Introduction
The evolving world has exposed teenagers to the day-to-day use of social media; unlike in ancient times, adolescents can access information and network online. According to Ahmad et al. (2019), the digital era has played an important and pivotal task in shaping the awareness levels of teens. The availability of different media platforms and the internet has changed how youth perceive and use information. Even though the innovation of social media has positively affected the target population, teenagers have also inherited irritating behaviors and attitudes from practical encounters with online tools in their daily activities. As such, social media has complex impacts on adolescents. The positive influence of social media on the youth outdoes the opposing forces linked to the use of the internet; counterarguments on the topic strengthen the persuasion of readers on the importance of social media among teens. Social media has various complex impacts on the youth, which are majorly positive. However, it does cause multiple negative impacts in an educational, socio-political, and physiological manner that cannot be ignored.
Educational Impacts of Social Media Among Teenagers
Social media engagement and connect audiences of different types to educational forums. The use of social media shapes the academic portfolio of learners; American authors relate the complicated situations experienced during the coronavirus pandemic period to express the significance of social media usage among the youth. Online platforms enable school-aged teenagers to access institutional blackboards and portals. The social distance guidelines provided by the Ministry of Health (MoH) barred learners from attending physical classes. However, social media and the internet rescued students; online learning supported regular class attendance and proceedings, courtesy of social media. Education, therefore, survived in the era of COVID-19 because of e-forums engagement. Besides, teenagers graduated during the regime of coronavirus because learning did not stop.
Online platforms affect the ecosystem of teenagers on matters of education. American colleges like Harvard, Yale University, Stanford University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology implemented social network tools to provide their students with multiple opportunities to improve the quality of education (Saha & Guha, 2019). De Boni & Prigmore’s (2002) research findings indicated that thirty percent (30%) of business students at Harvard University have enrolled in e-learning programs. Establés (2019), on the one hand, argues that the Ohio State University website contains 36% of teenage distance learners; the population has registered for online classes aided by social media use. On the other hand, Saha and Guha hold that Yale University remains one of the best higher learning institutions, with 94% graduation rates even with the adoption of online learning strategies (Saha & Guha, 2019). Social media impacts the quality of education among its beneficiaries because it allows teens to connect with their peers.
Youngsters also use the internet to monitor their school progress; thus, social media impacts the ecosystems of the population by aiding the access of information from online institutional-based websites. Teenagers learning ecosystems contributes to the effective implementation of productive, reliable, and affordable educational programs. Collin et al. (2015) say that social media in promoting educational ideologies isolates the platform’s benefits from traditional physical education programs. Using social media for e-learning re-introduces students to more benefits of the system.
First, social media-sponsored learning activities make teenagers more flexible and self-paced. The analysis conducted by Saha & Guha (2019) indicates that self-paced learning initiated through social media helps teens build confidence in matters of education. Learners’ performance increases with the rise in the flexibility of studies; the entry of social media in education has improved the productivity of teenage online tool users compared to the fixed traditional learning system. The systems implemented in the traditional education programs commanded learners to gather in lecturer halls, a case that has been regulated by e-learning.
Secondly, the use of social media by teenagers between the ages between 13 and 17 has improved the time management skills of more than two million U.S. school-age teens. Time management is effective for teenagers who engage in numerous projects based on their agility and needs to explore more activities. The 2 million learners affected by online media tools can gain advanced time management skills in their future educational and occupational environments. Time management is a crucial factor that dictates the success rates of teenagers; street-competent adolescents and bookworms progress based on how well they plan their activities. Thirdly, social media involvement in educational issues improves virtual collaboration and communication among its users. Adolescents grow into better leaders with early exposure to such individuals’ virtual presentations and connectors. People like Mike Zuckerberg became successful innovators in the world based on their passion for connecting people through medical social tools.
Similarly, media platforms are significant in the teenagers’ ecosystem since they help teens improve virtual communications. The use of media by teenagers has facilitated the connectivity of teenagers in the learning environment. Colleges increase registered students’ knowledge and improve teenagers’ networking strengths across different environments. The learning space becomes conducive to the connectivity of such schools’ populations. Akram & Kumar (2017) highlights that social media improves the development of inclusive environments because it connects people without limitations and discrimination. Social media platforms create learning opportunities for all teenagers bounded by a common goal. Students, for example, can make new friends through social platforms; the newly created relationships grow into more extensive and more effective collaborations that will impact the lives of teenagers in the future.
