It is no secret that social media has encompassed the lives of almost all of the world. Social media has specifically grasped the younger generation. Those who are teenagers at this point in their lives have an understanding of technology and the way social media works. Not only are teenagers able to live on social media, they are also highly affected by it.
I focused on the article “Social Media and Teen Anxiety” from the Harvard School of Education website. The article attempted to help the reader understand the effect social media has on teens, anxiety, and even parents. First and foremost, the article advised that parents should not completely make a blanket statement and say that social media is bad. However, it hints that it can be a helpful thing if used properly. Social Media and Teen Anxiety - Click the link to see the article So, how is social media used improperly, causing teens more anxiety than they would have experienced otherwise? The article states there is a lot of pressure for teenagers, particularly female teenagers, to post positive things about themselves on social media. Other stressors include worrying about getting comments and likes on posts as well as worrying about other people posting mean or negative things about you. Parenting on these issues is very important as studies have shown a recent rise in harmful or suicidal thoughts in teenagers, no doubt partially if not fully due to social media. Parents must be patient, caring, and understanding of a teenager that is growing up in a completely different world than the parent did when they were younger. As previously mentioned, instead of taking the phone away completely to try to prevent the teenager from feeling this anxiety, time limits on apps and the phones seems to be the best intervention. This will help the teenagers still live their lives off of their phones, and understand that social media means very little in the grand scheme of things. Regardless of how a parent or a teenager handles the situation, teenagers are affected by social media. Yes, some are affected more than others, but nonetheless, pressure is there to be liked, look cool, or have lots of friends. It is important in this day in age to instill confidence and self worth in our young people so the problem of anxiety via social media can be limited and social media can be a more enjoyable experience for teenagers.
2 Comments
Jordan Barta
3/16/2020 11:30:16 am
I agree with you one hundred percent it is not easy to deal with social media and how it can affect many of us but the best way to do that is to allow parents to know what they kids is on and what they are post about themselves or others.
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Brent
3/22/2020 10:28:32 am
Looking back, I am glad I did not jump entirely on the social media band wagon when I was younger. It has saved me some stress.
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