The Negative Influence Of Social Media On Teens

Kids today face a whole new challenge... Social media. In the last century technology has flourished from the rise of smartphones to new social media apps popping up by the day. As social media becomes central in our day to day lives it is important to step back and look at the impact of social media on teenagers. Social media affects teens in a negative way because it is a bad influence, can be unsafe, and can be a major distraction.

First, social media can be a bad influence. Because anyone can post on social media there is lots of opinions and false information about things. For example, when it comes to drugs social media often finds a way of giving false information or saying it 's cool. All it takes is one teen to believe this

Social media can often lead to cyberbullying. In a survey by CBS, 42% of the participants reported they had been victims to cyber bullying. The anonymity provided by social media allows people to be cruel without anyone knowing who they are. Another common problem is people creating false profiles and using a fake names to bully others. Cyberbullying can be traumatic and leave long lasting effects on the victim. Teens are especially susceptible to online bullying as they are going through a turbulent time of change and are often more self-conscious. These online attacks can leave deep mental scars and cyberbullying can be fatal. 20% of kids cyberbullied think about suicide, and 1 in 10 attempt it. Social media is also unsafe because it is addictive. 18% of people reported not being able to go more than a few hours without checking Facebook. These obsessive impulses to check social media turns dangerous and unhealthy when teens start checking while driving, or lose sleep due to excessive social media

While social media can facilitate friendship and help teens stay in touch this is only one part of the equation. The other and much more essential part of friendship is face to face interaction. It is impossible to develop good relationships without knowing the person. Friends on social media alone could act different in real life, or not even be who they say they are. Sometimes social media is even affecting real life relationships. According to dailymail.co 34% of 5-15 year olds frequently bring technology to family meals. The presence of tech at what is supposed to be a time set aside for family and conversation is threatening family relationships. 37% of mothers report they are finding it challenging to get their children even to eat with the family. Although the intent of using social media to stay in touch and develop friendship is good in reality friendships developed purely on social media are not reliable and even worse social media is abused and it is beginning to effect real relationships.

The evidence is overwhelming: the cons of social media for teens outweighs the few benefits. Not only is it a bad influence, it is unsafe, and can be a major distraction. Teens need to stop wasting their life staring at a screen and start