The Effects of Social Media on Adolescents

However, this is not the case today, it is clear that through various social media platforms adolescents not only remain intact with known friends but also unknown individuals as well. As per the BBC news studies of 2013, 67 percent of the Facebook platform users are adolescents and obviously, this number consists of students, and therefore this embraces the fact that adolescents have more focus and relation. All through the world adolescents frequently utilizes the web, online games, mobile phones, and other online devices and platforms to communicate and collect information with each other. This paper will discuss how social media has affected adolescents both positively and negatively. Positive effects of social media on adolescents Having said so, let start with positive impacts of social media on adolescents’ behavior: First, it helps create and develop awareness.

Thus adolescents can utilize such movies as inspirations. For example, adolescents can decide to take up marital arts training. Some of the inspiring movies include Bruce Lee movie; adolescents' looks up to celebrities, and when the celebrities tend to warn against drug abuse, adolescents might just listen (Sözbilir, 2018). Notwithstanding that some video games available on social outlets help develop motor skills. Although video games bring about a lot of concerns today, there are some better video games as well (Sözbilir, 2018). Social media has turned adolescents to be a social animal inducing a sense of social networking among them. As a matter of facts, social networking can increase the chances of sharing useful information. Such information may include good eating behaviors.

When adolescents encounter such information they tend to put them into practice and eventually exhibit desirable eating behaviors. Other important information shared may include the dangers of attending some places such as dance clubs that teach inappropriate behaviors for adolescents and these can help to put off adolescents from such places (Gil de Zúñiga, Jung & Valenzuela, 2012). For instance, today coaches use social media recruiting and this can be helping to adolescents who have special skills in football and athletics since they can post videos or show the interests of joining different clubs or academies. However, despite the many benefits associated with social media in regard to adolescents’ behavior, social media influences the emotions of adolescents as well (Gil de Zúñiga, Jung & Valenzuela, 2012).

Considering social media in light of its emotional effects, one can agree that adolescents who experience low self-esteem can change their status by the use of these platforms. Since social outlets increase connectivity, it is connected to the Freudian concepts of the id, super-ego, and ego. It is true that social media does not necessarily take adolescents out of the real universe but helps them face reality in most of the cases. Notwithstanding the organizational support drawn from social media by adolescents; social media platforms offer adolescents an opportunity to network with organizations that can enable them to have personal progression. In most incidences, these organizations tend to engage adolescents on constructive things such as career growth and health concerns. Additionally, some of these organizations guide adolescents on how to better use these platforms.

Adolescents are provided with an advanced versatility educated methodology that recognizes computerized vulnerabilities and expects to enable the adolescents to explore harmful components of using social media outlets with regards to a strong relationship. Negatives effects of social media on adolescents Despite social media having positive influences on the behaviors and emotions of the adolescent, it as well has negative effects. Also, social media results in cyberbullying that can result in negative effects on adolescent psychosocial wellbeing and can slowly decrease their self-esteem. Most of the adolescents have been misjudging themselves by whatever they see on the social media. Some also feel as if they are not beautiful enough or they are not achieving their objectives when they view glorified photos and status updates uploaded by their friends on Facebook, and Twitter among other social media platforms.

For example, some individuals post photos of big houses, luxurious cars, getting married as well as of their children or even other people's children but they pretend to be theirs (Valkenburg, Peter & Schouten, 2006). This update makes adolescents feel as if they have not planned and utilized their time properly hence regarding themselves as inferiors. On the behavioral perspective of some photos and messages in most social Media causes sexting. Sexting is the term used to refer to sending and receiving sexually related messages, images, and photos through the mobile phone, computers as well as through digital devices. Transfer of this information is most common in young youths (Barker, 2009). Most young adults who engage in sexting have been charged with felony child pornography.

Also, it causes the adolescents to be engaged in sexual activities with their peers or even with the adults. Also, the use of social media by adolescents who are still schooling contributes to poor learning activities where learner fail to study as they spend most of their time online. From the above discussed negative effects, adolescents should be educated on the effects of utilizing social media in an excessive way because it negatively influences their behaviors and emotional wellbeing. They should be educated on the type of information they should avoid posting (Strasburger, Jordan & Donnerstein 2010). Therefore, the social media administrators should establish regulations that prohibit some information to be accessed by adolescent; sensitive information should only be viewed by adults. Conclusion In conclusion, as innovation is rapidly growing, the media has turned out to be the routine for each and every individual, where people are seen to be addicted to these innovations every day.