Furthermore, social media use helps teenagers identify and build their talents. Lifestyle scripts, entertainment, and political news are all over social media. Access to such platforms helps teenagers to explore their interests. Networking plays a crucial role in developing the professional demands of youth (West, 2019); with the opportunity, teenagers are more advantaged in building their skills and experience through online interactions. Eighty-one percent (81%) of youth in the U.S. confess that social media makes them feel connected to trending issues and things going on around their friends (Collin et al. 2015). The statistics communicate the efficacy of online tools by linking social media’s importance in boosting teenagers’ connectivity.
A report released by the Statista group in the U.S. expressed great concern about the number of youth using Facebook in the modern era. According to the study, about 54% of teenagers aged between 15 and 17 use social networking sites to connect with friends within and outside the country (West, 2019). Furthermore, 76% of teens between the age bracket of 15 and 17 use Instagram in America (West, 2019). The quest to know what is happening and how such events affect the daily lives of teenagers makes the target population addicted to online sites. Even though the addictive use of social media is dangerous to the mental status of teenagers, the group uses the tools to connect in various spaces. The outcomes of such connections help teens build their skills, talents, and future productive relationships.
Socio-Political Effects of Media Usage by Adolescents
Although media use in social and political environments is questionable, adopting digitalization in the youthful environment affects teenagers directly. The controversial topics attracting debates worldwide are uploaded on social media; teens find deliberations that sharpen their argumentized skills from such platforms. The norm and culture of wanting to hire or work closely with up-to-date individuals today indicate the importance of social media in the lives of teens. Most organizations associate with articulate people characterized by excellent listening and communication skills.
Social media usage among youth improves the social awareness of the group; moreover, the acquittance of grooming good communicators in the social world grows solely with earlier exposure of children to online tools (Establés, 2019). The type of connections created by online platform enhancements mold teenagers into better people who are beneficial to society. Twitter allows teenagers to tweet their ideas, thoughts, and perceptions on various topics. The platform is vital for generation Z because it enables them to interact with different opinions. The Internet helps the world reduce the number of fixed-minded people across society. De Boni & Prigmore (2002) presumes that one tween can attract millions of individuals through likes, comments, shares, and re-tweets. Blocking teens from using online platforms can restrict the group from understanding the concept of cultural diversity. At the same time, today’s world aims to unite people of different ethnicities, nations, races, and religions without discrimination. Creating a discriminative-free environment starts with encouraging youth to be active on social media. Social media remains helpful in the community since it builds the social awareness of adolescents on critical societal issues.
Communication struggles have prevented countries in warfare from resolving their disagreements. However, the free and cautious use of social media can help nations build solid and influential leaders in the coming ages. Leadership starts from the possession of effective listening and communication skills. How can today’s community improve communication skills for teens uniformly without biases? The answer to this question draws society’s attention to the relationships between teens and digital platforms. In Establés’s (2009) opinion, reading articles, journals, blogs, and other educative material from online websites improves the prowess of teenagers in becoming better leaders. Online sources expose youth to numerous writing styles encompassed by millions of topics. Politics is one such title that saturates social media; the political documentations promote the understanding of teens on management and leadership. The association between the articles and the realities on the ground perfects the communication skills of the population. The sharing of information on social media also improves the negotiation skills of teenagers because the group learns how to interact with people of different interests. The differences in online users’ IQ and cultural practices make the sites useful in developing open-minded leaders.
Social media has real effects on teenagers regarding their real-life political participation. Ahmad and co-authors documented an analysis of teens living in rural Pakistan; in the research, university students depended on the use of social media for political gains (Ahmad et al. 2019). Enacting strict rules on the use of the internet can lower the political involvement of youth. The tools applied to online websites give teenagers the courage to talk about real-time events and issues affecting their political stands. Recent research shows that the political engagement of university students prepares the population for future leadership roles. Akram & Kumar Media (2017) stresses the significance of social media; according to the text, online platforms offer shy and introverted teens the psych to speak out their ideologies without struggles. Physical communication and debate can be problematic for people who fear the masses; nonetheless, the widespread use of online tools in information sharing limits no group from expressing themselves except for cyber bullies.
Social media exposure to teenagers between 13 and 17 stimulates online and offline political participation. Establés (2019) educates its audiences on the advantages of knowing the political systems and leaderships governing a teenager’s country or region of residence. The study expresses its concern about the ignorance of teenagers about the modern political systems and urges parents to allow their children to read and watch political programs at their tender ages. It could be embarrassing to learn that a teenager lacks knowledge of American history or the ancient forms of government in the late 15s. Exposing the affected population to early use of social media can help such learners to grow their thirst for political studies. Online groups and pages allow young people to engage in political discussions. The political efficacy and changes needed on administration could be corrected with the views aired on social media.
