Social Media

            One, two, three, four.  Counting the likes you receive from your latest picture, or reading the comments that people leave. Especially now, social media is becoming a huge part of our lives. Almost everybody has an IPhone or an Instagram account. Social media is known for secluding teens and making us less social. It is also a big cause of cyber bullying. Although that is not always true. Social media is very healthy and is necessary for people, especially teens, because it is a great source of communication, and a boost of self-esteem. 

            While apps like Instagram and Twitter are said to distract you from the real world, they actually bring you closer. According to an article from the Pew Research Center named, “Teens, Technology, and Friendships” by Amanda Lenhart, the author states, “Fully 57% of teens ages 13 to 17 have made a new friend online, with 29% of teens indicating that they have made more than five new friends in online venues.” Many people make lifelong friends from the internet. Something like Facebook can help you meet so many new people through similar interests. There are hundreds of thousands of cook groups, book groups, and just about anything groups. Now even if these people may not meet in person, it is a great way to make friends. An article on CNN named “The upside of selfies: Social media isn't all bad for kids” states, “‘They can just find other kids who are superexcited about the same thing, so if you are living in a small town and you're the only kid who loves musical theater, instead of feeling like a freak about it, you can go online and find all these other kids that love musical theater,’” Social media brings people together, because teens that feel isolated are given the option to communicate with people about similar interests. Social media isn’t just about posting pictures, and hoping to get more likes than your friend, it’s about actually communicating. Kids who don’t have the opportunity to talk about something they like can find someone on the internet that can. Social media gets a wrong image that it’s horrible, but when you see what it does for some kids, you can understand how helpful it is.

            Social media allows you to post about your life and keep in touch with friends and relatives. The video in the New York Times called, “I Forgot My Phone” shows how our phones can distract us from what’s actually happening, but it saves those memories as well. In one part you see a man proposing to a woman and holding a cell phone recording the proposal. Many could say that this just a self-obsession of our phones, but it’s not. He is creating a video because he wants it to be on tape forever. You can always save memories onto your phone, and share them with the world. Taking pictures of what you’re doing doesn’t make you less social. If anything it makes you more social. You’re not sitting there and playing games, you’re taking pictures, and videotaping what you’re doing. Because when you go to a concert you’ve been dreaming of going to your entire life. You want to be able to look back at it, and social media allows us to do that. Recording everything is proof that something happened, and if it is really special to you than it’s amazing to be able to keep it on a database and not just in your head. Sites like Instagram and Facebook allow us to not only save certain memories, but share them with family and friends. In another article Teen Ink named, “Social Networking, and its Effect on Communication,” the author, Thaiatazickas states, “Social networking has its positives, considering it allows us to connect with friends and family in a matter of seconds.” If you have grandparents that live in Spain that you only see once a year, it’s very difficult to communicate with them. Through social media, you can easily text, call, or facetime your relatives. You can show them what you’ve been up to on Instagram, or show your latest pictures of yourself on Facebook. Social networking is now accessible to many people, and is capable of bringing people together. If you have a friend in a faraway country, you start to lose your friendship because you can’t communicate. But nowadays, you can talk to that friend anytime. Social media strengthens peoples’ relationships, by permitting them to communicate with one another.

                Some might say that social networking is a terrible idea for teens because of cyber-bullying. It is a worldwide issue, especially for teens. According to an article on CNN called, “When bullying goes high-tech,” the author, Elizabeth Landau states, “He (Brandon Turley) was told on MySpace that a group of 12 kids wanted to beat him up, that he should stop going to school and die. On his walk from his locker to the school office to report what was happening, students yelled things like ‘fag’ and ‘fatty.’" Turley an average middle schooler at the time was not the only kid that has suffered from online bullying. People commit suicide, and hate their lives because someone bullied them. And when one person says it, everyone starts to. It is so depressing to see how vulgar people are to people they don’t even know. People insult others to make themselves feel better, but what about the kid that is being bullied? The worst part is how much cyber-bullying goes on online, but at school, the kids won’t even state a word in front of each other. And while social media affects kids in negative ways such as this, the positives outweigh them. Social media is actually a great place to boost self-esteem. The author, Kelly Wallace of an article from CNN named, “The upside of selfies: Social media isn't all bad for kids” says, “‘I think just as damaging as social media can be, it can ... help to build self-confidence, too," (…) "When they post selfies, all the comments I usually see are 'You're beautiful,' 'You're so pretty,' 'Oh my God, gorgeous,'" said Masio.” Kids who may not be pretty at all will usually get comments that read “you’re so pretty”. Because many people are incredibly nice and don’t want you to feel bad.  They actually care and take their time to help you. Social media is a great boost of confidence and doesn’t make you worry if you’re pretty enough. When people keep commenting you’re gorgeous you start to think that to and become more outgoing in yourself. Apps like Instagram help people that sit in a corner and eat lunch alone, become happy with themselves and come out of that corner. Overall, social media help kids gain assurance, with the help of some kind individuals.

            Social networking helps people communicate with others, share experiences, and gives them a sense of self-confidence. It’s difficult to argue that there is a quicker way to communicate with friends and family than social networking websites. We can share our vacations, ask your classmate for your math homework, and call someone that lives half-way around the world. All of these things are true aspects of social media, but there is one that stands out the most- it helps kids who are timid and have low self-esteem find friendships in ways that traditional talking could not. Social media has given us an opportunity to connect with people, and has invented new ways to for those in the past, that have been unable to do so.

Bibliography

Lenhart, Amanda. "Teens, Technology and Friendships." Pew Research Center Internet Science Tech RSS. N.p., 06 Aug. 2015. Web. 05 Dec. 2015. <http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/08/06/teens-technology-and-friendships/>.

Wallace, Kelly. "Social Media Positive for Teens? Maybe! - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2015. <http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/21/living/social-media-p

Bilton, Nick. "Disruptions: More Connected, Yet More Alone." Bits Disruptions More Connected Yet More Alone Comments. N.p., 01 Sept. 2013. Web. 05 Dec. 2015. <http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/01/disruptions-more-connected-yet-more-alone/?_r=0>. ositives-teens-parents/>.

Thaiatzickas. "Social Networking and Its Effect on Communication." Social Networking and Its Effect on Communication. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2015. <http://www.teenink.com/opinion/social_issues_civics/article/539423/Social-Networking-and-Its-Effect-on-Communication/>.

Landau, Elizabeth. "When Bullying Goes High-tech - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2015. <http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/27/health/cyberbullying-online-bully-victims/>.