Being a teenager nowadays is more difficult than any parent might ever imagine, due to the popularity of social media. The effects of social media on teens are a constant concern for parents and guardians.
We all witness the rise of social media every day. All the beeping and buzzing around us of notifications show the impact of social media we have in our lives. Teens approach social media for everything they want to know, let it be some news, facts or even educational purposes.
But with this comes the entertainment and addictive part of social media. Teen brains are vulnerable and they catch new habits and get affected by them quickly. Overuse of the apps exposes teens to cyberbullying, peer pressure, comparisons and digital addiction, as well as a reduction in the overall time they spend engaging in healthy, real-world activities.
In the previous articles, we have listed the pros & cons of social media. This article will cover the negative impacts of social media on teens as they are the most vulnerable of all.
Table of Contents
Questions That Arise About Effects Of Social Media On Teens
- Why is social media bad?
- Is social media addictive?
- What negative impact does social media on teens have?
- Do we have any positive outcomes from social media?
- How can we use social media for good?
- Role of parents in effects social media is causing on teens?
- How can parents help teens with the use of social media?
Let’s try to find out about this.
The positive effect of social media on teens
Social media is an important part of our lives now and the reality is we cannot totally cut it off right away. But if we filter our habits and the content we consume, social media does have some positive impacts on our life.
1. Being motivated by watching the success stories of peers.
2. Increased ability to raise awareness about anything you wish to follow or change.
3. Connect with people who think alike.
4. Sharing our moments and stories with the people we love anytime anywhere can make us happy and content.
5. We can use social media to get ideas for everything and bring a positive change in our lives by being inspired by people around us and their stories.
6. Peer motivation may be produced through social media, inspiring teenage people to try new things, chase their goals, and speak out about issues that are important to them.
How does Social Media Affect Teens Live In A Negative Way?
1. Time
The first concern would be how much time teens spend on social media. Sitting and scrolling through media can have a big impact on how much physical activity or face-to-face communication a teenager engages in. This also affects students in ways like lack of discipline, lack of attention, lack of concentration etc. We have discussed the effects of social media on students in one of our articles.
2. Content We See
The content that young people consume on social media (e.g., violence, cyberbullying, body shaming) and how it is absorbed can be harmful. We try to judge our self-worth and how we should treat ourselves and others according to what we see online.
3. FOMO
Fear of losing out is real, and social media can bring it to our attention more than anything else. When we aren’t up to speed on the latest social media posts and trends, we feel like we’re falling behind, and we worry about how we’ll join in a conversation or what will happen if we meet up with friends the next day and have no idea what they’re talking about.
Due to this fear of missing out we try to reach our device and go through social media as many times as possible to be on top of everything. This consumes a lot of our time and productivity.
4. Fear Of Rejection
Youth find it more difficult to deal with rejection or poor interactions in face-to-face conversations. The same thing happens on social media, which can be disturbing for young people. On social media, teenagers may experience negative interactions like not getting a reply for a day or less reach on social media. Teens seek to get validation from social media more than from themselves or real-life friends.
This can cause a lack of sleep and depression due to negative thoughts and overthinking about the same.
Social media can make us overthink social interactions as what we see on social media might make us think about how we look, what people think of us, comparing our lives with what others are doing etc., which can cause depression and anger issues. But on the other hand, seeing friends eat healthy foods, engage in creative projects, or spend time outside in nature can inspire us to do the same. This is going to improve the quality of our life and make us happy.
We must decide what content we should follow and how much time we should give to social media. It is going to be harmful only when it’s overused. We can also implement social media detox every now and then to ensure balanced use of social media. We can even decide to stay off social media if social media does no good to our life.
Set healthy boundaries with the usage of social media and try to get as much goodness as you can out of it.
Sharvari is a CSE undergrad and an author at Evolve. She is a dreamer. An explorer of life which she showcases in her writing. She writes to share, to learn and to be heard!