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
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<http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/01/disruptions-more-connected-yet-more-alone/?_r=0>.
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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/>.