EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON YOUTHS
Social media is how technology is used in transmitting certain information through the creation of a virtual network among the individual. It is an internet-based that uses electronic devices in facilitating the sharing of varieties of information and ideas. Subscribers engage in social media through the use of tablets, computers through web-based software. They share content such as videos, photos, and also documents. Society can be affected positively or negatively depending on how the information has been displayed to them. Positive ideas impact the youth positively while negative ideas or information impact society negatively.
Effects of social media on youths
Youths are impacted both negative and positive effects on youths. On the positive side, social media enlightens the youths thus making them aware of all current events occurring globally and also connecting them without meeting physically. Through these meetings, relationships are bounded between youths who stay away from each other. These meetings can be done through social media platforms.
It can also lead to socially Isolation since social media interaction reduces face – to – face meetings among individuals. Social isolation could be more dangerous since it could lead to depression and anxiety. It also affects students’ languages lowering grades in languages.
Social media exposes youth to predators who are on online platforms looking for them for sexual benefit. Through this platform, youths are exposed to pornographic content being shared online socially. Later this leads to early pregnancy and finally school dropouts. The affected youths can easily contract sexually transmitted diseases like HIV and finally, death could occur. The youths are immorally affected through their access to immoral videos.
Many youths spend a lot of time on social media thus decreasing their productivity. They, therefore, become dependent on their parents. They take long hours wasted on the online platform doing things that are not productive. These hours wasted can be used in the education sector in research findings.
Social media gives a platform for cyber theft and cyberbullying activities. These criminal activities have so far increased through online platforms. Personal information of the youths could easily be stolen and used to mock them,
In conclusion, social media is proved to have both positive and negative effects on youths. Therefore they should decide whether to go on using the sites or stop or even moderate on their usage. Parents also to guide and advise the youths on the current matters like the usage of social media and give a warning on its negative impacts when misused. The education curriculum also should be revised so that it can include social media studies in its disciplines to alert students that they need to be careful in their social media usage