Written by: Arjun Nirmal, Arnav Yashlaha, Mahin Patel, Savar Shandilya
Social media has come a long way. Some use it as a source of entertainment, while others use it to know what's going on around them. It has taken over their minds because of this new addictive technology. But what’s so addicting about this? Well, teenagers want attention. They do this by expressing their lives through apps. Likes, comments, and views have taken over their entire brain since all they want is attention. And this addiction can lead to unfortunate things like cyberbullying and online harassment. All of this comes down to the people. Social media users have no control over what goes on. Social media is harmful to teenagers because it leads to misleading information and a lack of real-life communication.
First, due to teenagers' inability to distinguish between fake and factual information, teenagers are at risk of receiving misleading information from social media. To further illustrate, the Washington Post, an online newspaper, wrote: “While teachers once feared teenagers would fall for everything they read online…. Worse, they might start believing the difference between what’s real and what’s fake is a choice” (Washington Post 2). This proves that teenagers have been learning and trusting the fake news on the internet. They are not able to determine whether the news is fake, a half-truth, or a lie. Teenagers have been easily fooled by social media, and this makes them be heavily impacted later in their life.
Secondly, social media can cause a lack of real-life communication. According to the University of the People, the world’s first non-profit, tuition-free, American, accredited, online university, an online university blog, “Around 4 billion people use social media today, which means that 50% of the world uses social media for communication. It’s no surprise that this widespread use has social media effects on communication" (UOPeople 1). Social networking has made face-to-face contactless common in recent years. As a result, communication and interaction may be less successful. Without these resources, teenagers may feel alienated and detached. This can cause unhappiness and stress.
As a way for teens to communicate with their families and peers, social media has often been deemed beneficial by some. Yet teens are able to use social media to engage in bullying and harassment as well. To give an example from the Pew Research Center, "Pew said that 59 percent of the parents interviewed during the research were worried about their teen being harassed or bullied online" (Agence France-Presse 3). Throughout the history of social media, teenagers have been harassed and bullied countless times. People often feel guilty and inferior when they use social media. It makes them feel even worse when they are cyberbullied. Social media is heavily responsible for the prevalence of cyberbullying on social media, and most people feel it wouldn't exist without it.
Ultimately, social media has changed our lives, and our society shouldn't let teenagers get attracted to it. In today’s society, more needs to be made aware of social media dangers. However, some people see social media as beneficial, despite the risks. However, people should be aware of how precarious it can be. Ideally, society today would be way better off if social media never existed to our knowledge. The use of social media has become used in daily life which interferes with our lives, making it harder for us to accomplish our goals, jobs, etc.
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