Hello my name is Nikita and I’m here to tell you that self esteem doesn’t exist if social media does. Social media sites such as Facebook, instagram, twitter, etc have ruined young girls and boys self esteem. On these sites there’s always a competition for the most likes on a post and they are willing to say and show anything to get those likes. These sites aren’t just ruining the self esteem of teenagers but also their schooling grades, with the grade levels decreasing for teenagers and the use of proper English language has been replaced with “text language” . Social media has taken depression in teenagers to a new level with doctors treating people who have “Facebook Depression”; also the amount of depression cases have increased in teenage girls.
Depression is a topic that most people are uncomfortable talking about, but more and more cases of depression are forming in teenagers. Doctors now have to treat people, mostly teenagers, for “Facebook Depression”. “Facebook depression is an affliction that results from establishing a presence on social networking sites, spending a great deal of time on these sites and then feeling unaccepted among peers online.” (Meredith Corporation, 2015). Social Media has also led young girls to think they are obese which makes them do dangerous lifestyle choices. These choices they make are for them to try and get their body to the size they see in a photo shopped magazine or online, “35 percent of girls ages 6 to 12 have been on at least one diet, and 50 to 70 percent of normal-weight girls think they are overweight.” (Psych Central, 2015)
The teenage years of someone’s life has been considered the hardest; it is full of bullying, judgement and also teenagers trying to find their own identity. Social media has contributed to making this the hardest years of their lives. Cyber bullying has been increasing since social media has evolved, “Young people found to be twice as likely to be cyber bullied on Facebook as on any other social network site…54% of young people using Facebook reported that they have experienced cyber bullying on the social network.” (NoBullying, 2015)
Does the “F” in Facebook stand for “F” in school? Social media is responsible for changing the way teenagers and young adults communicate with others. “Cyber slang” has replaced proper English language. Social media is slowly creeping into school work of teenagers with the use of “Cyber slang” being used in written assignments. “They do not capitalise words or use punctuation anymore,” says Wood, a teacher with ten years of in-class experience. “Even in e-mails and letters to teachers or in writing assignments, any word longer than one syllable is now abbreviated to one.”(Read Blog, 2015).
Social media isn’t all that bad Social media isn’t just Facebook, instagram, twitter and other networking sites; it is also television, movies and computer games which aren’t as harmful for young kids. There are functions with social media that can give children and teens valuable life skills. Using social media can help children practice social skills, learn to use technology, develop independence and they can learn to express personality; all of these skills are helpful for future developments such as starting a job. Another benefit that social media has for teenagers is that it allows them to connect with friends and family that are in different states or countries.
Predators. The biggest fear of a parent whose children have an account on social media. Predators are everywhere in the social media world and they are on every networking site. Without children realising it everything that they post online predators can use to find out information about them and also find out their location. “The more information kids post about themselves on like the easier it is for a predator to find them. Pictures of kids in school uniforms, talking about their school or activity, posting where they are on their status updates.” (Patch Media, 2015). Children are clueless when it comes to social media, they believe that they are invincible and what they hear on TV about predators would never happen to them.
In Conclusion, there has been a increase in depression rates since social media has evolved into what it is today. Doctors have had to start treating adults and young teens for “Facebook Depression”. Schools have reported that the number of Cyber bullying cases have increased and that most commonly used social media site used for Cyber bullying is Facebook. More and more teachers have found “text language” in students work.
