The Influence Of Social Media On Adolescents

The interactive tools known as “social media” have catapulted today’s youth to become the most cyber-connected generation of all time. In fact, “90% of teenagers say they have created an online profile for at least one social networking site” (qtd. in Niemer). The stage of adolescence is a time when physical and emotional changes develop quicker than ever. These disconcerting changes vindicate why youngsters are particularly vulnerable to the influence of social media. Teenagers can chat, tweet, comment, share pictures and create posts almost instantaneously; the hindrance of having to physically interact is suddenly eliminated. These liberating tools create an appropriate outlet for teens to express themselves. Furthermore, those trending outlets allow adolescents to portray themselves however they desire; whether the teens’ virtual identity resembles their real identity or not. Naturally, adolescents are conformed to adopt this unprecedented world know as “social media”. But what damage does this social realm cause for this age group? Research indicates that social media impacts the lives of adolescents, both positively and negatively.
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Preceding generations of today’s children are generally less informed and experienced in the field of social media because they had not been exposed to this world at such a young age (Neimer). Consequently, children today are feeling the detrimental impacts set in by the guile evils of social media. Cyberbullying and online harassment are issues that are extremely prevalent in the online world. Kids use social media sites to send threating chats, pictures, and videos to others that can permanently destroy lives, confidence and self-importance of young adults. These implications can ultimately lead to the development of disorders like depression, severe anxiety, anorexia, and even suicide in adolescents (Anderson Bresnahan and