Cesar Morales

Laura Gatzkiewicz

Intro to College Writing

December 4, 2019

The Negative Effects of Social Media on Teens

Walking down any major metropolitan area you will be lost in a sea of people who

depend on technology to continue their life. As times have changed new, inventions continue to

shift the way our world functions. One invention that many people believe has had a huge impact

on the world was the invention of the internet. The internet is a computer network system across

the entire world that allows people to relay electronic information from one location to another in

real time. Although the internet took many decades to create by dozens of scientists from

multiple countries, by the beginning of the 90s, it had already begun interweaving itself in the

culture and lives of millions of people all around the world. Through the internet, many people

started to create tools and resources for people to access over the internet at any time of day with

only the touch of a few buttons. Many of these tools, such as clocks, calculators and tutorials

videos, have become useful in the lives of everyday people. Many other applications include

games, maps, and even video calling services. However, one thing that has caused much debate

over the internet is social media. Social media is any website or application that allows their

users to share any thoughts or pictures with anyone who has an interest in seeing it. This allows

people to share what they are doing with their friends and family in real time. They also have the

ability to comment on post other people put on the internet. In theory, social media sounds like a

great tool to make new friends while keeping in touch with old ones. Many people have even
used social media to spread their name as artists or even businesses. However, many people

argue that social media has grown too large to be controlled, and has begun to have too many

negatives effects on its users, especially younger ones.

In the age of the internet, social media has rapidly taken over the lives of billions around

the globe. According to Ourworldindata.org, there are exactly 2.26 billion people on Facebook.

That is roughly forty percent of the world's entire population. This phenomenon has formed two

sides of opinions: those who believe that social media is beneficial for the future of society and

those who believe social media will continue to harm the people who choose to use it. As social

media continues to grow, more adolescents become addicted to it. Because they constitute the

future of our society, it is important that they understand the pros and cons of these platforms.

Although there are many strong arguments that social media is benefitting teens, when one looks

at the overwhelming harm social media has already caused society, they will have a different

opinion. Social media is interfering with the time the youth can spend improving themselves for

their future, and social media is also harming teens mental state.

In many parts of the world, it is almost impossible to find young men or women without a

phone on their person, most likely in their hand, taking pictures or checking the latest post in

their Instagram feed. A teen’s social media account has become something that the youth thinks

about constantly. They contemplate about ways to get more followers or friends on their social

media pages because they believe that by doing so they are making themselves appear to be

better than their friends. To many young people, it is “uncool” or socially unacceptable to not

have a presentable social media page or have a certain number of followers. This has caused

millions of teens to spend an absurd amount of their day making sure they are posting top quality

content and never appearing to be untrendy. This begs the question of how much time these kids
are really spending behind a screen working on their social media. Studies show the average

child aged 16-24 spends an average of 3 hours a day on social media (Erin). Even a multi-

million-dollar market research company claims that “45% of teens say they’re online on a near-

constant basis (Anderson & Jiang).” If teens are using that much time out of their day for social

media, when do they have time to focus on things that may be more important in the longer span

of time? What does a few likes on a post last week mean when you have homework to finish and

tests to study and prepare for the next week? The time wasted on social media should be utilized

to benefit young people instead of keeping them focused on the things that will not matter or

ever cross their minds later in their life. Students can spend the hours wasted on social media

focusing on their school work or taking up a hobby such as basketball or playing an instrument.

All these things are something that will help them in their future when searching for a career or

even making a career out of a craft they have worked on for years. Instead, teens find themselves

scrolling down the endless void of their social media as time continues to pass them by.

Teens have found themselves procrastinating and putting off their work for improving

their social media. PR Newswire claims “eighty-seven percent of high school and college

students are self-proclaimed procrastinators (Richard).” The fact that so many people can look at

themselves and recognize that the amount of time spent on social media is harming them, then

that should only make this issue all the more serious. Of course, procrastination is not a new

trend. Yet, social media is so easily accessible and a gateway to a new world of distractions that

it hard for some people to resist it use. If the teens do not break out of this cycle of throwing their

youth into a phone, then the world will not be able to benefit from the amazing things they could

achieve if they spend time working towards improving themselves. If other people helped them
get over their social media addictions, they could find time to become the next doctors, scientist,

politicians or something that helps progress the world in the future.

Furthermore, social media does not only prevent teens from focusing on their future, it

also negatively effects their mental health. Social media has inflicted a lot of social anxiety and

fear in many people, as well as become a platform of a new way for kids to be picked on, called

cyberbullying. When certain teens do not feel like their appearance on social media, or even real

life, is good enough, they often begin to feel anxious about themselves and become afraid to be

in front of other people. These feelings can be different for everyone. Some students think that

they are overweight or too skinny, while others believe they are not popular enough or maybe are

not even financially stable enough to be accepted by other students. This is a natural feeling for

teens to have as they are in a stage of life where they are trying to find their identity and what

makes them who they are. However, when they are constantly comparing themselves to the

millions of people they see on their social media, their anxiety begins to build up in their head.

Social anxiety can often prevent students from focusing in school or being engaged in things

around them. According to Ignite Treatment Centers, “Some of the symptoms [of social anxiety]

include a lack of desire to socialize, being withdrawn, feeling embarrassed or a deep fear of

social scrutiny, and nervous habits like fidgeting and hair twirling. Most individuals with social

anxiety disorder avoid eye contact, and reveal very little about themselves to their peers, they are

often afraid to engage and initiate conversations (Social Media and Anxiety in Teenagers).”

