Researchers suggest that reliance on certain kinds of technology may be limiting social development and teens, leading to anxiety and lower self-esteem. In today's society, social media is a part of almost every teen's life. It is to the point that teens wake up every day to an alarm that has been set up by their phones and greets them with a bright screen in their faces. The first moments when we open our eyes in the morning are consumed by checking up on social media whether it's Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Instantly our brains are looking for something to catch our attention, and for the rest of the day, we have our phones connected to us at the hip, checking constantly for messages, notifications, and more. It's an unhealthy habit that most teens deal with but don’t see as unhealthy. It’s slowly deteriorating the brains of the youth and is making them dependent on their phones. This paper will explore social media effects on teens along and topics of addiction, mental health, and communication.
Addiction.
It is no lie that social media has been on the rise in usage and addiction over the past ten years. In 2018, 89 percent of teens that were surveyed said they are on social media “almost constantly” or “several times a day” according to Pew Research Centre. Teens often feel a slight panic when realizing they forgot their phone somewhere and do not have access to it and they are in fear of missing any text, or notification, or even just looking on social media while out and around. Some may even become fidgety or restless. These are mild signs of addiction. Some more severe symptoms of being addicted to social media include:
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- Waking up and reaching for your phone instantly.
- Having no wifi feels like “the end of the world”.
- Anxiously waiting to see how many “likes” your photo gets.
- Posting often to social media with simple tasks you’ve done or things you’ve eaten.
- Using social media to forget about your problems.
Communication
Communication is so easy nowadays it can be used by the tip of your fingers without physically talking to anyone. You can share photos on Facebook or Instagram and post statuses and tweets with updates on events in your life. People often have more friends on social media than they do in real life and it can allow you to monitor people's lives with information they share about themselves. Sounds pretty creepy doesn’t it? Well, it is because no matter what you post on the internet it stays there forever for anyone to see, which is why it is so important to watch what information to share about yourself and what things you choose to post.
Mental Health
There are many ways that social media can be damaging to teens developing brains and mental health. This includes:
- Depression
- Jealousy and Envy
- Low self-esteem
- Anxiety
- Eating Disorders
Poor sleeping patterns
As sad as it is the list could go on and go. Teens are using social media every day, multiple times a day and it can trigger some of these symptoms of mental health problems. For example, Instagram is a huge platform where you can post pictures of anything you please but one thing that can be influential to the teen brain is negative body image and self-esteem issues mostly in girls but can affect boys as well. Commonly, teens will compare themselves to others on social media whether it is the amount of “likes” someone has or a certain body type someone has that social media persuades to be the “ideal body image”.
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Essay on Effects of Social Media on Teens.
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