The Negative Effects Of Social Media In A Teen's Life

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Buzz... Buzz... Jamie takes her phone out of her back pocket and turns the screen on. A new notification from Facebook pops up and she slides her finger across the screen. Her aunt from Chicago just got an account and she has not talked to her in forever! Social media is a great way to connect with friends and family. Teenagers are all about staying social and using social media sites. Social media can be harmful in a teen’s life, but if they stay focused and determined, social media can be helpful. Social media is used for connecting with people and is used by a wide age range. The definition of social media can be interpreted in many ways. According to John Waters, “Social media is a term that covers a group of web-based applications”(2). …show more content…
Teenagers that check Facebook daily tend to not check their profile once, but multiple times. This can cut into schoolwork, family time, and even sleep. “Teens who check Facebook at least once during a 15-minute study period had lower grades” (Greenwood). Kids who constantly go from chat, to music, to work are going to have trouble doing a good job (Thompson). Once they log in, teens find out how concentrated they have to be to get off the site. This makes social sites time consuming. Teachers at University of Maine say that many of their students have deleted their accounts, but end up creating new ones later on (Warner). As teenagers spend more and more of their time on these sites, they are getting more comfortable with saying whatever is on their mind and posting the rude comments for the public to see (McCann). But teens and classmates are getting too untroubled about what they say to one another. This is how cyber bullying works. Teenagers need to be aware that whatever they post cannot be deleted or erased. In this way, social media is changing teens’ personalities. Austin McCann states, “Social media has and is changing the way [teens] live. It is affecting who they are, what they do, and how they interact.” This is not always a bad thing, but most of the changes are for the worst. Social media allows teens to shape an opinion on almost any subject (Lake). Teenagers want to be considered “cool” so …show more content…
One of the most obvious reasons to join a social site is to stay connected to friends and family. Social media sites were created specifically for this reason. Facebook and Twitter make connecting to family members who live across the country or even across the world easy (Thompson). These sites also help members meet new people whether through mutual friends or common interests. Media sites are also popular because of personal interests. By “liking” pages on a certain topic, like fitness, travel, fashion, food, and celebrities, readers learn more about the subject of choice (Lake). There are multiple pages on every subject imaginable. Personal interests make social media more than just “friendly” sites. These sites can also be use to spread news about upcoming events. Schools can use social media to inform students of scores, highlights, awards, etc. (Warner). Spreading news has never been so quick and efficient. Schools may also use social sites to spread news about fundraisers to students, and their friends and relatives. Social media can be beneficial for sport teams and clubs, informing all members of meeting times, changes in schedules, and upcoming tournaments (Dilmore). If social media was always used like this, social life would be a lot less

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