Social Media Addiction Essay

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Recommended: The negative effect of the use of the Internet on teens

Addiction to the internet has negatively affected psychosocial aspects of teens and young adults. This addiction causes teens and young adults to prefer social media outlets over normal face-to-face conversation. High use of the internet has also led to the development of social disorders that may affect one’s ability to interact properly with peers. Anti-social behavior is also a prevailing issue in teens addicted to the internet. Social media can also affect teens ability to empathize and connect with issues in politics and society.
Teens and young adults today are using social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat to communicate with friends, family, and colleagues. The psychological development of an emotional attachment is …show more content…

People of all ages have become dependent on technology to complete numerous daily tasks. Anxiety is felt when people are unable to access the internet and social media (Shepherd, 592).
Addiction to social media acts as a crutch for those experiencing insecurities and low self-esteem (Ko, 1378). The ability to escape reality and create a second persona alleviates those feelings of low self -esteem and increases the feeling of belonging to something. Whether that feeling of belonging comes from online gaming or meeting new people through social media, it can alleviate feelings of “inadequate social support, interpersonal security, or personal competence” (Ko, 1381).
Despite the infinite amount of knowledge and resources to be found on the internet, teens and young adults prefer to use it for the socialization aspect. Shepperd argues that anxiety levels in studied subjects increased when not being able to use the internet for social media but not when one was asked to look up a fact …show more content…

A well-known issue in anti-social behavior of the internet is cyber bullying. Users feel that this behavior is not harmful because they can be anonymous online. This hostile behavior can worsen mental disorders such as depression and anxiety in teens affected by cyber bullying (Twenge, 14). The ability to send hateful comments and death treats via social media has changed people’s ideas about each other. Regarding the fact that most of these threats made are not acted upon in real life, the online society attempts to normalize these acts of aggression as if they don’t mean anything.
Addictive behavior on social media can result in inflated self-esteem and narcissistic behavior. People who have narcissistic views have been shown to have more friends on Facebook. This is possibly due to having more pictures of themselves and their own personal

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