Impact of Social Media on Teenager
Ever since social media go popular and people started using various platforms to connect with people, the whole face of the world has changed. It has shaped the lives of people from every age group, especially the young teenagers who are witnessing their growth and development around social media.
Theories suggest that socially active and connected people are expected to do better in life. However, a person’s social connections and gatherings depend on various factors, like, ethnic background, living area, income, profession, and so on.
The effects of social media in the life of a teenager can have both positive and negative impacts. In this article, you will see how social media is helping them find online jobs for teens and affecting other aspects of their life too. But first, let’s discuss the positive impact of social media on a teenager’s life.
The positive impact of social media in a teenager’s life
Social media helps to find online jobs for teens
Social media has been popularized among recruiters and individual teens looking for online jobs. Social media has created a number of online job opportunities for teens in recent years. The internet makes it easier for the teens to get in touch with the recruiters, gather information about the company, and get in touch with the influencers before they get into an organization.
With tons of content being shared across the internet, teenagers have access to a variety of topics and thereby, helps teenagers in building better perspectives and better understandings of the world they live in. Social media and other open-source websites encourage teenagers to collaborative learning, it gives them exposure to new ideas, exchange of culture, and social issues.
Social media helps in better and fast communication
Social media has become a part of everyday life in this digitized world. Social etiquettes and effective online communication are necessary skillsets one must acquire to succeed in the near future when it comes to corporates and work opportunities.
Moreover, in the era of fake news and spam, it is of grave importance for a teenager to be digitally literate. Digital literacy also helps a teenager to make judgments on the content he/she shares and its impact on the viewers.
Social media for mental health and wellbeing
The transition time in the making of young adults can be most troublesome in a teenager’s life. There are social platforms and organizations that provide essential support and guidance to teenagers seeking help.
Often, teenagers find it difficult to talk about certain topics like sexual orientation, depression, or bullying, to their friends and family, it is when this online support network comes in the role.
Helps you build a positive digital footprint
Being active on a professional social media site helps teenagers with valuable mentorship and connect with the career-driven group. Platforms like LinkedIn and handshake allows an individual to highlight their talents and share their accomplishments to a professional network. This positive digital portfolio further adds to their advantage when applying for employment for a university program.
The negative impact of social media
Where social media helps an individual fight his depression, many experts suggest that the overuse of social media may result in teen depression, ADHD, anxiety, or even worse.
Change in sleep patterns and overuse of social media
One of the most common cons of social media addiction is the disruption of sleep patterns. It is common for teenagers to use social media throughout the day, especially during the night. The blue light coming from the devices leads to insomnia in teenagers, which ultimately affects the ability to focus, and the attention span of an individual.
This overuse of social media has increased manifolds during the lockdown. The only solution to minimize sleep disruption due to social media is by turning off the phone, at least 30 minutes to one hour before sleeping.
Cases of cybercrimes and online bullying
Unfortunately, social media is not always a safe place for an inexperienced user. The teenagers overshare their private details online, chatting with strangers, which leaves them vulnerable to harassment and online frauds.
To minimize the potential risk of social media, teenagers must keep their accounts private and look out for potential fishing tools that many scammers use. Parents can play an important role in guiding and educating teenagers about safe social media usage.
Oftentimes, social media also portrays the so-called ‘perfect life’ and ‘perfect body’, which only demotivates teenagers and makes them anxious about their own life and body image.
Conclusion
Social media is both a boon and a bane. It all depends on a person how they make the best use of the platform. There are hundreds of teenagers that have gained fame and recognition via social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. Many teenagers have utilized these platforms to kickstart their careers and find online jobs for teens.
On the other hand, there are increased cases of moral abuse, hatred, and overuse of electronic devices. To make it a perfect balance, teenagers should learn how to make the best use of social media without affecting their own lives.