Online social networking has become extremely popular with youth and young adults. These self-expressive sites describes the lives and excitement of today’s youth. Social networking refers to activities that are carried out by specific online services that provide space and tools that allow the creativity of others to shine and express themselves.
How are the youth effected if at all by social technology? The effects of social networking sites on youth. The effects of social networking on the youth of today is beyond many peoples imagination.Teens today are known as the Facebook Generation or “digital natives”. During the past 20 years with the start of online bulletin boards and social media sites the youth of today know more about themselves, their surroundings, and world events more than ever.
In 1994 one of the first social media sites was created named Geocities. In years past young people would come home from school, do their homework, play outside with neighbors, eat dinner with parents, and maybe talk to a friend on a corded phone in front of other family members and then get ready for bed and repeat the same events the next day.Today is a different story, you have study hall during day at school to do homework, you then race home, if you’re not allowed to carry a smartphone to school, to check your chosen social media site or sites, mainly Facebook and see if anyone has tagged you in a picture, sent you a private message, or to see what all your friends are posting. During the reading of this paper, I will discuss the types of social networking sites, good and bad effects of social networking, how it effects development in children, and the health risk of social media sites. Social networking is an important role in the lives of many young people.There have both positive and negative effects on kids who participate with this activity as there is with anything.
Teenagers are also drawn to meeting new people over the internet, they use chat rooms, blogs, message boards, and social networking sites. The most common used sites are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, pin boards on Pinterest, live steam on Pheed, Skype, and short videos on Vine. Teens are also spending a lot of time on Snapchat, YouTube, Reddit. Tumblr, Kik, Vine, Myspace. In a recent survey Facebook and Twitter remain the number one social networking site and are used to engage with friends and acquaintances.
Instagram is an online-photo sharing, video sharing and social networking service. Pinterest is a pin board style photo sharing website that allow users to create and manage theme based image collections such as events, interest, hobbies, and recipes. Snapchat allows users to exchange customized photos with their friends which get deleted a few seconds after viewing them. YouTube is a video sharing website which users can upload, view, and share videos. Reddit is a social news and entertainment website where registered users submit content in the form of links or posts.
Pheed allows users to share all forms of digital content. Pheed has been the number one app at the App Store. The negative effects are depression, cyber bullying, sharing too much information, vulnerability to predatory adults, sharing photos or videos that later you regret, exposure to commercial advertisements which may not be age appropriate, risk of identity theft, reduced amount of physical activity. Depression or recently labeled “Facebook depression”.
It also includes anxiety, psychiatric disorders, and a range of unhealthy behaviors in teens.In a recent study done by Dr. Larry Rosen, a professor of psychology at California State University presented his findings based on a number of computer-based surveys distributed to 1,000 urban adolescents and his 15-minute observations of 300 teens.Some of the negative side effects were development of narcissism in teens who often use Facebook, presence of other psychological disorders, including antisocial behaviors, mania and aggressive tendencies, in teens who have a strong Facebook presence increased absence from school and likelihood of developing stomach aches, sleeping problems, anxiety and depression, in teens who "overdose" in technology on a daily basis, including Facebook and video games, lower grades for middle school, high school and college students who checked Facebook at least once during a 15-minute study period lower reading retention rates for students who most frequently had Facebook open on their computers during the 15- minute study period. Youth also become addicted to social media.
The average teen spends more than seven and a half hours per day consuming social media. That is outrageous!This includes watching TV, listening to music, surfing the web, social networking sites, and playing video games. In a recent poll 22% of teenagers log on to their favorite social media site more than 10 times a day and more than half of adolescents log on to a social media site more than once a day. 75% of teenagers now own cell phones, and 25% use them for social media and 54% use them for texting and 24% use them for instant messaging. Evidence has shown that interaction with technology produces the same neurochemical reaction- a burst of dopamine- that is found with alcohol, drugs, sex, and gambling addictions.Cyber bullying also known as “internet bullying” is a form of teen violence that can do lasting harm to young people and their families.
Cyber bullying uses technology like internet and cell phones to harass another person. More than 1 in 3 young people have experienced cyber threats online. Some interesting facts about it are: Comments and spreading rumors are the most common types of cyber bullying, boys are most likely to be threatened than girls. (I thought this would be the opposite), all races are included, victims are more likely to have low self-esteem and to consider suicide.Sharing too much information, vulnerability to predatory adults, sharing photos and videos that you later regret (sexting) seems to be related. Snapchat formally named Picaboo is a site mainly used for sexting.
When photos are being thru cell phones or the Internet they can become distribute rapidly over the internet which can lead to adult predators finding the photos and using made up names to lure the victim in. Most time the explicit messages/pictures are not shared beyond there small peer group and the group doesn’t find this to be a problem.There is a show on MTV called Catfish and it’s about online relationships. Usually the outcome is one person will be the real person as in true picture and profile of themselves and the other will be a false person with a made up name and picture they have used from a random person’s profile picture. Reduced amount of time for physical activity with social networking has led to obesity in youth.
