectation was that teenagers would be making friends in school, at the playground, or when they visit their fellow teenagers. However, the advent of social media has helped teenagers find new ways of making friends who are not necessarily around or within their locality. One important thing that social media platforms do is find people and activities that one considers their forte. Then, it shares these activities or suggests people who like the same activities for one's consideration. By doing this, people are connected with like-minded people with whom they can form friendships with. According to Lenhart (2015) from the Pew Research Center, social media platforms help teens learn or connect with new friends and even "know them better." Lenhart continues to showcase some statistics that showcase that, indeed, social media platforms are helping teenagers connect with hundreds or thousands globally. She notes that 64% of teens say that they have made new friends on social media platforms, while 62% say that they have shared their usernames with new people to initiate friendships. The above help showcase that teenagers have become more connected because of social media, which is beyond what is socially comfortable.
Aside from making new friends, social media platforms also happen to help teenagers stay connected with their current friends. Today, a significant percentage of interactions happen on social media platforms. Teenagers happen to spend a lot of time on social media today, and therefore, these platforms tend to be their way of staying in touch with their friends. According to Lenhart (2015), "55% of teens spend time every day texting with friends." Teens nowadays have very limited face-to-face time with their friends. The majority find texting easier than face-to-face conversations, and many do it on a daily basis. As the graph below indicates, daily interactions are fading among teenagers, and texting is becoming an integral part of their lives. Also, through texting, they can reach many of their friends compared to face-to-face interactions that limit one to only a few friends at a time. Furthermore, in the current COVID-19 pandemic, social media platforms have helped to keep friends and family close. People tapped into the positive effects and side of social media, and to date, more are staying connected as a result.
Aside from the above, it is crucial to mention that nowadays, teenagers are getting more informed about events happening around them as well as globally. Social media platforms have replaced traditional media houses that controlled the narrative and shared the news on events at certain times of the day. According to PR Newswire (2019), "more than half of teens (54%) get news at least a few times a week from social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and 50% get news from YouTube." This fact summarizes the changes that continue to happen in the world, with teenagers choosing to ignore traditional media houses as the main sources of news. As already indicated, social media platforms are so advanced that they find ways to connect one to news and events that are happening around their locality. Also, social media platforms happen to connect people with others who have similar views. So, teenagers can have political, religious, or any other conversations with like-minded individuals. In their article, Anderson and Jiang (2018) note that a significant percentage of teenagers believe that social media platforms help to keep them informed. The researchers wrote that teenagers believe that these platforms help to allow "greater access to news and information" while also linking them to people who hold similar views. In the end, the above helps to have teenagers be a part of what is happening in society.
Teenagers have also been given a way to communicate or express themselves in ways they could not do before. As indicated earlier, people have different personalities, and these impact the way we live our lives. Some teenagers find it easy to express themselves in writing, others are not shy to express their views, and others find social media platforms an easy way to express their views of the world and who they are. Social media platforms have made it possible for thousands, if not millions, of teenagers to express themselves in ways that could be deemed unacceptable or against societal 'rules.' According to Madden et al. (2013), teenagers are sharing more about themselves online. Teenagers are sharing data on where they live, their photos, what they are doing, the events they plan to attend, their interests, etc. While some people the above could be seen as too much, it is crucial to note that some teenagers are finding social media platforms as the only way the...