The arena of technology has rapidly evolved in recent years, with social media now becoming of utmost importance to everyone. Right from shopping online to exchanging work and education-related emails, documents and materials, social media keeps everyone hooked up. It indeed plays a crucial role in renewing people’s way of life. While it has impacted all the generation with its utility, easy availability, and comfortability, it has both positive and negative paths that everyone gets to choose from. So here is a blog that will give you an insight into all this. So, you go, 16 PROVEN IMPACTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON YOUTH
What is SOCIAL MEDIA?
Social media is an electronic communication that enables the sharing and exchanging of ideas, thoughts, and information by establishing virtual networks and communities.
Social Media is an effective platform for socialization and communication in today’s world. It is a broad-ranging term and includes several types of media, like
- Photos, Videos
- Blogs, Vlogs
- Applications
- Media sharing websites
- Social networking sites
- Bookmarking sites
- Social news sites
- Social review sites
- Microblogging
- Online Forums and much more…
The whole world is just at our one click. Social media has reduced the world to a global village.
16 PROVEN IMPACTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON YOUTH.
Social media has actually become a cool-tool for the youth. They are the most dominant users of social media. As social media is thriving all around the globe, there have been puzzling thoughts about these virtual networks and how they impact the youth. Is social media a boon or a bane to youth??
Positive Impact of Social Media on Youth
There is an array of potential benefits and opportunities associated with social media use. They are as mentioned below-
1. Interaction
Social media enables staying connected with friends, family, acquaintances, and making new friends. It facilitates the sharing and exchanging of pictures, information, and ideas quickly and efficiently.
2. Better Understanding
Social media can help the youth to acquire a better idea and view of self-identity, community, and the world.
3. Growth of ideas
The impact of social media can help the youth in the process of enhancement of individual and collective creativity. The growth of ideas and creativity can help to foster an individual’s unique identity, talent, and skills.
4. Earn money
The youngsters can make money by showcasing their talents, skills, and creativity. They can also share the goods and services they offer and can run businesses through social media.
5. Obtaining health-related information
Social media enables teenagers to access information related to their health concerns easily and anonymously. Resourceful health facilities are available online to youth on a variety of concerning topics, such as stress reduction, signs of anxiety and depression, sexually transmitted infections, etc. The ones suffering from chronic illnesses can gain access to websites by which they can engage with the supportive networks of people with alike conditions.
6. Outside the walls
Social Media enables the students to connect and collaborate outside their schools and colleges in regards to class ventures. It gives them an opportunity to exchange study-related information and ideas about projects and assignments.
7. Strengthening learning opportunities
Many teachers and educational institutions make use of social media in the form of blogs, videos, etc. to engage the students in studies and develop their creativity, learning skills, and endeavors.
8. Building political views
Social media can help and encourage youth in building political views. The political news posted on several types of social media encourages the youth in taking interest in political and civic engagement.
Thus above-mentioned merits reflect the advantageous impact of social media on youth.
Negative Impact of Social Media on Youth
On the other hand, social media is an unregulated virtual networking world. It has no concrete form of morals or laws to abide by, giving rise to potential risks. They are as mentioned below-
1. Addiction
Excessive exposure to social media can lead to an addiction to it. Uncontrollable obsession with posting pictures, getting likes, comments, reviews, seeking approval, and impressing people on social media can force the youth into adopting unrealistic lifestyles and personalities. This addiction to social media makes the youngsters dedicate their lives wholly to social networks.
2. Health Hazards
Exposure to constant use of social media and technology can lead to many health problems in youth. Spending hours in front of computers, laptops, and mobile screens can lead to vision problems, ear problems, headaches, obesity, other neurological disorders. The impact of social media can also take a toll on mental health giving rise to psychological problems like depression, anxiety, panic attacks, isolation, inflicting self-harm, suicidal thoughts, etc.
3.Hampering academics
The impact of social media can also hinder children’s concentration, productivity, scholastic and academic performance.
4. Exposure to explicit content
Easy access and usage of social media and the internet have led to the exposure of explicit content to children and teenagers easily. Content with violence, vulgar language, sexual theme, nudism, pornography, substance use, etc. not only disturbs the youth mentally but can also lead to bad influences and corruption.
5. Affect on relationships
Nowadays, youngsters are so obsessed with social media and online communication that they cherish ‘artificial bonds’ over actual bonds and relationships. Spending more time online causes a lessening of interaction with family and loved ones, affecting the relationships. It could lead to misunderstandings, arguments, fights, loneliness, detachment in relationships.
6. Lack of privacy
Social media opens a secret doorway to invading one’s privacy. It is very easy to trace down anyone using social media information. There are threats like stalking, hacking, identity theft, misuse of personal data, and information storming personal space and privacy.
7. Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is an intentional use of digital or social media to bully a person. The bullying is done by spreading false, embarrassing, or threatening messages or information about a person. It is the most common risk for all youngsters. It can take a toll on adolescents’ physical and mental health.
8. Rumours and Rifts
The youth can easily be instigated and fall prey to sensitive topics and debates concerning gender, sexuality, social status, religion, culture, race, political views, etc. inciting fights and rifts. Social media can also channelize information and news lacking credible resources. Such fake and false information can give rise to rumors, violence, and inappropriate actions.
Thus above-mentioned demerits reflect the disadvantageous impact of social media on youth.
Conclusion
To conclude, surely social media has both advantages and disadvantages. But eventually, it all depends on the user. Excess use and addiction of anything is damaging and the same pertains to the usage of social media. The virtual world is drastically different from the actual world, therefore, the youth should develop the cognitive and intuitive ability to examine how much time they want to spend on social media. For that reason, the youngsters should try to create a balance between their academic performances, physical activities, and social media.
Handy Tips for Parents-
- Communicate with your child about the ‘goods’ and the ‘bad’ of social media usage.
- Talk to him/her about the concerns that youth face because of social media.
- Keep a tab on your child’s usage of social media and the internet.
- Avoid invading the personal space of your child.
- Educate him/her about the importance of privacy settings on social media.
Please visit our website to read more related blogs!
References
- Ehmke, R. (n.d.).How using social media affects teenagers. Retrieved May 10, 2020, from https://childmind.org/article/how-using-social-media-affects-teenagers/
- O’Keeffe, G. S., Clarke-Pearson, K. (2011). The impact of social media on children, adolescents, and families. Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics,127 (4) 800-804
One Response