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Effects social media has on youth
Effect of social media on teenagers
Effect of social media on teenagers
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In October of 2012, thirteen year old student Erin Gallagher took her life after receiving an abundance of malicious comments through the anonymous social media website, Ask.fm. In December of 2012, fifteen year old sister of Erin, Shannon Gallagher, committed suicide due to her inability to live without her sister. In the United States alone, many families experienced the same tragedy that occurred with the Gallaghers (Mosbegen). According to the Megan Meier Foundation’s statistics about cyber-bullying, around fifty-three percent of adolescents admitted to saying mean and hurtful comments to peers through social media. This leads to the belief that a much larger percentage of adolescents who committed cyber-bullying actions exist, but refuse to admit it. Additionally, one in three mentioned participating in the cyber-bullying more than once (Bullying, Cyberbullying & Suicide Statistics).The increase in suicides amongst adolescents in recent years correlates to the new trend of ephermal or anonymous social media.
THE SWITCH TO EPHERMAL AND ANONYMOUS SOCIAL MEDIA
Ephermal social media, a term originated by Washington Post writer Cecilia Kang, means that content lasts for either short periods of time or lacks any association with the user; popular social mediums such as snapshot centered Snapchat and the anonymous communication website, Ask.fm exemplify the idea of the ephermal app. Why have adolescents made the transition from the slowly declining social media giant Facebook, Twitter and other profile-based social medias? As Erik Qualman, expert in digital media and future trends, said, "What happens in Vegas stays on YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook. But teenagers are realizing that it doesn't have to stay on Snapchat,” (Kerp...
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Kang, Cecilia. "Seeking Privacy, Teens Turn to Anonymous-messaging Apps." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 16 Feb. 2014. Web. 05 Mar. 2014.
Kerpen, Dave. "Where Social Media Is Going With Teens Leaving Facebook." Inc.com. Mansueto Ventures, 22 Nov. 2013. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
Mosbergen, Dominique. "Shannon Gallagher, Teen Sister Of Cyberbullying Suicide Victim, Takes Own Life." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 13 Dec. 2012. Web. 05 Mar. 2014.
"National Suicide Prevention Lifeline." Social Media Guidlines. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
Slonje, Robert, Peter Smith, and Ann Frisen. "The Nature of Cyberbullying, and Strategies for Prevention." Computers in Human Behavior 29.1 (2013): 26-32. Academic Search Premier. Web.
Terebin, Mark. Interview. Ask.fm. Ask.fm, n.d. Web. .
Cyberbullying has a big challenge when compared to traditional bullying. Because cyberbullying is an indirect none verbal form of bullying, adolescent are more exposed to repeated harassment through hate messages and much more. For so, they increase the rate of suicide by adding feelings of isolations, hopelessness… Social media also contains websites in which those victims rely on, which take advantage of the victim’s vulnerability to provide detailed information on how to commit suicide in order to kill off their
Social media has a negative impact on our society today due to bullying, job stability, and in person conversations. Bullying affects people because they could attempt to commit suicide. When people have a job they could get in trouble if they start bashing on coworkers. In person conversations aren’t the best because people can give off false information about themselves.
Suicide Prevention. (2014, January 9).Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved March 5, 2014, from http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pu
Suicide Facts at a Glance. (2012). In Center of Disease Control. Retrieved April 21, 2014, from http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/suicide_datasheet_2012-a.pdf
Since Teen suicide is the second leading cause of teenage death in the United States, there is a need for legislation that promotes awareness and education about Cyber-Bullying. Due to the growth of technology in the American society, the younger generations of adolescents are adapting to the excessive use of computers, cell phones, and social-networking sites. According to a study done by Amanda Lenhart, 87% of adolescents who are between the ages of 12 and 17 are using the internet on a daily basis (Trolley, Shields, and Hanel, “Demystifying and Deescalating Cyber Bullying in the Schools”).With these numbers increasing across the nation, the numbers of adolescents being harassed through technology means is growing as well. The relationship between cyber bullying and teenage suicide has been named “cyber bullycide”. Studies show that 1/3 of teenagers who have used the internet have stated that they have received threatening or offensive messages either through text, e-mail, IM, and other technology related programs. In 2007 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially labeled “electronic aggression” being cyber bullying as an “emerging public health problem” (Billitteri 387).
