Social Media Influence Essay Examples

Essay Sample #1 - Influence of Social Media on Teenagers

The social media influence the youth in various ways. Even though it came to help people to interact and to learn, there are some negative impacts that it poses to the youth. In regard to these negative effects, the youth ought to be aware so that they can properly regulate the manner in which they use the social media. In this article, the discussion is on the negative impacts of the social media on the youth.

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The first influence that the youth can get from the social media is cyberbullying. As the youths interact with one another on the social media, they tend to give out their personal details that sometimes are used against them. It is not only their personal details that are used against them but the photos they post can also be used to bully them. For instance, someone may take a photo posted by a given youth on the social media and then use the photo to jeer at them or abuse him/her based on his/her looks or shape. Cyberbullying is on the rise these days and the youths should beware of it.

The other influence the youth can get from the social media is pornography. The social media contains all manner of stuff including pornographic materials that can have a negative influence on the youth. When the youth watch these pornographic clips online, they can be influenced negatively and acquire behaviors that are unacceptable in the society. For instance, because of the influence of watching pornographic clips and photos, a youth may want to practice what they see and attempt rape. It is thus imperative for the youth to avoid visiting the sites on the social media that may make them come into contact with pornographic materials.

The other negative influence of the social media on the youth is criminology. Because there are various people with various intentions on the social media, these can influence the youth in one way of the other. Some gang groups on the social media may want to convince the youth to join them. They can do that by trying to lure the youth through attractive offers like money; something that it will be hard for the youth to object since they lack the money. Several youths across the globe have been joining these criminal gangs due to this influence of the social media. Therefore, the youth ought to beware of such criminal gangs and desist being lured by them.

The other negative way in which the youth can be influenced by the social media is through wastage of their time that in turn can make them have poor grades. The Social media, for instance, Facebook and Twitter are very addictive. When one has registered and joined any social media platform, they are tempted to spend most of their time on the same as they post and read their friends' posts. In the process, the schooling youths risk poor grades because they will not have enough time to study the books and prepare for their examinations. It is thus paramount for the youth to regulate the time they spend on the social media because spending most of their time on it can make them risk poor grades in school.

Based on the discussion above, it is clear that the social media can have a great influence on the youth. The paper has looked into four areas where the youths can be influenced by the social media. These areas include cyberbullying, pornography, criminology, and the risk of poor grades. Therefore, it is high time that youth be counselled on how to use te social media reponsibly to avoid these negative imapcts on them.

Essay Sample #2 - Social Media Impact on Youths

Social networking sites have becoming ubiquitous technologies in the twenty-first century and youths spend a large portion of their day interacting through social networking sites. Social media has both negative and positive effects on the youths. Academically, social media is leading many youths to become more distracted from their studies. A study found that college students who use Facebook had lower grades than students who did not use the platform. However, some scholars have suggested that social networking sites enable the youths to learn in new ways. They encourage educators to tap into such platforms to increase their engagement with students and provide them with real-time assistance on academic issues.

Another drawback of social media is that longer use of social media correlates with measures of depression, loneliness, and smaller social circles. That is to say, the longer youths use social media, the more they tend to have a smaller circle of friends, and the more they tend to isolate themselves from their friends and their families. Another way in which social media can adversely affect the youth is by increasing the pressure among youths to conform to trends or because of online bullying. Grove (2011) reports that, two youths out of every three feel pressured to look good because of social media, which affects their self-esteem. Online bullying is a persistent threat that faces teens on social media. Grove reports that 15 percent of Australian teens report that strangers approach them on a daily basis through social networking sites. Interesting, online bullying can also be an outcome of relational aggression or the demand for power among teens who want to prop up their self-esteem. The world of social media leads youths into competition for favorable reactions such as likes or retweets and it leads youths to start comparing themselves with others. The comparison world of social media has led to increased instances of anxiety among youths in recent times. However, studies differ on the long-term effect of social media on youths. For instance, some studies have found that youths have higher self-esteem with long-term social media use. That is because with longer use, youths find more friends who because of the nature of reciprocity of social networking sites, tend to respond more favorably to pictures or comments that youths post, boosting their self-esteem. In essence, the effect of social media on the psychological well-being of youths depends on whether youths receive positive or negative reactions within social networking sites.

The advantages include that social media allows the youths to build more friendly lies with their peers and better social ties with their communities. Social networking sites have the potential to widen the social network that youths have access to, as well as provide them access to resources and people that they would otherwise not be able to access. Studies also suggest that social media can help to raise the self-esteem of youths. In one study, college students who used Facebook reported higher self-esteem and life satisfaction. The study concluded that using Facebook correlated to higher civic engagement, social trust, and greater life satisfaction among the youths. Another way in which social media positively influences youths is through self-disclosure. Additionally, the more youths share their views and more information about themselves, the more they improve their relationship with peers. The improved relationship leads to better psychological well-being.

Essay Sample #3 - Social Media and Cyberbullying

The internet in comparison to other forms of media influences the youth and results in major changes in their lives. The other media inclusive of newspapers and television have a less proportion of influence. As the youth grow, they dress, talk and behave similarly to celebrities and popular individuals. They make a choice on a group that they want to belong to. It is close to impossible for a youth to resist joining facebook or twitter among other platforms. Therefore, most of the youth ignore other activities including sports and studying to constantly spend their time on social media. It results in poor development of the body and the advent of health issues.

While young individuals have constantly been influenced by the media, the impact of social media on youth is developing more opportunities and challenges. A research by Nielson showed that approximately 80 percent of the active users of the internet constantly visit social media platforms. The National Boards Association statistics show that young individuals aged between 9 to 17 years spent approximately nine hours every week on social media platforms. Changes in technology such as the advancement of internet use in smartphones tablets and ipads make it easier to access social media.

Social networking is essential in the increase of social connections and the development of technical skills. The absence of difficulty in susceptibility and self-regulation to peer pressure influences adolescents towards various aspects of immorality including sexting and cyberbullying that are considered threats. Other problems include obesity induced by the social network, addiction to the internet and the deprivation of sleep. Bullying is defined as a behavior characterized by the aggressiveness that results in the discomfort of the victim. Cyberbullying varies from threats to emails from anonymous people and also includes trolling.

Progressively, approximately 1 percent of youth surveyed admitted having received aggressive and threatening messages posted or forwarded from a public forum. The research also found that almost 40 percent of the youth in social media platforms were bullied in comparison to 22 percent of teenagers that do not access social media sites. Trolling is defined as the infliction of hatred, racism, bigotry misogyny or bickering among people using anonymous personalities.

Further, a major cause of the cyberbullying in social media is the aspect of anonymity over the internet. There exist two types of individuals that are considered cyberbullies- those on the society's fringes and the popular ones. The popular cyberbullies conduct their pervasive actions in order to constantly gain popularity and power. The former troll other internet users on social media to regain their position in society or try to fit in it.

The views of teenagers on attitudes, things, and opinions change. They copy the styles of celebrities and other famous people forgetting who they are. Majority of the youth try to imitate the celebrities and forget about constructive aspects of their lives that would determine their futures. The platforms impose a model of behavior, style, fashion and attitude that makes children act in a similar manner.

Conclusion

Conclusively parents are required to stay close with their children on precautions while they are using social media platforms. Majority of the youth post inappropriate images and information about themselves with strangers that in turn haunts them. Youth should be educated on the dangers of social media predation and sharing of personal information. The information will be used constantly to undermine their self-esteem. The cyber bullies take advantage those that carelessly share their information.