Remember that game we played on the iPad when we were
little, that one with the little animals that you swipe around to create some
kind of farm? No? Me neither. Because when I was younger, I spent my days
playing with Lego or my incredibly awesome wooden train set. Social media has
crept up behind our backs and thrown a big ass potato sack over our eyes. The
younger generations are completely blinded by the wraths of Facebook, Twitter
and Instagram. Our daily life revolves around getting up, checking our newsfeed,
sitting around scrolling and fishing for likes and contemplating a way to come
up with the best caption for our latest image post. I think we are rapidly
forgetting what it was like to make sandcastles, friendship bracelets and
anything that remotely requires ingredients or effort.
I agree that this may be a bit harsh and I am well aware of
the benefits of social media – yes, it is great to stay in touch with all your
friends around the world, yes, it is great to be able to send a quick message
on Facebook if you're out of credit but can we just address the effect this is
having on young kids and teenagers in the past 10 years?
The pressure of constantly needing to stay ‘online’ and
‘socially present’ is causing major distraction to actual important issues that
we should be facing - instead of teenagers sitting down and thinking about the
decisions that they need to make for their future, their time is filled with
the urge to connect with their friends, post a picture and climb the social
ladder that leads absolutely nowhere. Not only is there an issue of distraction and lack of
interest in anything else that isn’t social-relevant, there is a major issue of
how this can harm so many teenagers through cyber bullying and harassment.
7 in 10 Girls believe they are not good enough or do not
measure up in some way including their looks, performance in school and
relationship with friends and family members, 24% of teens have had
embarrassing or private information published about themselves without their
permission, and 41% of social media-using teens have experienced at least one
negative outcome as a result of using a social networking site which is where
severe insecurities about ones body and personality comes from. 62% of girls
are insecure about themselves and 75% of girls with low self-esteem report
engaging in negative activities such as eating disorders, cutting, smoking, and
drinking when feeling bad about themselves.
Enough of the statistics, I think we need to introduce the
idea to teens that Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are fascinating and
extremely useful parts of our day-to-day routine but should definitely not be
used as a platform with which one evaluates themselves with. This generation
has grown up with a great skill – the ability to work with technology like it’s
a sixth sense, yet it has its major setbacks, and is steering so many young
kids off course, like a drug, causing them to become engrossed with this idea
of needing to be present and popular and ‘liked’ on this intangible platform of
duck lips, hot dogs and crazy challenges.
This article was written by Verena Camesasca for the #AMHS series.
What do you think of the downside of social media in comparison to the pro's? Let's discuss.
