Teenagers Active On Social Media: Pros and Cons
The human brain doesn’t fully develop until the age of 25. So the real question is, why do teens spend the majority of their time on social media and electronics? Since the 2000s, teenagers have been the main face of social media.
The primary users, creators, and influencers are teens ranging from 13-17 years of age. 95% of teenagers are or have been active on social media.
Background
Social media was not always targeted toward adolescent audiences. It was originally designed for the middle-aged and young adult population. Teenagers mostly just used technology for communication, but when did that switch?
The Start
In 2006, social media started to rise in popularity, especially among teens. This simply started with Facebook and MySpace. By the end of 2006, 55% of teenagers were actively using social media.
Social media then quickly became a place for friendships, creativity, and social hierarchy.
Although social media is a big part of society today doesn’t mean it’s all good. Today, social media has a targeted audience- teenagers. The internet does provide good things, but does that even count when the cons drag it to nothing?
Cons Of Social Media
Social media has its ups and downs, which leaves us with a constant unresolved issue: where social media went wrong.
Teenagers often hide what’s truly going on behind the screen, according to pewresearch, 38% of teens say that what they see on social media tends to make them feel overwhelmed or embarrassed due to drama.
A common con or negative about social media is exposure. Young teens are getting exposed to propaganda about body image, substance abuse, and even cyber-bullying.
Another plummeting problem of social media is mental health. 41% of teens with 5+ hours of social media use say that their mental health has declined since constantly using social media.
“Some of the downfall is some of the time people are using on social media…the time is taking away from being in the present…causes isolation,” said Ewell.
Pros Of Social Media
Social media isn’t all bad, even for teenagers. It leads to connections, friendship, creativity, and even good experiences. Oakmont guidance counselor, Mrs. Robin Ewell, says, “Opportunity to discover things in a snap…”
Social platforms can provide teens with connections, friendships, inclusivity, and even engagement with others their age.
Social media is a good way to educate, learn, and connect with others and their ideas.
With social media, teenagers are able to get different outlooks on questions or problems that they wouldn’t be able to find around them.
Improvement of Social Media
Social media isn’t all bad, yet it is far from perfect. Which leads to the question of “How could social media become a better place?” This could start with the simple action of limiting your screen time.
The amount of time spent on social media affects mood, mental and physical health, and, lastly, isolation.
A good way to simply start and lean on social media would be to watch what you are doing with your free time. The healthy amount of screen time for teenagers is no more than 2 hours a day.
If you find yourself going down the social media rabbit hole, take a walk, talk to friends or family, or even catch up on school work.
