Description

This is a researched essay based on a single question of inquiry. This essay should follow common research practices and rhetoric (claims, evidence, concessions, warrants, introduction, conclusion, call to action, the inclusion of at least two academic and at least two popular sources, etc.)

Requirements:

• 2000-2500 words
• A clear argument (a claim about the subject)
• Major points of the essay
• Evidence that supports your claim
• Reasons why the audience should agree
• Rebuttals or concessions to countering evidence
• Adequate use of sources (variety of inclusion: summarization, paraphrase, and direct quotations)
• A call to action or a call for more research
• A compelling introduction that clarifies the topic, introduces a question and convinces the reader why they should care
• A conclusion that summarizes your conclusion based on the evidence and explains how your research fits into the broader field of research.
• MLA paper format & in-text citations
• MLA Works Cited page

To view other assignments done in preparation for this essay, please click on the respective assignment title

• Collected Bibliography
• Annotated Bibliography
• Essay Outline

 

Assignment

Ever since it was created, social media has become a staple in the lives of people all over the world. It continues to gain popularity and is something people – more specifically teens – are using every day. Everyone reacts to the content differently and can even alter your views on a subject or how you wish to act. Due to this, teens are more vulnerable to social media and will have to cope with harmful issues. They are still growing and discovering their identities, which causes them to be more subjective to what they view online and how they use such platforms. As a result, social media can affect the development of high school teens in the U.S. due to a few specific reasons. This essay will discuss how these platforms cause teens to lose social skills, learn harmful behaviors and develop mental health issues, as well as how they will impact teens in the future the more these issues persist.

One such issue that can interfere with the development of high school teenagers in the U.S. is the fact that social media causes teens to lose social skills in public. With the help of social media, teens are dedicating more time online and making friends this way too. Most of their communication is coming through a screen, “where body language, facial expression, and even the smallest kinds of vocal reactions are rendered invisible” (Ehmke). By communicating online, it is much harder to read people and know what to say in different situations, whether it be positive or negative. Furthermore,” it’s easier to keep your guard up when you’re texting… you aren’t hearing or seeing the effect that your words are having on the other person.” Online messaging pretty much allows teens to say whatever they want without much consequence. Unless that person specifically says it, teens are not able to know how their words made the individual feel, whether it was good or bad. Not only that but messaging also gives teens more time to think of a response. They can respond in a way that may be “socially acceptable” and make the person they are messaging like them more. Not only that, but they could even ask others for help on how to respond. Yet when it comes down to interacting in public, they struggle to come up with a response and feel anxiety since they must reply at that moment. It is much harder to put the conversation at a standstill and need to deal with it headfirst. Social media gives teens something to fall back on which is unhelpful in the real world. And if this issue persists, it can be harder when teens “begin navigating romantic relationships and employment” as they get older. Therefore, social media can hurt the development of high school teens by causing them to lose social skills.

Another way online platforms hurt developing high school teens is by teaching them harmful behaviors. Such behaviors may include toxic ideas of sexual activity and dating violence. Not only does social media cause teens to encounter unwanted sexual content, but it might cause them to view sex as something more lustful than loving. “Although more than half of the couples who engage in sexual intercourse on television are in an established relationship, 1 in 10 couples are couples who have met only recently; one quarter do not maintain a relationship after having sex” (Brown). Not only that but “only about 1 in 10 of the programs on television that include sexual content mentions the possible consequences or then need to use contraceptives or protection against STDs. Unintended pregnancies rarely are shown as the outcome of unprotected sex, and STDs other than HIV/AIDS are almost never discussed.” What this illustrates is the idea that while media chooses to display sexual content, it does not highlight everything there is to it. If anything, media can cause teens to think of sex as a meaningless action between two people that has little to no consequences and is not planned. When in reality, that is far from the truth. There are certain things that teens need to be mindful of – such as staying safe and not using people for sex – which media fails to portray correctly.

Besides this, media can also lead to teen dating violence and cause teens to think it is okay to put up with abusive relationships. They see these harmful portrayals of relationships being romanticized and think this is what love is all about. Such behaviors can include “psychological abuse, sexual violence and sexual aggression” (Manganello). Because teens are still maturing, they may use media as a “source of information of dating and romantic relationships.” So, if media is demonstrating these behaviors, teens would want to recreate it in their own lives because they think it is okay. Furthermore, if teens have been victims of dating violence, they may continue engaging in such relationships and think this is what love is all about.

