Teen Privacy Is Threatened By Social Networking

Social media has also become a priority in the lives of teens. These days, popularity is directly determined by the number of followers or likes on a social media platform. Nancy Colier, author for Psychology Today, found that life is regressing back into a constant popularity contest via the internet and apps. After talking with a younger woman, who was excited about gaining 20 new followers on Instagram, Colier wrote,
“Is being popular really what we want to hold up as the most meaningful aspect of life, or the truest sign of achievement? Because this is precisely what we are now modeling. We are encouraging children to chase approval, no matter how shallow, and view their own worth as determined by external sources, often people they don’t

Newer examples of this are Instagram accounts to post the more private aspects of your life, otherwise known as Sinstas; adding the word “sin” in front of Insta. Though the owner can decide who is allowed to follow the account, the posts can still be screenshotted or shared. This means that private posts can still be in the public eye. In the article “Teen Privacy Is Threatened by Social Networking”, author Peter Bazalgette writes about how the younger generation does not value privacy as much as the older generations, especially on social media. To showcase his point, the author states, “They are also the first generation whose sexual adventures, drug taking, immature opinions, and personal photographs are indelibly recorded electronically.” (Bazalgette). What the author is getting at in this statement is that teenagers are posting more and more private, personal information and pictures for the world to see. The obvious stop to this would be parents taking away social media from teenagers if they broke the rules or posted something inappropriate. However, this may not be the best option. In a survey funded and conducted by the University of Chicago and the Associated Press, lead researcher Amanda Lenhart found that grounding teens from social media can do more damage than good for teenagers. Lenhart saw that the side effect of taking away social media was that it took away potential emotional support and access to information from the teens. According to the study, of the 38% of teenagers forced to take a break from social media, many reported that they were anxious without it and more active when they got their privileges back. On the other hand, the 65% who took a voluntary break said they felt relieved to take a break and thought that it helped them connect to the important people in their lives. The main takeaway from this study, however,