English 120 Essay: Exploring the Harm of Social Media on Youth

This essay examines the detrimental effects of excessive social media use on younger generations. It discusses how social media, initially designed for connection, has evolved into a platform that can cause harm through social comparison, decreased social interaction, and increased vulnerability to cyberbullying. The essay references research from the American Academy of Pediatrics and other scholars to highlight the negative impacts on mental health, including anxiety, depression, and the need for constant validation. While acknowledging the potential benefits of social media for adults, the essay emphasizes the heightened risks for children and teens who are still developing social skills and are more susceptible to online dangers. The author concludes that unmonitored social media use can be particularly harmful to this vulnerable demographic.

Mikaila Wagner
English120
Professor S. Hankinson
October 28, 2018
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The Harm Excessive Social Media Use Can Cause to Younger Generations
Over the years social media has become a highly controversial subject. Social media sites
today have changed monumentally from where they began. When Facebook was created in 2004,
it was originally meant to be a way for college students to associate. An individual had to be an
active student at a university in order to be eligible to use Facebook. Now it is available to
anyone, world-wide, who can access the internet. The Those who are avid users of social media
often claim that it is fun, and an easier way to connect with people outside of their daily lives.
Others have a different view, believing social media is harmful and a waste of time. Today many
young people are focused on being “Instagram famous” and they take perfect photos to post in
order to gain more followers. Unfortunately, once you look past the picture-perfect outward
appearance, social media has its downsides and is more capable of causing harm than one would
think.
Social media has opened up a way to look into other people’s lives, as well as share our
own. Many individuals follow their favorite celebrities, “vloggers”, and influencers which allows
them a look into the glamorous lives that those stars are able to have. This is becoming
increasingly popular among children and teens, who have their idols they look up to. The
American Academy of Pediatrics states, “Research on traditional media has found that the
representation of attractive people leading exciting and idealized lives in media programs invites
social comparison and contributes to dissatisfaction with oneself.” While it can be fun to peek

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into the lives of these dazzling individuals, it can also create a sense of longing. While looking
into the lives of the more fortunate, that the average person could never afford, a sense of
unhappiness can begin to take hold. A sense of want for the glamour, fun, and luxury that
celebrities seem to always have at the tips of their fingers. Some individuals feel as though they
have to compete in order to prove their life is interesting too. They try buying brand name
clothing and make up, they try to redecorate or spice up their lives, all in an attempt to feel that
their life is just as interesting and luxurious as the celebrities they admire so much.
Now that social media is so easily accessed through faster and more accessible internet
and apps on smart phones, people are able to spend more time online, and they do. According to
the statistics portal, “As of 2017, daily social media usage of global internet users amounted to
135 minutes per day…" The amount of time younger persons spend online can cause issues with
social interaction. While staring at a screen, an individual is not actually talking or making eye
contact with the person they are talking to. They cannot read the other person’s body language or
expressions. This makes it easy for individuals, online, to act as though they were someone else,
an activity commonly known as “catfishing”. In fact, this issue is so common now, a television
show was made, in which two men travel around unmasking the pretenders. This affects children
and teens especially, who do not always think to distrust a “friend” they met online, and can put
them in harm’s way. More time spent online can also cause adolescents to avoid face-to-face
interaction, preferring the safety of a screen. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics,
“individuals vulnerable to social anxiety disorder…opting to substitute digital media for
interpersonal communication to avoid feared situations may become cyclically reinforced over
time, making the person even more avoidant…” Children who spend more time of social media
can become afraid of being embarrassed or being imperfect.

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Social media also increases adolescent’s need for constant validation. Teens are
especially susceptible to this need, as they want to fit in with their peer group. Scholar Melissa
Manger writes in her essay, "Because external validation is so important to adolescents, some
even engage in strategies to increase the amount of likes they receive on their posts. This is
because a small amount of likes may reflect negatively on how an individual appears to their
peers…” (Manger 14). This need for validation opens up a wide gate for cyberbullying. This The
social media issue has gone on for years, and is no less prevalent than when it first began. Social
media allows teens to post all sorts of pictures and information in order to gain likes, but in turn
leaves them open to the cyberbullies and “haters” lurking on the web. Cyberbullying leads to
many issues, including depression and low self-esteem in teens. In an article written by the
National Center for Biotechnology Information, it is stated that, “…cybervictims reported
negative effects, with the majority of victims reporting feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and
powerlessness.” Despite using social media as a way to connect with others, many adolescents
and children are being met with loneliness instead.
Social media may not be all bad, and for adults it can be a wonderful way to make
professional connections and maintain distant relationships. Adults have already developed their
social skills and tend to have a better sense of what is safe when online. They are less likely to be
catfished or cyberbullied, and most do not aim to be just like their celebrity idols. Children and
teens, even some young adults, are far more vulnerable to the dangers of unmonitored, overuse
of social media. They are still developing, and still susceptible to the tricks and trades of internet
phonies, which puts them at risk.

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Works Cited
“Global Time Spent on Social Media Daily 2017.” Statista, Sept. 2017,
www.statista.com/statistics/433871/daily-social-media-usage-worldwide/. Accessed 12 Oct.
2018
Hoge, Elizabeth, et al. “Digital Media, Anxiety, and Depression in Children.” Pediatrics,
American Academy of Pediatrics, 1 Nov. 2017,
pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/140/Supplement_2/S76?
utm_source=TrendMD&utm_medium=TrendMD&utm_campaign=Pediatrics_TrendMD_0#xref
-ref-4-1. Accessed 14 Oct. 2018
Magner, Melissa, “Social Media’s Effect on Mental Health: How America’s Youth are More
Vulnerable to its Negative Implications.” Santa Clara University, 4 Sept. 2018,
https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1020&context=engl_176 Accessed
14 Oct. 2018
Nixon, Charisse L. “Current Perspectives: the Impact of Cyberbullying on Adolescent Health.”
Adolescent Health, Medicine and Therapeutics, Dove Medical Press, 1 Aug. 2014,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4126576/. Accessed 13 Oct. 2018