Tabyas Sutherland
Staff reporter
Social media has become a part of most teenagers day to day lives because on the surface it is enjoyable and helpful. Social media makes life so much easier; one can talk to their friends and could share memories or even just what is happening at the moment. And, although social media is helpful what a lot people do not talk about enough is how social media has negatively influenced teenagers.
Social media has given teenager’s social anxiety because they fear being watched or being different or being judged by others. Social media has changed this generation is so many ways, A big problem is that teens have started comparing their self to other people’s persona on social media because it sets unrealistic standards.
social media distracts teens they are too worried about how many likes their new post has or how many followers they have. Social media disrupts sleep, set unrealistic views on people’s life, people get cyber bullied on social media platforms daily. People cyber bully because it is so easy you can just sit behind a screen and say whatever you want and there are no consequences.
Social media has broken the connection of talking to people face to face and due to that fact a lot of teenagers have trouble communicating to others. people need face to face to be mentally healthy nothing reduces stress and boosts your mood faster or more effectively then eye contact with somone who cares about you. Teenagers fear of missing out, the idea that you’re missing out on certain things can impact your self-esteem, trigger anxiety, and fuel even greater social media use. Fear of missing can out can compel you to pick up your phone every few minutes to check for updates, or compulsively respond to each and every alert.
After watching the movie The Social Dilemma it has changed my point of view on social media. Social media companies watch our every move they manipulate us and what we see, The Social Dilemma showed me they can watch our screen and don’t offer any privacy while using there platform. Social media is made to keep your attention to keep you online and checking for notifications that’s how they make their money.
Teenagers have got addicted to using social media and don’t even know, on average a teenager is on social media for 8-9 hours a day and using social media for that long heightens the risk of mental heath issues. A solution that comes to mind is that people should take breaks from social media from periods of time and reflect and eventually people will realise they don’t need it as much as they think. To limit your time on social media we could turn off the notifications. It is hard to resist the constant buzzing, beeping and dinging on your phone alerting you the new messages. Turning off notifications can help you regain control of your time and focus.