IMPACT OF SOCIAL SITES TO TEENAGERS 4
Impactof Social Sites to Teenagers
Impactof Social Sites to Teenagers
Inthe recent past, the use of social networking sites such as Facebook,Twitter, LinkedIn among others have enormously increased across theworld. Currently, more than 65% of American adults use social sites,as compared to only 7% who did so a decade earlier. However, it isworth noting that, teenagers and young adults are the highestconsumers of social sites, with above 90% of them using at least onetype of a social site (Perrin, 2015). This sharp increase in the useof social site has been attributed to aspects such as changes incommunication patterns across the globe and the way information isshared on crucial areas such as health, news among others. To manyparents and care givers, use of social networking sites by teenagersis a main issue of concern, as they lack direct control of theinformation accessed by these young tender lives. However, it isimportant for the parents and caregivers to realise that social sitesserve as a critical towards improving the life of teenagers in manyways, thus they should constantly be encouraged to use them.
First,social networking sites help teenagers to become more social in thesociety they live. This is based on the premise that, through thesocial sites, teenagers are able to significant change theirpersonalities, as they are acquire courage to be more talkative anddevelop efficient communication skills (Thompson, 2013). Forinstance, through socials sites, teenagers are able to share theinformation they get while surfing on the internet with theirclassmates, neighbours as well as friends, a factor which helps themto take more proactive roles towards the sustainability of thesociety. This is in a sharp contrast to those teenagers and youthswho never use social-networking sites as, thus making them to beunable to communicate well with those around them.
Theother aspect is the fact that, social networking sites are criticaltool as far as creation of identity and managing impression isconcerned. It is worth noting that, learning to manage impression isa crucial skill in social life that is only acquired throughexperience. While some of these important skills are learnt at home,it is always recommendable to expose teenagers and young adults todiverse social environments such as through social networking sites.Thus way, they will be able to re-evaluate those issues they may betaking for granted, a factor which will improve their personalities(Boyd,2007).
Whilethere exists many advantages pertaining the use of social sites tothe teenagers, on one of the main disadvantages is the one involvingcyber-bullying. This is where teenagers are threatened, embarrassedor humiliated by other teenagers or adults through the social sites.In this case, they are blackmailed in order to abide to what thebully wants them to do. As a result, the life of the teenager ishighly affected, especially when such information is not shared ontime with the concerned authorities.
Basedon the above, it is clear that social networking sites are importantin improving the life of teenagers as far as social networking,creation of indemnity as well as managing impression. However, thereis the need for teenagers to guided and monitored constantly whileusing social sites as they may have negative impacts as well.
References
Boyd,D. (2007) “Why Youth (Heart) Social Network Sites: The Role of Networked Publics in Teenage Social Life.” MacArthurFoundation Series on Digital Learning –Youth, Identity, and DigitalMediaVolume(ed. David Buckingham). Cambridge, MA: MIT Pre
Perrin,A. (2015). SocialMedia Usage: 2005-2015.Pew Research Center
Thompson,C. (2013). Teenagers and social networking – it might actually begood for them. TheGuardian. Availableathttp://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/oct/05/teens-social-networking-good-for-them