The playground bully is a classic figure in the life of children. Shoving, pushing, pinching, name-calling, and dirt-throwing are some of its favorite pastimes. In the modern world, however, bullying is moving to another arena, one much more sophisticated and secretive than the jungle gym. Bullying that takes place online, or cyberbullying, is a growing area of concern among the younger generations. Recent events have thrown cyberbullying, rather unceremoniously, into the spotlight. After being relentlessly tormented online for ten months, Rebecca Sedwick, a twelve-year-old girl from Florida, committed suicide by jumping from the roof of a defunct concrete plant on September 10, 2013. Two teenage girls, Katelyn Roman and Guadalupe Shaw, both older than Rebecca, were charged with felony aggravated stalking upon further investigation into Rebecca’s death. These charges were dropped the week of November 18, 2013, with prosecutors unable to compensate for “a lack of evidence” (Kemp). The controversy over saddling minors with a felony charge caused quite a stir in the media. The correct response to cyberbullying is a growing area of contention. In some cases, criminalization is preferred, while other bullies are slapped on the wrist and grounded for a month. What can be agreed upon is the need for a definitive policy. Cyberbullying, as a burgeoning field of abuse directed specifically at teens, requires direct, speedy, and, perhaps even harsh, measures to curtail the stream of mistreatment flowing freely online.
Before students only had to worry about being bullied at school, but due to technology advances and the use of social media, teenagers can be bullied twenty four- seven. Cyberbullying causes a huge impact on students and when they are too busy with the anxiety of being bullied their grades can suffer or they can even drop out. According to HealthDay News, 9,590 students were surveyed from 580 U.S. schools. Compared to kids who were not bullied, students that were cyberbullied experienced a 0.049 drop in their GPA between grades 9 and 12. This number is too big when you think about the potential students have but the constant bullying by their peers on social media effects that. For some, dropping out or taking the bad grades feels like their only option. Some teenagers that get cyberbullied on social media can’t take the constant criticism, which can lead to suicide. An example is Hannah Smith, a 14-year old student from England. Smith had been on ask.fm, a social networking site that allows people to ask questions anonymously. Cyberbullies urged her to drink bleach and cut herself. Eventually she couldn’t take the bullying any longer and committed suicide. Social media has a huge impact on these suicides because it’s through these websites that these teens are being bullied by other students. If teens don’t stop soon the side effects of cyberbullying
There is no secret that a modern day teenager’s life is built around the usage of technology. As a result of society’s heavy reliance on technology, social media has become popular amongst people who are “technologically advanced.” Though there is a wide variety of social sites that can be accessed through modern day technology, a few have become very popular. Social sites which have become widely popular among teens include Instagram, Tumblr, and Snapchat. These social networking sites provide instant social connection and emotional support while letting teens post and send pictures of their everyday life. Many teens look towards social media for emotional support and social acceptance. The continual usage of these sites are negatively impacting the self- esteem of teenagers worldwide since they heavily rely on social medias to portray images of what they believe is acceptable for the society we live in.
Now the eighth-leading cause of death overall in the U.S. and the third-leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 15 and 24 years, suicide has become the subject of much recent focus. U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, for instance, recently announced his Call to Action to Prevent Suicide, 1999, an initiative intended to increase public awareness, promote intervention strategies, and enhance research. The media, too, has been paying very close attention to the subject of suicide, writing articles and books and running news stories. Suicide among our nation’s youth, a population very vulnerable to self-destructive emotions, has perhaps received the most discussion of late. Maybe this is because teenage suicide seems the most tragic—lives lost before they’ve even started. Yet, while all of this recent focus is good, it’s only the beginning. We cannot continue to lose so many lives unnecessarily.
The cons of social media can be very risky, especially when the youth of this society is partaking in it. Children and adolescents are now known for inappropriate content on social media sites or just simply not understanding the concepts of privacy. A nationwide issue that has been addressed is the action of cyberbullying. This action often leads to harmful circumstances such as suicide attempts, with some being successful. In just one state in the U.S., 1,491 high school students that were the “cyber bullies” were related to suicide attempts and about 4,693 students were rel...
Kang, Cecilia. "Apps Feed Teens' Yen for Online Anonymity." Washington Post. 17 Feb. 2014: A.1. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
In Donah Boyd’s, “Myspace or Facebook?” she argues that social media sites create social division among different groups of people, we should acknowledge this because it might help us understand teenagers more according to their preferences of social media.
Pew Internet and American Life Project. "Teens, Privacy & Online Social Networks." The Pew Charitable Trusts. 18 Apr. 2007. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
In the twenty -first century, teenagers live in a life of social networking and life’s online. It’s hard to believe how much the world has changed over the decades, especially in technology. Technology helps people to contact relatives and friends from long distance more easily and conveniently. People can now talk to each other from everywhere in the world simply through chat and video calls. By time, internet connections have spread throughout households and social networking such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram has increased gradually. However, the internet and several modern technologies have wasted many times and has hurt the society. Social media plays such a big role in people’s lives that some people couldn’t even imagine
We live in a world that has become addicted and dedicated toward social media and it is driving America’s youth into the ground. Teenagers and adults are so wrapped up in social media that is runs their lives every day. Constantly people are checking their phones for the latest on social networks. They have to see pictures, tweets, statuses, comments, likes, and the list goes on and on. Social media is becoming the focus point in the modern American society that it is beginning to control people’s social skills, communication skills, and their livelihood.