FYA002-0: Sociological Analysis of Social Media and Child Abuse

This essay provides a sociological analysis of two critical issues: the impact of social media and the causes and consequences of child sexual abuse. Regarding social media, it discusses both the positive aspects, such as improved personal relationships and access to information, and the nega...Read More

RUNNING HEAD: Sociology 0
SOCIOLOGY

Sociology 1
Contents
The use of social media and digital technology.....................................................................................2
Causes and consequences of child sexual abuse....................................................................................2
References.............................................................................................................................................4

Sociology 2
The use of social media and digital technology
Today’s life cannot be imagined without the use of social media it is the reason persons have
become victim to the malicious power of the social media. Personal relations are the
fundamental aspect of human life. Several social media sites have transformed the way
people interact on the web. It has even changed the lifestyle of the society (Ngai, Tao, and
Moon, 2015). The social media has improved the personal relationships as it unites people on
social networking sites. The positive impact of the social media can be realized as it makes
people to gain understanding of other cultures. People can connect others all over the world,
communicate effectively with others and support to become socially adapt. People can also
share issues in order to get help and guidelines. The help can be attained from the community
in the terms of money or advice. The social media affects positively to the people as they can
update themselves by the events taking place around the world. It has been observed that TV
and print media are based now days and does not convey the true message. The social media
helps to get the true facts and information.
Some advancement in the technology causes people to be distracted, over stressed and
isolated. People get involved in the abundant number of the relationships through technology
but the quantity of relationships leave people with the feeling of qualitatively empty. Cyber
bullying is one of the negative impacts of the social media. People over the social media
became the victim of the cyber bullying and anyone can create a fake account and do
anything. It has become quite easy for anyone to bully over internet. The personal data and
privacy can be easily hacked and shared on the social media platform (Allcott and Gentzkow,
2017). It causes financial losses along with the loss to the personal life. A person becoming
addictive to the social media, puts negative impact on the personal lives. It also leads to the
wastage of time which could be used in some productive tasks.
Causes and consequences of child sexual abuse
The child sexual abuse is considered a secret crime unless the victim confronts to someone.
The child sexual abuse can be hidden for the lifetime. There are several cases which are not
reported and the children are also scared to discuss the abuse. The kids do not tell anyone as
they have a fear that the offender will hurt them (Kitzinger, 2015).

Sociology 3
The child abuse is a complex occurrence with the several causes. There is no single factor
which can be identified as why adults behave so violently towards children. Some identified
organizations such as WHO (World Health Organization) has identified several factors which
influences the incidences of the child maltreatment. The factors like sex, age and personal
history contributes to the sexual abuse at the individual level. It also comprises the cultural
norms which empowers social safety nets. The online content available regarding sex also
empowers people to explore with children. It is because children are innocent and are not
aware what is right and what is wrong. In such a scene, children come in the range of people
interested in doing sexual activities (Renvoize, 2017).
The consequences of child sexual abuse can be realised as children avoid being alone. They
can even be seemed scared of a person. The child becomes sexually active at a young age due
to the sexual abuse. They might be uninhibited. The children suffered from the sexual abuse
can feel anal or vaginal soreness, an unusual discharge, pregnancy or sexually transmitted
infection. Such children use sexual language and know information which was not expected
them to know at such an early age. In the short term, the victim of the sexual abuse unveil
deteriorating behaviours, sleep disorders, eating problems and reluctance to participate in the
school or social activities. The long term consequences of the sexual abuse can be
experienced in the form of anxiety, self-destructive behaviours like alcoholism, drug abuse,
insomnia and anxiety attacks.

Sociology 4
References
Allcott, H. and Gentzkow, M., 2017. Social media and fake news in the 2016
election. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 31(2), pp.211-36.
Kitzinger, J., 2015. Who are you kidding?: Children, power and the struggle against sexual
abuse. In Constructing and reconstructing childhood (pp. 163-184). Routledge.
Ngai, E.W., Tao, S.S. and Moon, K.K., 2015. Social media research: Theories, constructs,
and conceptual frameworks. International Journal of Information Management, 35(1), pp.33-
44.
Renvoize, J., 2017. Innocence destroyed: A study of child sexual abuse. Routledge.