The Harsh Effects of Social Media

Almost every teenager I know has all the social media: snapchat, instagram, facebook, tiktok, and twitter. That’s not including all those phony dating apps floating around the web. Social media helps people stay updated with all the latest drama and also gives them the ability to talk to whomever they want. Sometimes this is a good thing, while other times this is not such a positive thing for anyone. There are lots of positive outlooks that follow from social media although the negatives seem to leave a large impact on many teenagers. Social media can be dangerous, in many many ways.

How does social media affect teenagers? We need to first acknowledge the fact that teenagers are extremely vulnerable and sensitive. They believe everything they see, and I'm saying this not only from fact but from experience. Many things can affect teenagers just because of the small screen they are staring at - stalking, cyberbullying, sleep deprivation, addiction, low self-esteem, and even decrease in activity.

Stalking doesn’t just mean standing outside someone's window and watching them, like the movies. Stalking can include repetitively looking at someone's pictures or messaging them many times. Again, teenagers are vulnerable. If a man were to message a teenage girl, some girls would be flattered and engage in conversation with someone they don't even know. This man could be dangerous and the girl wouldn’t even know. Their vulnerability can put them in danger. Cyberbullying happens more than you think. Cyberbullying is the act of using social media to bully or harass someone else. This could be by posting embarrassing or hostile information. Cyberbullying is bullying but behind a screen and makes you feel like everyone is against you. Sleep deprivation is exactly what it sounds like, when someone is deprived of sleep. Social media is addicting and people get sucked in to it for hours and hours on end. Addiction is serious and people don't realize they are addicted until it's too late. People spend all night on social media and get way too little sleep or none. According to a study on TechJury two out of every three people are addicted to their phones. Social media can also cause low self-esteem. Seeing pictures of pretty, skinny girls having fun at the beach can be degrading to one's positivity. Social media captures all the positivity of one's life and doesn’t shine light on the bad parts. This makes people think they are the only one who have bad days, who feel lazy, who splurge on junk food, who lie in bed all day. This is very degrading to a girl's self-esteem and can cause many mental health issues. Social media can also cause decrease in activity. If you're on your phone all day, scrolling through social media you are sitting down, most likely in bed or on the couch. Instead of scrolling through social media seeing what you're missing, go live life. Go have fun outside with friends or family.

Social media may be fun and all but can really ruin your days and cause many mental health issues. Instead of social media, try doing something else. I promise you will feel so much better than when you are sucked into the internet. Live in the moment.

Article by Lexi Geddis

Reference: https://techjury.net/stats-about/smartphone-addiction/#gref