Social media supports teenagers in various ways; however, the young population familiarizes themselves with current news and trending information on governance and political buildups (Akram & Kumar, 2017). In the U.S., for instance, thirty-nine percent (39%) of adolescents browse numerous social media platforms in search of political news (Collin et al., 2015). The data also provided evidence of the growing influence of online and e-activities on politics-oriented services. Eight out of twenty adolescents use social media for political and civic purposes. According to Bekalu and co-authors, digitalizing the world further would see the statistics rise to a more considerable number, almost 50% (Bekalu et al., 2019). The ability of social media to affect the patterns of political communications in the U.S. indicates the significance of online tools among teenagers’ political ecosystems.
How Media Affect the Mental Health of Adolescents
In as much as social media contributes to the positive participation of teenagers on political matters, the mode of connectivity affects the mental health of addicts. Social media has drastic effects on the mental health of teenagers; the platforms expose them to bullying, spreading rumors, and peer pressure (Keles et al., 2020). Furthermore, the podiums of networking lead teenagers to sleepless nights and over-reliance on the internet. The psychological impact of social media among teenagers is a broad area of study that encompasses several analysis factors.
First, the target group’s excessive use of social media promotes laziness. Today, all information needed around the world is available on the internet. Unlike traditional timings, teenagers of the 21st century use their phones, laptops, iPods, and computers to seek information from social platforms. Laziness forms part of contemporary adolescents who feed and access intelligence from online sources. Critical thinking is a significant problem for the affected population because youthful people rely on ready-made and readily available resources. Even with the technological advancements today, teens make fewer efforts to innovate or produce first-hand information beneficial for society (Bekalu et al. 2019). Global research on the active participation of teenagers on social media indicates that adolescent in the age bracket of 13 and 17 makes rare innovation in medical and engineering innovations (Keles et al. 2020). The group has demeaned the value of future hope by learning to depend on readily available resources. Even though the media promotes laziness, adolescents are allowed to use the platforms without restrictions and prejudgments. The possibility of making such online tools happened with the great sweet of committed individuals who cared for the future generation.
Overdependence on media by adolescents communicates the need to promote awareness of talent and skill explorations. Young adults can utilize social media to change the world and public challenges in the space single-handedly if they change their attitudes. Otherwise, the innovation planetary will continuously be dominated by adults who have felt the pains of laziness. On the one hand, dependence on social media negatively affects the psychological status of the isolated group. On the other hand, Bekalu et al. (2019) argue that teenagers’ current reluctance on social media is the fruit of their forefathers, who inserted all their efforts into developing technology.
Teenagers fall into depression, distress, and anxiety following their interactions with social media content. Online bullying is a critical issue affecting teenagers in the modern world; the networking abilities of social media not lonely impact the lives of youth positively but also lead the users to distress and anxiety. Political, social, and economic differences among the target population create some social status quo on such websites. Twenty-eight percent (28%) of teenagers report cyberbullies to the relevant authorities monthly in the U.S. (Ahmad et al., 2019). The number is too high, and many adolescents risk developing major distress disorders (Keles et al. 2020). Oppressing people on social media based on ethnic or religious grounds affects teenagers’ psychological status; at their age, they choose to remain silent only to end up with a depressive response.
Cyberbullying can be addressed by implementing and tightening ethical, safety, and social media privacy policies (Keles et al., 2020). As a result, teenagers’ negative influence of social media usage is not a big issue; the flexibility of the problem creates more paths for analyzing the online causes of cyberbullying. The remedies to cyberbullying can be developed with the existence of well-structured and laid regulations that focus on the safety of teenagers’ psychological health. The media platforms that cause psychological torture to teenagers can also boost the population’s mental health if adequate policies are implemented. The criticism of social media usage leans entirely to cyberbullying, rumor-mongering, and peer pressure influence. What if teenagers created an online training forum to help their agemates battle depression caused by such tools? Isn’t it positive news to convert the criticized podiums to places of praise and honor? Bekalu et al. (2019) challenge teenagers to use social media for exemplary purposes; adolescents should not take the availability of such websites to alter the emotions of third parties. Instead, the author guides teenagers to use online knowledge to help distressed and anxious people battle their situations.
Conclusion
Social media is a valuable tool that helps teenagers improve their search for information. In addition, online platforms offer adolescents the opportunity to expand their education and connectivity with their peers. Social networking created in social media helps teenagers build their skills, talents, and future leadership ambitions. The promotion of youth’s social and political participation in society starts with teens’ exposure to social media and the internet. However, the excessive use of such online tools can affect the psychological health of the youthful population. In collaboration with relevant bodies, the government must regulate social media to prevent the oppression of minority groups.
References
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