Effects of social media on teenagers

  

Date Posted: 1/28/2018 5:52:27 AM

Posted By: Faimus  Membership Level: Gold  Total Points: 1012

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A recent research done on school going teenagers has shown that the influence of social media on their young lives is more depressing than school bullying by senior students. However the question is, are social media sites all that evil? The answer to that question is an absolute no since, social media sites have many positive effects on teenagers as well.

One of the major positive effects of social media sites on teenagers is creating awareness an world events. On many social media platforms such as twitter, you will find information from major broadcasting houses and newspaper companies on the current affairs on different regions of the country and world at large. Exposure to this information will keep teens updated on what is happening in the world. Individual people who have information on currents affairs also tend to share that information on social networking sites. This therefore makes social networking sites a hub for information. This information, however, needs to be sourced from credible source since we live in an era of fake news.
Another positive effect of social media sites on teenagers is development of social skills. During their teenage years most teenagers are also in their adolescent stage of life which makes them socially awkward. Through active participation in their social networking sites, teenagers have the opportunity to expand their social circles and develop new friendships with other teens who are experiencing the same life challenges. The teens are also availed with the opportunity of creating networks with the people they engage with in the sites. These networks may prove very useful in the future especially when they join the job market.

Teenagers can also get inspiration from social media sites. Social networking sites exposes teenagers to celebrities who may positively impact their lives. For example celebrities who are

reformed drug addicts may influence the teens to shun the habit of drug abuse. A celebrity who is an author can cultivate the positive habit of reading in the teens and help them develop new reading skills.

As many as there are positive effects of social media sites so are the negative effects when social media is not used properly. One major effect is a distorted body image. Teenagers are exposed to the millions of photos of perfect bodies in the social networking sites. Most of these photos are not real thanks to photoshop and camera filters. Teenagers, however, are unable to separate real photos from the fake edited photos. This makes them feel less beautiful or even less manly which drives them to buy harmful creams and oils or even take drugs just to have a perfect body similar to the one they had seen.
Many social networking sites have normalized sexual intimacy. Teenagers are therefore exposed to a lot of information on the subject. In most causes the information they are exposed to is falsified and is intended to cultivate the curiosity of the teenagers. This drives the teenagers to act on the information leading to irresponsible sexual behaviour and unwanted pregnancies.

Social media sites have commercialized many aspects of life, key among them being happiness. On many social media sites, teens are exposed to information which tends to convince them that their lives would be happier if they had certain material belongings such as particular cloths, cars or shoes. Teens fall prey to this information and spend their little savings and allowances on these items. Advertisers have also discovered the knack that teenagers have for a happy life and therefore mostly target them in their advertisements.

Social media sites just like any other thing in life has both positive and negative effects on the day to day life of the teenagers. However, this depends on how the teenagers use social media and what content on social networking sites they expose themselves to. With proper advice from their guardians and parents, teenagers can reap the positive effects of social media sites while shunning the negative ones.

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