Effects of Social Media on the Youth Today
Social media have become an eminent part of life for many young people today. Engagement of the youth with the media without thinking of the side effects in their lives, negative or positive, has become a daily routine. The society is becoming more connected with Facebook friends than they are to the people they interact with daily. These effects may be either long term or short term. There are many positive aspects as there are dangers in using the common social sites among youths.
Through social media, students occasionally communicate with their teachers easily. Most students find it convenient to discuss with their course colleagues through these social sites. Mostly these sites offer group platforms which see many students actively sharing problems and ways of solving them. Students help one another tackle class assignments. This has contributed to improvement in grades and reduced class absenteeism.
Politically, voters participation is increased. Social media users said they are more likely to vote if they see their friends have already completed the process. Online networks facilitate political change. Social media give social movements a cheap, quick method of mobilizing people and disseminating information.
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Social networks play a major role in social awareness and being informed. Most of the youths get their news online. News spread faster on social networks than any other source. Many learn of breaking news through social media platforms. Through online access, many familiarize themselves with previously unavailable academic researches. Social networks provide a wide platform for professionals to market, connect and find business opportunities. Social media has created many jobs and multiple new avenues of income.
On negative aspects of social media, many youths have been involved in cheating on school assignments. Also, students who spend most of their time online for other reasons other than studying tend to score less on academic tests. Employed youths who find it hard keeping off social sites produce low productivity levels. These youths are prone to contract termination.
Misinformation also occurs to social media users. Rumours and false information spread rapidly through social media. Some find themselves following amateur health advice and self- diagnoses of health problems which can be very dangerous. Sites such as Facebook influences youths, through advertisements, to spend more money.
Most of these social sites are very insecure. Cyber bullying (the use of electronic media to bully someone, usually by sending threatening and intimidating messages) is commonplace online. Cyber bullying causes trauma, and sometimes in some extreme cases, leads to suicide. Some things that happen online lead to face-to-face arguments, which mostly end relationships between friends. Online attacks such as hacking, viruses and phishing scams are frequent via social media
Sexual predators stalk and assault victims through social. This happens when youth mainly post their sexy photos or posts online. Sexting (sexual content texting) is a big problem among teenagers. This may lead to serious criminal charges and child pornography.
Extensive social media engagement is correlated with brain and personality disorders like poor communication skills, lack of self- control, narcissistic behaviour, aggression, need for instant gratification and emotional distress such as loneliness and excessive anxiety. Youths, especially those living with disabilities, feel isolated and disconnected.
Beres, D. (n.d.): 5 Weird Negative Effects of Social Media on Your Brain. Reader’s Digest.
California Adolescent Health Collaborative. (2011, 8). Impact of Social Media on Adolescent Behavioral Health in California phi.org.