Tweens Research Paper

1353 Words3 Pages

Social media usage is increasing more and more as the years pass by. A large number of younger children and teenagers in America, also known as tweens, ranging from eight years old to thirteen years old, currently have profiles on social media sites. Suren Ramasubbu of the “Influence of Social Media on Teenagers” blog points out that “According to a report by Common Sense Media, 75 percent of teenagers in America currently have profiles on social networking sites, of which 68 percent use Facebook as their main social networking tool.” Social media creates negative and harmful effects on tweens. Social media causes an increase in cyberbullying, depression, loss of privacy, and a decrease of face-to-face interactions and communication. Cyberbullying …show more content…

The biggest problem social media has on tweens is that they are not educated enough on what you should and should not post or what social media site you should or should not use or be on. Tweens are so vulnerable that they will do anything and everything to get attention. One thing that could be very harmful to a tween is something called the digital footprint, which I did not even know about myself. The digital footprint, as stated in the scholarly article, “The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families”, is defined as “the collective, ongoing record of one’s Web activity” (pg. 6). The digital footprint could affect a person’s future reputation depending on which sites they have viewed. Tweens may post “inappropriate messages, pictures, and videos without understanding that ‘what goes online stays online’” (The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families, pg. 6). What tweens post may be looked at by colleges or bosses of a certain job they may be applying for in the future, and if either one of them were to see a post that was inappropriate, their acceptance to either a college or a job may be jeopardized. Tweens are becoming hurt because of the harm that social media has on them, whether it be severe depression or hindering them for future experiences and/or …show more content…

Parents need to be more aware of what their tweens are posting and if it is appropriate or not. Also, adults need to make sure that they are very open with their tweens, which will allow their tweens to be more open with them. If tweens become more open with their parents, tweens will be more comfortable to talk to their parents if they need help or need to make better decisions. In Judi Ketteler’s article, “When Is a Child Instagram-Ready?”, she describes that “The goal is to create an open, positive family culture where social media is on the table as a topic of discussion. None of the experts I talked to for this article recommended using spyware” (pg. 3). Here, Ketteler refers that if you, as a parent, are spying on your tweens, and your tweens find out, then your tweens will want to keep hiding things from you because they may be scared to tell you if there is a problem. Relating with what Ketteler mentions, Ehmke states that “Parents should begin by trusting their children” (pg. 10). Additionally, also relating to the point that parents should create an open environment with their tweens about social media, Ramasubbu mentions that “Open discussions about social network protocols and etiquettes would go a long way in establishing global digital citizenship and healthy behavior”

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