Teenager’s View On Social Media: How It Impacts Them?
Social media and teenagers have a deep
bond as it provides them with an instant connection with the world, breaking
the boundaries of physical distance. The role of social media has evolved from
just being a platform to chat to connect, share information, get help, know the
problems or issues across the world, etc. Teens use social media as a tool to
express themselves, showcase their talents to a larger audience, and maintain
relationships. Social media effects on the 21st-century teens are great and
highly influential, but it also comes with negative outcomes for which they
must prepare themselves.
In this
article, we will focus on a teenager’s view on social media to understand the
virtual world from their perspective and guide them if required as it is the
responsibility of every responsible adult to share the pros and cons of
technology, no matter how popular they are.
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Social media
First, let us understand what exactly social media is before
jumping in to understand a teenager’s view on social media and the tips to keep
them safe yet not affect their privacy. Social media platforms are digital
technologies that facilitate or provide a medium for everyone to connect, share
their thoughts, media, etc with all those using the platform, as well as view
their shared contents. It is an internet-based service that helps users to
connect quickly to e-communication or electronic modes of communication.
The contents that are shared on social media include audio
files, videos, images, personal details, etc based on the user’s consent. One
can access social media through almost every digital or smart gadget such as
smartphones, desktop or laptop, iPad, tablet, etc using the software or
application.
The usage of social media is high in
countries like the U.S.A and Europe, but Asian countries like India, Indonesia,
etc lead them. On a global scale, more than 3.8 billion people use social media.
Social media has brought in a major change in the mode of communication, on a
daily basis in our lives. This platform has its own boons as well as
consequences based on how one uses it.
Social media and teenagers
The
relationship between social media and teenagers is very important to
understand, hence knowing a teenager’s view on social media helps. Social media
is important for teenagers and everyone who likes to keep themselves in the
trend, knowing the situations in various places across the world, share their
lifestyle or ideas, etc as it gives the users the power to connect almost
instantaneously with others and share whatever they want. This also helps to
identify people with similar tastes or even notice the activities of your
favorite personality, but as said earlier, it is important to help them
understand that sharing personal details of life is like controlling a double
edged knife, it can also prove to be disastrous if not handled properly. Some
of such negative aspects include bullying, blackmailing, or a sense of pressure
that forces them to behave or present themselves in a particular way.
Teens use social media to talk over a wide
range of topics and discuss them with others. They can share their
accomplishments, issues that they face, or simply glimpses of their life.
According to a survey, more than 60% of teens share or post their
accomplishments whereas the rest share information about their personal life,
family, etc. From these, about 30% of teens express their emotions or feelings
on social media platforms related to their life, politics, religion,
discrimination, etc.
Also,
check out: 5
Foolproof Ways To Protect Your Social Media From Hackers
Factors affecting social media usage
When we
look deeper there is a significant difference in the topics that the teens
share based on their gender, as well as age. This is because not everyone feels
or looks at the world with the same perspective, factors like childhood, family
situation, maturity, etc play an important role.
When
compared based on gender, it is evident that more than 50% of girls tend to
post personal information about their family, feelings, beliefs, etc when
compared to boys. However, this is a general conclusion as social media, and
its importance in one’s life varies from one person to another. Another finding
is that even though selfies are popular, most teens do not prefer to share them
or post them on social media.
So, if those teens with a few years of age
difference behave differently to social media platforms then it must definitely
be hard for the previous generations to understand their views or issues. So,
let us check out the various social media platforms for ease of understanding.
Considering
that young people have different social media habits than previous generations,
it can be difficult for parents and other adults to understand the challenges
young people face. Here’s a glance into what your children could also be
thinking.
Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook
Snapchat
and Instagram are the go-to social media platforms for teens. Snapchat is a
platform that focuses on one-to-one communication as well as group chats along
with giving importance to sharing ‘Snaps’, which are the images captured in the
moment of sharing, unlike in Instagram in which one can share media taken even
days ago. Snapchat also allows users to share their selfies with filters on it,
and Instagram allows chatting, sharing ‘Story’, posts, etc with a caption that
best depicts the media.
Instagram
and Facebook have several uses apart from for entertainment, many use them for
marketing their products or services, developing business by reaching out to
the audience for free, and understanding the current trends.
The aspect
that parents or well-wishers must focus on is the concept of pressure building
or anxiety development in teens as most of what is shared on these platforms
such as pictures are those that they look best in. This concept of moving to an
extreme extent to bring in perfection can affect the mental health of teens.
Also, read
about: Tap Your Social Media To Generate
Leads: Facebook Marketing
In this
article, we have discussed a teenager’s view on social media along with
understanding some of the popular social media platforms. Hope this article was
useful to understand a teenager’s point of view on social media.
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