By: Ayva Peterson
Social media can have a massive effect on teens, whether it is good or bad. The first big social media website was Myspace in 2003 then, Facebook in 2004. Now in 2020, some more popular social networking sites include Instagram, Snapchat, You-Tube, and Tik-Tok. According to Smart Social, in 2019, 84% of teens (ages 13-18) had a smartphone. This means 84% of teens could be on social media.
As a teen social media can be a great way to express yourself. Social media can lead teens to connect with new people and make more friendships. Social media can make you feel uplifted by showing your times of beauty. One study by PSYCOM showed that if a teen got a high number of likes on a post, it caused increased activity in the reward center of the brain. Another benefit of social media is that marginalized groups, like LGBTQ+, could find a sense of belonging, when there are teens going through the same things as them on a social media site.
Although social media can be a great way to express yourself, being on social media could come with some consequences. According to PSYCOM more time on social media could lead to a higher chance of developing an eating disorder due to poor body image. Another possible consequence is that on most social media sites you are not able to change other peoples posts, this could lead to people posting something about you, that you do not want them to post (cyber bullying). Also, cyber bullying may cause depression in teens being bullied, which could cause suicidal thoughts.
Finally, one of the most common worries of parents, is that teens are spending an excess amount of time on social media, leading them to lose sleep or possibly do worse in school.
Although there are many positives and negatives to social media, every teen has a different experience. One of the most important things is to make sure to limit your time on social media, and if you are being bullied over social media, go to an adult for help.