Are you about to write a research paper on social media effect on young people? Then check out our “impact of social media on youth” essay sample! Here, you’ll find psychological, financial, and other effects of social media.
Impact of Social Media on Youth: Essay Introduction
Social media is gaining subscribers daily, and youth actively use one or more platforms. Growth in technology has sparked an exponential rate of using social media for communication, marketing, and other activities among youth. While there are many positive impacts of social media on young people, there are also negative repercussions of using various social media platforms.
Youth can utilize social media to communicate their ideas and set up e-commerce marketing channels through social media platforms. However, access to explicit and dangerous information is a major threat to young people using social media. Social media is a prominent part of youth’s life in the contemporary world. Nonetheless, its use should be regulated to ensure that young people only reap the positive benefits of technology.
Social Media Effect on Young People
Social media has facilitated a medium to develop discussion groups covering the subject matter in class; hence, it is a good platform for enhancing students’ performance in school (Boulianne 526). The discussion groups facilitate consultation when students are handling their assignments. Some discussion groups include tutors who can help students grasp the subject matter delivered in class.
Social media has also led to more youth taking an active role in politics. Social media platforms facilitate direct access to political leaders, which has led to more leaders using the avenue to educate their followers (Valenzuela 922). Youth can now participate in lobbying activities and influence the political climate by voting in large numbers.
Social media is an excellent avenue for accessing information related to the issues facing global society. Young people can facilitate solutions to some of the issues by focusing their education on careers that will place them in a position to tackle the world’s challenges (Boulianne 526).
Moreover, youth are becoming more tolerant of diversity, following the ability to communicate with people from different parts of the world in various interest groups on social media. The enhancement of cultural competence is a desirable effect on social media.
The networks developed through social media interaction processes also enhance youth’s access to business opportunities. Young people are developing small businesses and selling goods and services through social media.
Social media has promoted the development of sedentary lifestyles among young people. Youth spend most of their time chatting with their friends on social media through smartphones and computers, leading to a high preference for staying indoors.
Social media is detrimental to grades in school because studies have shown that as the hours spent on social media increase, grades deteriorate for students.
Social media has also facilitated a platform where young people can be easily victimized by individuals with malicious intentions. For instance, sex predators, identity thieves, and conmen have been targeting profiles belonging to young people because they are easily lured into their traps.
Parents have been forced to use filtering and monitoring software to protect their children, but young people are still at risk because they use social media from different gadgets away from home (Nikken and Jansz 254).
Positive and Negative Impact of Social Media on Youth: Essay Conclusion
Social media has provided young people with a communication avenue tied to various benefits. They include the development of a broad social network that enhances opportunities and cultural competence. However, young people must use various platforms carefully to avoid being victimized by cybercriminals.
Works Cited
Boulianne, Shelley. “Social Media Use and Participation: A Meta-Analysis of Current Research.” Information, Communication & Society, vol. 18, no. 5, 2015, pp. 524-538.
Nikken, Peter, and Jeroen Jansz. “Developing Scales to Measure Parental Mediation of Young Children’s Internet Use.” Learning, Media and Technology, vol. 39, no. 2, 2014, pp. 250-266.
Valenzuela, Sebastian. “Unpacking the Use of Social Media for Protest Behavior: The Roles of Information, Opinion Expression, and Activism.” American Behavioral Scientist, vol. 57, no. 7, 2013, pp. 920-942.