Introduction
In the context of the modern development of society, information technologies have begun to play an important role in everyone’s life. It is almost impossible to imagine a person who can easily do without a cell phone, tablet, or another similar gadget. Moreover, it is increasingly evident that even young children are most dexterous in using these devices. Today, information technologies are so deeply embedded in people’s daily lives that often a person is ready to give up interactions in the outside world for the sake of spending time in the virtual world. This is specifically true for children and adolescents, as they often become too invested in virtual reality, abandoning their real life.
The expansion of this influence and the growth of opportunities for the media exacerbate the process of forming the socio-cultural identity. Moreover, under their universality and inclusiveness, media and entertainment are also able to shape the image of each new generation. Monreal (2018) claims that nowadays, children struggle with socialization skills due to constant online communication. American society has been showing clear signs of anxiety regarding the mass media’s influence on children for a long time. Thus, this essay seeks to examine the negative impact technology and media have on children and adolescents.
The Power of Mass Media
Mass media are quickly becoming a real power in the political, social, and spiritual spheres of existence. The information revolution turned the mass media into a virtual “fourth” branch of power, the influence of which on society and the individual often turns out to be incomparably greater than of other social institutions. According to Cengage (2021), television has almost as much impact on forming young people’s values as family, friends, school, or church. In the process of development, the child undergoes socialization – the individual’s assimilation of patterns of behavior, psychological attitudes, social norms and values, knowledge, and skills that allow them to function successfully in society. Unfortunately, the predominance of information technologies in the process of child’s socialization does not always contribute to their development; often, they inhibit individual personal development.
In September, Netflix released the film Social Dilemma, which explains the mechanisms and algorithms that underlie social media. In a 90-minute Netflix documentary, former employees of Google, Facebook, and Instagram talk about how social networks manipulate people. The algorithms that underlie their actions help to track and predict the actions of users, and, subsequently, interact more effectively with them. However, it is said that these algorithms can lead to addiction in users, especially, in children. Experts who work in large corporations confirm that if you do not pay for the product, then you are the product. Corporations not only sell users’ data, but they also change people’s, and, specifically, children’s and adolescents’ habits, with no possibility of them noticing it. Additionally, the data is not simply sold but is used to build models that predict people’s actions in the future, which allows corporations to manipulate the masses further.
How Social Media Affect Children
These models specifically target the younger generation, as it is far easier to put the corporations’ intended concepts and ideas into inexperienced and not yet fully developed minds. For example, Berk (2017) states that “children in age 6-11 think in an organized, logical fashion only when dealing with concrete information they can perceive directly” (p. 306). They do not understand abstractions, therefore, they are prone to fall victim to delusional concepts social networks bring. Adolescents also suffer from delusions; however, there are other forms. According to Berk (2017), “adolescents react more strongly to stressful events and experience pleasurable stimuli more intensely, which makes them highly reactive to peer influence and evaluation” (p. 373). This phenomenon reflects the adolescent’s feeling that they are constantly under the critical attention of those around them. Since this “audience” is created by their ideas, it knows everything about them that they know, which causes unnecessary mental stress and tension.
Employees of large corporations such as Google often talk about how social networks work from the inside, and about the consequences they can lead to in the form in which they now exist. In parallel, an important problem of the 21st century should be raised – the suicidal moods of Generation Z. This issue is also associated with the addiction to social networks – namely, to the thrill of likes and comments from acquaintances and strangers. According to Berk (2017), “mature, rational thinkers reach conclusions that differ from those of others, they consider the justifiability of their conclusions” (p. 456). Youngsters do not yet possess this ability of epistemic cognition; thus, they cannot always separate their views from those provided by social media. The rejection of oneself and an attempt to hide behind all kinds of masks and filters also add to this, now immensely big, problem.
When a new technology appears, the predecessor technologies are forgotten, and their further impact on young people is usually not considered. Traditionally, it is believed that new technology, due to progress, always affects the psyche even more negatively, while such statements are not always based on objective research. Nesi (2020) adds that “technology use tends to increase throughout childhood, with adolescents using new media, and social media in particular, at higher rates and with greater frequency than younger children” (p. 116). New inventions, as they appear, also do not stand still in their development. Social media is a prime example of this, where marketers are working on new business strategies every day to gain attention and retain users.
Conclusion
Modern children are more dynamic in their development, they are ahead of adults. Therefore, they form the rules of behavior in social networks on their own experience, independently, by trial and error, and note for themselves what is dangerous and what is safe. It is difficult for adults to cultivate critical thinking in them since they develop it on their own. However, it is necessary to try and guide them in this regard, since the critical perception of Internet content helps to resist the formation of illusory security. The adults should destroy the myth that if you do something on the screen, it does not harm, as it often might lead to dire consequences such as bullying and scamming.
The main problem is not that social media manipulate people and decide for them what they will see and how, or that someone is collecting users’ data with impunity. It is a fact that people – specifically, children – are now dependent on social networks. Young people often do not analyze the information received from media, considering it only reliable and believing it fully, to the point where they would protect it vehemently. Moreover, being on the Internet, children and adolescents begin to forget about who they are. They create a completely different person online, without thinking about what they are doing there. From there, an internal dissonance occurs, which might cause too much of unpleasant outcomes for a person. This issue is especially acute among children and adolescents – therefore, it needs to be addressed by both the scientific community and society.
References
Berk, L. E. (2018). Development through the lifespan. Boston, USA: Pearson
Cengage. (2021). Television’s Impact on American Society and Culture. Web.
Monreal, J. (2018). Social Media’s effect on society. Web.
Nesi, J. (2020). The impact of social media on Youth Mental Health. North Carolina Medical Journal, 81(2), 116-121. Web.