“Adolescence And Social Media: Do The Disadvantages Outweigh The Advantages?”
There is no doubt that social media has impacted on the lives of adolescents. Therefore, as the use of social media use in young people is rising, the issue of whether the disadvantages of this use outweigh the advantages warrants greater scrutiny. In the online world, adolescents can be exposed to cyberbullying and internet addiction. However, there are many real advantages to adolescent’s use of social media. Through social media, adolescents can benefit from identity formation, improved learning, enhanced social connections, and increased self-esteem. Thus, the disadvantages of adolescent social media use do not outweigh the advantages.
Cyberbullying is one of the major ills of social media use in adolescents because of the anonymity it offers. As a result, it increases the risks of sexual extortions and threats. Ferrara, Ianniello, Villani, & Corsello Investigated the impact of cyber harassment on bullied teenagers and found the emotions exhibited were those of anxiety, embarrassment, fear, sadness, and anger. Other consequences, such as worsened school grades and absence from school, were also discovered (Ferrara, Ianniello, Villani, & Corsello, 2018). These impacts are detrimental in that they are frequently carried through to adulthood leading to other adverse outcomes such as health complications, including depression. Thus, parents must monitor their adolescents’ utilization of social media concerning this issue.
When social media use in adolescents is not controlled, it can turn them into internet addicts. Research by the American psychology association shows that when children spend too much of their time engrossed on social media, they get exposed to new ideas and new stories that they would want to explore. In the process, the habit eventually blossoms into an addiction characterized by heavy social media use. As a result, adolescents end up having less time for activities that increase physical movement and mental abilities. Consequently, addiction impairs personal development, mental health, and school performance (Sampasa-Kanyinga, Chaput, & Hamilton, 2019). Parents can minimize internet addiction by regulating how much time their adolescents can spend on their devices
The article ” Adolescent’s media and social media use: Implications for development” by Minas Michikyan and Carola Suárez-Orozco published in the SAGE journals shows that social media is vital for the development of adolescents. According to the article, social media allows adolescents to establish identity with other pro-social peers at pivotal a stage when they are developing their foundations of independence (Michikyan & Suárez-Orozco, 2016). With social media, young people participate in their interests by following their international and local music, drama, or dance clubs on as well as share opinions on the same. These activities all contribute to identity development, given that the online environment of the adolescents frequently reflective their offline, personal lives.
A review by the well cooperative research center shows that social media is an excellent source of teaching and learning. Social media serves as a gateway for exchanging information, and so, it has become a platform for adolescence to improve their education. The sharing option has created a thesaurus from which adolescents can extract every bit of information about a topic. Moreover, it offers adolescents with an opportunity to connect with other educational systems and teach groups that make learning convenient. Most learning management systems utilize the concept of online learning, and so, adolescents can use the social media universe to communicate with their teachers concerning assignments.
Social media is connecting adolescents causing vast numbers of relationships around the world. Consistent findings of extensive studies on social media and adolescence show that almost two-thirds of teenagers in the U.S report making new friends through social media, and more than 80 % of the teenagers in the country use social media to connect with their offline friends daily (Amanda,2020). The growth of interactive media platforms and their rapid adoption by adolescents has also proved to enables them to understand what their friends might be feeling as they connect. With such, social media addresses the needs of a developmental stage when peer approval and peer support are vital.
When adolescents post to their social media accounts and other people react to their posts through “likes” and comments, it can boost the adolescents’ self-esteem. Research from Pennsylvania State University in University Park indicates that college students who had many “likes” on their Facebook posts experienced a boost in self-confidence.Usually, adolescents curate their online personas to showcase their best features by selecting flattering photos of themselves, and when the pictures get the intended attention, they feel good about it. This kind of feedback expressed through social media plays an enormous role in how teens view themselves as well as how they see each other.
There is no doubt that because of social media, adolescents have developed an identity, enhanced their learning, formed connections, and boosted their self-esteem. Meanwhile, social media has also resulted in cyberbullying and internet addiction. Luckily, cyberbullying and intern addiction can be controlled with parental involvement in adolescents’ social media use. Therefore, the advantages of social media use in adolescents outweigh the disadvantages.
References
Amanda, N. R. (2020). Social interaction among adolescents who use social media. Proceedings of the 5th ASEAN Conference on Psychology, Counselling, and Humanities (ACPCH 2019).doi: 10.2991/assehr.k.200120.025
Ferrara, P., Ianniello, F., Villani, A., & Corsello, G. (2018). Cyberbullying a modern form of bullying: let’s talk about this health and social problem. Italian Journal of Pediatrics, 44(1).doi: 10.1186/s13052-018-0446-4
Michikyan, M., & Suárez-Orozco, C. (2016). Adolescent media and social media use. Journal of Adolescent Research, 31(4), 411–414.doi: 10.1177/0743558416643801
Sampasa-Kanyinga, H., Chaput, J.-P., & Hamilton, H. A. (2019). Social media use, school connectedness, and academic performance among adolescents. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 40(2), 189–211.doi: 10.1007/s10935-019-00543-6