I chose this question because social media and its effect on impressionable minds is something that I’m passionate about, and also something that a lot of people I know struggle with. I think the power that social media has over young people is overpowering and can cause self-image issues as well as lower self-esteem. People on social media only show the good parts of themselves and their lives, which makes it an impossible expectation to meet. Comparing yourself to others online is an uphill battle with no winner. The only outcome is feeling horrible about yourself and an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness.
Children and teenagers are seeing things on social media that can make them feel extremely self-conscious. If they spend more than 3 hours a day on social media, they are twice as likely to have mental health problems like feeling sad or anxious. However, most teenagers spend even more time on social media, totaling at least 3.5 hours a day. Almost half of them say that social media makes them feel worse about their bodies. “Up to 95% of young people aged 13-17 report using a social media platform. Nearly two-thirds of teenagers report using social media every day and one-third report using social media ‘almost constantly.'” This statistic begins to make a lot of sense when you realize how much time teenagers devote to social media alone.
Ava, I partially agree with you. I think that social media does have a very strong hold on our generation. We are constantly surrounded by other people’s posts, influencers, and extremely unrealistic standards. This can create a harmful disposition about our own self-image and lives. However, I do think social media can be beneficial when it comes to communication. I have been able to talk to my family and keep in touch from all over the world with tremendous ease. Seeing what they post and being able to interact is a way to have a relationship from thousands of miles away. In This article, it explains the vast pros and cons of social media which I think are very powerful.
Ava! I’m glad you decided to talk about this topic as it is something we all know exists, but almost never talk about. How can we get kids to detach from social media and instead spend more time in the real world? It seems that people today only care about what happens online and how it makes them look. Not having TikTok, I find myself on my phone less than many of my friends who spend hours on social media everyday. In this article, I found that almost 45% of teenagers are online “almost constantly”. I find this worrying, so I’m glad that you decided to write on this topic. It is something we need to be talking about way more.
Ava, I agree with you completely. Social media has such a strong hold on our generation, and it isn’t in a positive way. I know for a fact that I spend way too much time on social media, and I’ve been trying to cut it back. I’ve become happier, and I believe that if more people do the same, then they’ll start to feel better about themselves. I also believe that these feelings are caused by the unreal expectations we’re held to, so we need to stop following people who do this, and instead follow people who are their real, authentic selves. This article shows the mental health impacts social media has on users, and we need to stand up against it.
Ava, social media certainly does harm individuals, especially with the amount of content that is edited! Your post has caused me to reflect on my own usages, realizing I spend almost 1/3 of my day using technology! Do you think that spending long times on social media will increase the way our generation sees the world, particularly when it comes to parenting? While we often joke about being iPad kids, I wonder how increased technology affects brain growth, and if earlier exposure to technology will create more mental health issues in the future. I found this interesting article regarding parent-child relationships and how they have shifted over the years. If you were to look into the effects of technology more in children and parenting mechanisms, I would be very interested in seeing how technology and media affects their mental health, and their relationships with their parents.
Ava, social media certainly does harm individuals, especially with the amount of content that is edited! Your post has caused me to reflect on my own usages, realizing I spend almost 1/3 of my day using technology!