These are all symptoms that can affect teen’s daily activities and restrain students from

performing to their best of their abilities. Students should not have to be worried about how they

appear in other peoples’ mind. Their worries should be focused on how high their grades are and

if they are prepared for any upcoming exams, quizzes or projects that are due in any of their
courses. Pew Research Center Surveys claim Anxiety and depression are on the rise amongst

youth and “More than four-in-ten [teens] say these are major problems affecting people their

age.”

Although many people have recognized this problem and have begun treatments to help

encourage teens to stay focused, other teens have actually begun using it to harm other students.

This is called cyberbullying.

“Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place over digital devices like cell phones,
computers, and tablets. Cyberbullying can occur through SMS, Text, and apps,
or online in social media, forums, or gaming where people can view,
participate in, or share content (“What is Cyberbullying?”).”

Cyberbullying is, of course, a new form of bullying. Once social media became popular

among teens, cyberbullying became a lot more common. Many students receive very rude

comments on their post or are constantly bombarded with hurtful messages and texts. There have

been many cases where students even have entire pages that someone sets up for people to bully

a single student. I personally have witnessed cyberbullying while I was in high school. It mostly

happened to girls but sometimes guys would be the victims at times as well. Some of the things

that I have seen my peers do have been extremely cruel. Often people would receive messages

about threats on their life, or guys would set up social media pages dedicated to “exposing” girls

that were in our school. Cyberbullying can even make other students feel angry and cause harm

to other students. I cannot count how many fights occurred during school because of drama that

began over social media. Although some students are willing to stand up for themselves when

bullied, it is not so easy for other students. “Targets of cyberbullying are at a greater risk than

others of both self-harm and suicidal behaviors (Bullying, Cyberbullying, & Suicidal Statistics).”

Many students who experience cyberbullying, often feel helpless and alone which makes it
harder for them to seek help. The hardest part about ending cyberbullying is that it is online.

Teen’s often try to hide their social media from their parents and schools and teachers are

oblivious to what goes on outside of school. Even the students may not know where the attacks

are coming from. It is very easy for someone to disguise him or herself as someone they are not,

or someone who never even existed. If social media continues to impact students mental health,

it will further prevent students from reaching their maximum potential. Social media should be a

place where friends can communicate with each other but for many teens, it has become a

nightmare that they cannot get out of. People, especially teens, should help others who are being

mentally affected by their use of social media.

In conclusion, social media was created as a friendly, positive way for people to connect

with one another. Unfortunately, as the internet and social media has grown, it has become

something too large to only be used as it was intended. Social media is its own world in itself,

and is too populated to be monitored or to control what teens see or do on it. Furthermore, the

effects social media has had on the youth in the short amount of time it has been around are too

negative not to ignore. People must come together to help prevent the negative effects of social

media on teens whether it be cracking down on cyberbullies, encouraging students to stay

focused and engaged in school, or considering making social media less available for teens.

Perhaps social media is something that an immature mind is not ready for. Therefore age

restrictions should be put in place to prevent people under a certain age to access sights like

Facebook, Instagram, and other social media websites. Although many people would argue

making social media inaccessibly for teens is impossible, it may be what this world needs to do if

it would like to continue progressing forward. The youth of today will be the leaders of our

world in the future, and the choices they make will only be to benefit those who come after them.
In order to ensure that the earth is taken care of, our youth must be focused on their studies and

continue to make the most of their years. Social media is a great idea, but we must continue to

use it to help people grow instead of allowing it to hold them back. Together we can set up our

world for a better future by changing every youth’s live today.

 Work Cited

“Bullying, Cyberbullying, & Suicidal Statistics” meganmeierfoundation.org

https://meganmeierfoundation.org/statistics

Erin, “How Much Time do People Spend on Social Media” socialbuddy.com, 1/3/????
https://socialbuddy.com/how-much-time-do-people-spend-on-social-media/

Horowitz, Juliana Menasce. Graf, Niki. “Most U.S. Teens See Anxiety and Depression as a
Major Problem Among Their Peers,” pewsocialtredns.org, 20/2/2019

Ignite Treatment Centers, “Social Media and Anxiety in Teenagers,” igniteteentreatment.com.

https://igniteteentreatment.com/social-media-social-anxiety-teenagers/

Kavanagh, Duncan. “Teenagers and Social Media: What Every Marketer Should Know,”
globalwebindex.com 9/5/2019 https://blog.globalwebindex.com/trends/teenagers-and-social-
media/

Monica Anderson, Jing Jing Jiang. “Teens, Social Media & Technology”
pewresearch.org. 31/5/2018
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/05/31/teens-social-media-technology-2018/

Ortiz-Ospina, Esteban. “The Rise of Social Media” ourworldindata.org, 18/8/2019

https://ourworldindata.org/rise-of-social-media

Richard, Jenna. “Eighty-seven percent of high school and college students are self-proclaimed
procrastinators,” prnewswire.com, 27/5/2014 https://www.prnewswire.com/news-
releases/eighty-seven-percent-of-high-school-and-college-students-are-self-proclaimed-
procrastinators-260750441.html
WebWise Team, “What is the internet” www.bbc.co.uk, 14/10/2012
http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/guides/what-is-the-internet

“What Is Cyberbullying,” stopbullying.gov

https://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/what-is-it/index.html