Social Media and its Impact on Young People
Social networking entails the use of different websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram, to name a few. The most critical point to remember is that the use of social media, especially by the younger generation, has been linked to both positive and negative outcomes. Many scholars, however, have specifically claimed that the negative effects of social media are mostly triggered by the consumers themselves (Dron & Anderson 6-8). As a result, the primary goal of this article is to explore how social media has both harmed and changed the lives of young people.
Enhanced Socialization and Cultural Understanding
Social media has allowed young people all over the world to socialize and get to know one another. Social media has opened the space that young people use to communicate with one another and share ideas. For example, through use of Facebook messenger or twitter, it is quite easy for a person living in the United State to discuss an emerging issue even without physical touch (Barth 201). Furthermore, socialization achieved via social media platforms has eased understanding of cultural practices of different regions of the world. Socialization promotes oneness as well as togetherness amongst young people worldwide.
Access to Information
Secondly, social media has enhanced easy access to information. As it is frequently stated, information is power, which means that young people have the capability of getting news and sharing them rightfully. By extension, when people have access to information, it is easy to make well-versed decisions. For example, one can learn of what is happening in far end of other part of the world within a span of short time (Dron & Anderson 74). It is important to note that information is not always meant to be educative but also to warn of any impending danger.
Education and Career Opportunities
In addition, social media has provided avenues for people to access education. For example, various educational institutions have online tutorials prepared for different courses which young people get access to in order to improve their careers. In addition, social media has also helped young people do online courses and examinations, which are vital for career profile advancement (Barth 203). On the other hand, young adults have also actively engaged in online discussion regarding different courses that are offered via online platform. All in all, it is acceptable to state that social media has helped reduce illiteracy level globally.
Economic Empowerment
Social media platforms have also provided opportunities for young people that are likely to empower them economically. For instance, there are various professionals that educate people about different skills such as agriculture, engineering, and accountancy (Ventola, 65). It means that a person has one-on-one interactive session with professionals which will promote solid skills to improve their livelihood. It is possible to learn about agricultural skills such as how to prepare seedlings, how to identify market for farm produce, and best approaches to use in order to generate income.
Improved Security
Social media has in a great way promoted and guaranteed security not only for young people but for the general population. In the recent time, we have seen terror groups giving warning on the places they intend to attack. Consequently, if the warning is taken seriously by the security agencies, proper measures will be taken which at the end helps in minimizing the loss of lives through attacks (Barth 203). In the contrary, if the warnings are not taken seriously, attacks that are likely to happen.
The Negative Impact of Social Media on Young People
Every coin has two sides. Therefore, despite the fact that social media has provided avenues to improve the lives of young adults, it has on the other end hurt them to a great extent. The negative impacts that are currently experienced have even ended up causing hatred, death, as well as violence among parties concerned. Such effects are seen as negative impacts of the social media platforms.
Privacy Issues and Bullying
Firstly, social media has affected the privacy of young people. When an individual posts his or her picture with their families and loved ones maybe for the purpose of saving it for future reference, it will be accessed by everyone in their friend list. It means that their personal privacy will be violated (Barth 206). On the other hand, social media platforms have opened podiums for bullying through comment sections and messaging, which at the end causes chaos and unease amongst young people.
Violence and Impersonation
Social media platforms have also led to violence-related issues. For instance, people of different political groups have frequently exchanged bitter words on social media. By doing so, people have continually thrown abuse and all sorts of divisive words causing tension. In addition, people with bad intentions have specialized in impersonating others, which involves creating a social media account with the same name and profile pictures with an intention of spreading false information (Daniels and Zurbriggen 945). At some point, people also spread nude pictures with fake accounts with an aim of painting a negative image of the other person.
Impact on Self-esteem and Mental Health
Additionally, it is important to note that bullying, impersonation, and verbal abuse that are presently experienced in various social media platforms have caused a feeling of low self-esteem among young people. In some cases, such feelings have triggered the act of suicide, causing deaths. Consequently, this has led to the implementation of strict legal provisions to deal with such divisive proceedings (Ventola 491).
Addiction and Productivity Issues
Social media platforms have been linked to a high rate of addiction, which at the end causes poor production among youth. According to research, the amount of time that young people consume on various social media platforms is relatively higher than that used for sleep and for work purposes. This is continually affecting the gross production as well as overall work efficiency (Krasnova et al. 587). Economists have stated that if this behavior is not dealt with sooner than earlier, the harm likely to be caused will be unbearable.
Impact on Morals
Lastly but not least is that social media erodes good morals among the youth. For example, young people tend to copy what celebrities do and post on their social media accounts. Such behaviors include indecent dressing, drug and substance abuse, use of vulgar language, and overall unacceptable behaviors.
In conclusion, it is evident that social media has an impact that is attributed to both hurting and improving the lives of young people across the globe. Social media platforms have improved the lives of young people since they provide opportunities to access education, interact or socialize, access information, improve security, and eventually provide opportunities to empower youths. On the contrary, social media platforms have been heavily linked with negative features that end up affecting youths such as bullying, impersonation, addiction and time wastage, as well as affecting morals that are naturally accepted in society. It is important to note that regulatory frameworks are being implemented to ensure that negative effects are dealt with adequately.
Work Cited
Barth, F.D. Social media and adolescent development: Hazards, pitfalls and opportunities for growth. Clinical Social Work Journal, 43(2), 2015: .201-208.
Daniels, E.A. and Zurbriggen, E.L. Its Not the Right Way to Do Stuff on Facebook: An Investigation of Adolescent Girls and Young Womens attitudes Toward Sexualized Photos on Social Media. Sexuality & Culture, 20(4), 2016: 936-964.
Dron, J. and Anderson, T. Teaching crowds: Learning and social media. Athabasca University Press, 2014. Print
Krasnova, H., Widjaja, T., Buxmann, P., Wenninger, H. and Benbasat, I.. Research notewhy following friends can hurt you: an exploratory investigation of the effects of envy on social networking sites among college-age users. Information systems research, 26(3), 2015: 585-605.
Ventola, C.L.,. Social media and health care professionals: benefits, risks, and best practices. Pharmacy and Therapeutics, 39(7), 2014: .45-69.
