Negative effect of Social Media on Teens

EDITORIAL ESSAY
Issues related to effects of social media, specifically the
negative ones on teenagers
Negative eff ects
of social media
on teens

Sociology 1
Social media and its effects on teens
There was a time when people used to physically get engaged in conversations and get to
know everything by the word of mouth. The only source of information was the television, by
which people got to know about national as well as international issues and what is trending.
Nowadays, it is so convenient for people to get involved in any kind of discussion through
social media (Ehmke). Individuals can connect people not just in the country but worldwide
without many interruptions. In the below discussion the issue that is going to be debated upon
is social media. The effects it has on teenagers and what it can lead to when excessively used.
Its negative effects have also been highlighted below along with how they can be avoided at
the initial stages.
Especially since teens are so active on the social media, they communicate and look out to
people who are or at least seem to be perfect in their own ways. Social media nowadays is not
just about communicating or sharing information but it affects individuals in a very different
way (The Effect of Social Media on Teenagers). There are so many instances of Cyber
bullying, people as in teenagers going into depression and going through a phase of anxiety
about them, facing body shaming or certain kinds of discrimination on day to day basis. It is
so easy for individuals or teenagers especially to feel bad about them or fall prey to various
scams (Shafer).
Even spending long hours on social media or even on electronic devices have resulted in
affecting teenagers in so many ways (Fersko). Expecting someone’s life to be perfect and
even promoting such kind of lifestyle or choices have sometimes led to people feeling bad
about themselves or their situations since they cannot pursue it. These have not just affected
the person’s physical state but pose a huge threat upon an individual’s mental state as well
(Gordon).