Social media is a technology with a lot of great benefits. It allows people to share and connect, get news and information, and even meet others. But there can be a downside too, especially for teenagers and young adults that are still growing and learning, who have grown up in a world of screens. Social media has been proven to affect young adults’ mental health. It has also been proven that teenagers feel more depressed, and unhappy with social media compared to teens without social media.
Many parents think that their kids are wasting their time scrolling mindlessly when they’re on their phones, often relating to their own experiences on Instagram, or other entertainment apps. But it is much different for teens than it is for adults. When a teenager doesn’t have certain apps they can feel out of the loop and disconnected from their peers. Although it is important that they don’t get consumed by the internet, it is also important for teenagers to be connected with their peers. This however is sensitive because teenagers most teenagers often find themselfs getting carried away while on their phones.
When we interviewed kids from the Lagunitas school district we found that most of them had a daily screen time average of 3 or more hours. This is a lot of time for someone to be on their phones when they could be doing other things. But there is a reason for this. Many teenagers use social media to wind down from a long day or to escape from anything that might be happening at school or in their home life .even so It is important that teens find other hobbies to do when they are bored or are feeling down because being on the screen for too long can make someone feel even more depressed than they already are. This does not mean they shouldn’t be using their phone at all.
Social media can really affect your body image. You can see people that have a “nice body” and you might say to yourself “I wish I was them” or “I wish I looked like that” Social media can affect the way you see yourself and your body. First off you are incredible the way you are no matter how you look. Second, anything on social media can be fake, photoshopped, or using a filter. You never know, and should never compare yourself to others.
You can also see a lot of false information on social media, it’s important to know that not everything on social media is always true. There could be filters, photoshopped pictures can always be fake. An example is “There is gonna be a new Disney movie on March 12th, 2024” You can never know if that’s true or false.
Half of teenagers in the United States have experienced some sort of cyberbullying. Cyberbullying often happens when someone posts or sends harmful or intimidating content about someone else to threaten or demean them. For example, someone might send an embarrassing or explicit photo to someone else via an anonymous account to blackmail them into doing something they normally wouldn’t.
Cyberbullying remains a pressing concern for teenagers in our digital age. The facelessness and security the internet provides can encourage bullies to target people without ever being caught or punished. It is important that teenagers are careful when using the internet and educated on keeping themselves and their personal information safe.
The big thing to know, is that social media can be good but it also has its bad factors, like making you feel bad about yourself, giving you anxiety, and depression. Social media can be good for you too. Just like there are people that make you feel bad, there are also people that make you feel better about yourself and give you a daily reminder to appreciate yourself and do things you love. It’s not good to spend too much time on your device especially if it’s getting in the way of school, sports, and activities. Social media can be a good thing, but don’t make it into your lifestyle.
