Free Essay Describing the Effects of Social Media on the Youth

Over the past decade, it is true that social media has tremendously gained popularity and its impact has undoubtedly left some severe consequences that are tipped to be long-lasting on users of social media. It is worth noting that the increasing comparisons that are made using the social networking platforms have undoubtedly caused people to have low self-esteem. To test this problem, around 100 students from the Business Management Institute were surveyed through interviews and questionnaires. This study was limited to the students of Institute of Business Management and Facebook because it is the social networking platform that is mostly used by students (Forest et al., 2012). Facebook, however, was used as a representative of social media that was used in the study. Further, correlation and a regression model were used to analyze the data with the aid of SPSS statistics that were used to test the relationship that existed between self-esteem and social media.

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From the findings, it was observed that almost 88% of students engage in making comparisons socially on Facebook and out of 88%, it was noticed that about 98% of the comparisons made were upward social comparisons. In addition to the above, this study further proves that there exists a strong relationship between self-esteem and social media. It is true, therefore, from the survey that social media use leads to a decrease in the self-esteem of individual users. It is quite fascinating to note that if a person spends one hour on Facebook, it results in a 5.6 reduction in their self-esteem score

By studying the background of the study, it is worth noting that it was in the early 21 century that gave birth to the massive use of social media as well as the growth of the social networking platforms in the whole world. Since the inception and emergence of social media, these social media sites have become part and parcel of people's lives and most specifically on the lives of youth people and the youth in general. Social media platform, most specifically Facebook is being used by young teenagers to build relationships, share and gain knowledge with others, connect with the world, create stronger personalities, and also to have social lives which are worth living. To back up this argument, European Scientific Journal of August 2017 purported that the social networking platforms are majorly used by youngsters to get committed in casual online relationships and romantic engagements (Steinfield et al., 2008). From the changing behavior of persons, it has been noticed that social media is associated by some adverse effects on people especially the youth who commit a more significant proportion of their time in the social media platforms especially Facebook which offers a more extensive interface for interaction. However, it should be admitted that as a result of making social media comparisons by different people in the social networking sites, there is a possibility of an increase in the psychological distress of people which consequently leads to a decrease in the self-esteem of individuals, states Chen and Lee, 2013. Various researchers and observers have actively observed that as a result of an increase in the social networking sites usage, many people have become the victims of self-growth and self-esteem (Forest et al., 2012).

In identifying this topic, the primary goal was to highlight the effects of Facebook as the chosen social media and being the frequently and popularly used social media platform on the self-esteem of young people. The adoption of the mix method strategy would further promote the design of the study and would also help to provide a clear insight towards the course of such a relationship. Undeniably, this study will contribute to divert the attention of the affected individuals and aid them in analyzing the over engagement on social media during the most valuable hours of their life and its likely impacts on decreasing their self-esteem.

It should be noted that, as a result of the constraints of finance, time, as well as geographical boundaries, the study was conducted in Institute of Business Management on the selected students. The size of the sample was limited to only 100 participants as a result of time constraints. The research is therefore narrow in its scope, and it can as well be subjected to various limitations. One of the possible limitations of the study was the fact that the respondents were not observed, but instead, they were given questionnaires to fill. In this case, therefore, the research depended upon the truthfulness and integrity of the subjects (Steinfield et al., 2008). Again, it is noted that all social networking platforms were not included in the study. Facebook was the only site considered as a representative of other remaining social media networking site.

The statement of the problem to the study is has been framed to be in line with the question so that it is related to the topic of research; High usage of social media results in lower self-esteem among the youth.

In looking at the research questions, the study will answer the following questions; 1. Does relationship exist between time spent while on Facebook and the self-esteem of individuals? 2. What are social media factors responsible for lowering the self-esteem of individuals? 3. What is the nature of such a relationship? 4. What are some of the solutions that could be offered to solve this dilemma?

The hypothesis that the topic tested are that; Ho: there is no relationship between social media and self-esteem and the other one was, Ha: there is a relationship between social media and self-esteem

In looking at the literature concerning social media, social media being a common issue affecting a large percentage of the total population has many sources to cite from. Many researchers have ventured into understanding how social media can affect the behavior of individuals and more so the impacts it brings in the life of those who use it. A large number of the sources gave both the positive and negative impact on people. Many scholarly articles have been written on the issue of social media, and I can use a good number of them to further my research.

As technology continues to advance and devices become more available, youths get more access to social media platforms which at times can be additive to them. Unlike half a century ago when teenagers used to gather in one place, connect and have fun, nowadays youths have become less connected socially, but their number of friends online continues to grow. A large number of the youth ends up spending lots of time alone finding refuge in the social media. This way, they end up becoming victims of the negative impacts of social media, one of which is suffering from low self-esteem (Hawi et al., 2017). The youths end up enjoying time alone, and they try to avoid other people.

Social media is full of funny things that most youth enjoy such as memes, jokes, videos, and funny pictures among others. Many youths cannot afford to miss some of the things going on online. Some youths tend to avoid and disregard even their responsibilities to spend time posting photographs and engaging fellow friends online.

Social media does not only impact the youths, but it also affects the older generation. With the introduction of free internet at workplaces, Output at job places also tends to go down as many people spend much time online considering the addictive nature of social media. This ends up lowering the general output of many firms. Furthermore, students in learning institutions end up registering low grades as a good percentage are social media addicts.

Due to the damage caused by the social media, some lessons need to be issued to youths to enlighten them. Youths need to be aware of the damaging effects social media can have on them and more importantly how they can overcome various challenges (Steinfield et al., 2008). Additionally, youths can be taught how to use social media positively to improve their education and their social lives. However, prohibiting the use among the youths is not the only way to avoid the problem of low self-esteem.

Over usage of social media can lead to addiction especially in youths unless remedied. Discussion with peers and even slightly elder people indicate how bad the situation is. To prevent or reduced these damages, I researched this project to gain more knowledge on why this is a serious issue and more importantly how we can reduce the effects.

Various sources are available, "social media" being a frequent topic. Other sources also cover the impact social media has on youths and self-esteem. According to Forest and Wood, minimizing the use of social media will help people be in a position to have face to face communication. Moreover, the authors believe that people lose a lot when they invest so much in social media. All in all, I had a wide range of sources to get the necessary information necessary for the project (Hawi et al., 2017). Online sources on the internet also provided valuable information that made up the project. Scholarly articles, on the other hand, provide credible and proven information on the topic I am investigating. Many reports have been delivered, explaining the impact of social media on self-esteem. Some articles have given details of how the use of various social media platforms can also affect the people around users.

In conclusion, it is evident that social media has a powerful effect on the self-esteem of users. It is true that students use the social networking sites for communication, getting information, as well as building and maintaining relationships. It is however evident that the majority of the people mostly make downward and upward comparisons with others. From the study, it has been realized that upward comparisons make people desire others and even their lifestyle and also feel less obliged and ungrateful for their achievements. Due to this, the self-esteem of such individuals gets negatively impacted (Hawi et al., 2017).

Works cited

Forest, Amanda L., and Joanne V. Wood. "When social networking doesn't work: Individuals with low self-esteem recognize but don't reap the benefits of self-disclosure on Facebook." Psychological science 23.3 (2012): 295-302.

Hawi, Nazir S., and Maya Samaha. "The relations among social media addiction, self-esteem, and life satisfaction in university students." Social Science Computer Review 35.5 (2017): 576-586.

Steinfield, Charles, Nicole B. Ellison, and Cliff Lampe. "Self-esteem, social capital and use of online social network sites: A longitudinal analysis." Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 29.6 (2008): 434-445.