There are other factors that also contribute to obesity with youth and social networking is not the most common cause. The foods that are consumed are.The positive effects are staying connected with friends, developing new social contacts with peers with similar interest, sharing content of self-expression such as art, music, and world views, developing and expressing your individual identity, more means of social support, young people with shyness or social anxiety can gain comfort, confidence, help law enforcement find criminals and help educators and students. Social media can help young people who experience shyness or social anxiety, developing new contacts, and finding acquaintances with similar interest.
They can use social media to overcome a difficult challenge. They can avoid being judged which is common in trying to make friends. Social media can also help young people cope with stress in their life in many ways. It can provide children more outlets to express their feelings of stress, can also provide youth with social support which can act as a buffer against stress, postings allow youth to receive immediate support from a wider range of people, allow them to research ways to help reduce stress, and distract them from the stressors.Social media can also offers a way for musicians an artist to build an audience even if they don’t have cooperate contracts.
The National Endowment for the Arts found that people that interact with the arts on line through social media and other means are almost three times as likely to attend a live concert. 64% of teenagers listen to music on YouTube making it a hit for songs. Musicians can also use main stream artist songs and recreate it for a chance to earn money after so many hits and can also allow for newer artist to be discovered. For Example: Justin Bieber was discovered on YouTube.Law enforcement uses social networking sites to catch and prosecute criminals.
Social media helps solve crimes more quickly. Educational benefits for students and teachers that use social media sites are a great benefit for enhancing the learning experience. Students use social media to connect with each other on homework and group projects. They can gather outside of class to exchange ideas about assignments. It also helps with practical learning skills, it helps with becoming proficient in technology, developing their creative abilities, appreciating new and different perspectives, and enhancing their communication skills.
It provides academic research to a larger audience that allows many people the access to previously unavailable educational resources. Teachers and colleges use this more than 50% for teaching and 30% use it for communicating. Educators from around the world interact with each other and bring guest teachers, librarians, authors, and experts into the class using social networks like Twitter and Skype. As with anything health risks are involved, never thought of how many. Children can experience physical and psychological problems from playing to many games for a long period of time.Long periods of computer/electronic devices can cause muscle and joint pain, injuries to the shoulder, arm, wrist, and hand because of posture and overuse.
Looking at the computer for a long period of time can cause eye strain, headaches, blurred vision, and fatigue. It is also related to childhood obesity. Research has also shown that children playing violent computer games may cause aggressive behaviors. “Media is potent for our children and must be used in the best possible way” says Dr. Michael Rich the director of Center on Media and Child Health.
“Media profoundly affects our kid’s social, emotional, and physical development” says Dr. Seeta Pai Vice President of Digital Media. Child development specialist also express concern over the amount of time kids spend in front of the screen. This deprives the kids of sensory experience that comes from playing in the yard, riding a bike, visiting an aquarium. Imagination is necessary for wholesome development. Imagination is also the under print for critical thinking, problem solving and common sense.
Early interactions with the real world is the foundation to developing adult life skills.When children are fed stories instead of provided the opportunity to create their own the problem solving part of the brain in under stimulated. A journal published in Biologist also reports that a lack of person to person contact can impact genes, immune responses, even the way in which arteries work. This could lead to things like heart problems, strokes or even later in life dementia.
We also forget how important a physical meeting is with another person is we lose sensitivity to voice tone, body language and pheromones.Some believe the key is setting time limits on social media sites. Parents need to have rules in the household, monitor the internet usage, and as a family make a habit of spending time together and outside. Parents need to pay attention to the trends and the latest technologies the children are using.
Dr. Larry Rosen says “communication is the crux of parenting. You need to talk to your kid, or rather listen to them. The ratio of parent listen to parent talk should be at least five-to –one. Talk one minute and listen for five.”One article also recommended talking to your child’s pediatrician to get a better understanding of challenges of social and health issues that the digital world is becoming.
This seems to be a catch 22, the pediatricians teach children to limit digital time but at the doctor’s office the whole visit is computer related from the check in, sending messages, lab slips, sending prescriptions, being able to email the doctor, etc. A European network “Insafe” is promoting safe, responsible, use of the internet and mobile devise to young people.Safer Internet Day is an international education and awareness-raising effort spanning more than 100 countries around the globe, and this site, operated by ConnectSafely. org, is where you can learn about US activities.
We honor the ideas and voices of everyone working to create a better Internet on this day and throughout the year. We join people of all ages in homes, schools, youth-serving organizations, companies and governments throughout the world in promoting safe, effective use of online and mobile media and technology by all.Safer Internet Day usually takes place annually on the second day of the second week of February. As social media has both positive and negative effects on the Facebook Generation it’s safe to say it’s important that they are educated on the experiences and responsibility that comes along with internet sites. Due to the quick adoption of social media as a major communication, it’s necessary to consider how the social interaction has affected youth.
With new ideas of social sites society is not going back to the old fashioned way of paper, books, and libraries. It’s not changing so it’s time to get on board and join in!