As displayed, media can play a role in teaching teenagers harmful behaviors. Not only can they view sex as a passing thing that is more lustful than loving, but teens can also engage in dating violence that can cause severe mental and physical issues. But the more these teens view this kind of media, the harder it is to change their viewpoints on it and prevent them from engaging in these actions. Therefore, it is crucial to combat these issues now and teach teens to be wary of certain media that portrays important topics such as relationships and sex.

While both reasons may be true, social media also can allow teens to make connections online and make new friends. Not only that but some platforms give helpful resources to help teens better themselves and not fall for these behaviors. Social media has “the ability to raise awareness, connect with people across the world, and share moments of beauty can be empowering and uplifting for some” (Admin). Teens are given the opportunity to connect with anyone around the world and meet people with their shared interests. This can be especially helpful to those who are struggling to find their identities and who they want to spend time with. Not only that, but media can provide resources that can help teens with nearly everything in their lives. But while these things may be true, there are still a few negatives. For instance, teens are still not able to meet the people they talk to online face-to-face majority of the time. Especially if they are halfway across the world, teens are unable to view body language and the effects of their words through a screen (Ehmke). There is only so much they can do to speak to the people they talk with and are still unable to learn crucial social skills. Not only that, but teens ought to be careful of the resources they view for it can be fake. “In a 2016 study involving nearly 8,000 U.S. students, Stanford University researchers found… that less than 20 percent of high schoolers seriously questioned spurious claims in social media” (Moyer). It is crucial that teens fact check their information before believing it. This way, they can have accurate information that can help, instead of applying harmful behaviors such as dating violence and poor ideas of sex into their lives. As a result, with the positives of social media also come the negatives that can make things worse.

Finally, social media can affect the development of high school teens in America by causing them to develop mental health issues that can get worse over time. Teens can develop insecurities or issues with body image, develop imposter syndrome, be cyberbullied, and get a lack of physical activity if they are spending more time online. Because “teens are exposed to and getting feedback or pressure from many more people than they would encounter in daily life”, they are vulnerable to viewing hateful messages or feeling as if they are not good enough (Burch). They are more exposed to cyberbullying and can even have “harmful, false or private content about them posted on social media” (Monroe). To add on, “Linda Charmaraman, a senior research scientist at the Wellesley Centers for Women and director of the Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab, has also found that 21% of teens “felt down” about themselves after looking at social media” (Burch). This is primarily since teens are being exposed to idealized photos of individuals and think they must look that way to be desirable. And in return, they may feel bad about themselves. These teens may feel as if they are not good enough and develop imposter syndrome. It is as if they feel a sense of pressure to get comments and likes to feel validated and worthy (Admin). Continuing, excessive use of social media by teens can lead to a lack of physical activity. “Scrolling social media on their phones or other devices meant that teens sat for longer periods of time and had less time for exercise. As a result, they missed out on the beneficial impact of exercise on mental health” (Monroe).

Due to these effects, teens are now developing more mental health issues from social media. “Many experts believe that the constant overstimulation of social networking shifts the nervous system into fight-or-flight mode. As a result, this makes disorders such as ADHD, teen depression, oppositional defiant disorder, and teen anxiety worse.” Whether it is feeling as if they are not “pretty enough”, getting cyberbullied, not getting adequate exercise, or having a sense of imposter syndrome, these things add up and lead to greater issues. They can contribute to feelings of depression and anxiety all because of an online platform. And if they are not dealt with right away, these feelings can carry into adulthood and cause high school teens to seek validation from others.

On the other hand, social media can allow teens to find their identities and who they want to be. Social media gives them a platform to post photos and view others who look like them. Not only that but “many teens understand that the images they see are curated snapshots, not real-life indicators, and are less likely to let those posts make them feel insecure about their own lives” (Admin). Therefore, teens can understand not to let these platforms dictate their lives and form their identities. Yet again, teens may rely on social media and base their identities around what other people believe. As stated before, they may want to follow what other people are posting and only publish idealized versions of themselves. Also, they can feel a sense of pressure to only “post positive and attractive content”. So, while teens can in fact find their identities, they can continue to subconsciously post things that make them look “better”. It is as if they are relying on social media to find who they are and continue to fall down the same harmful paths. Social media is a double-edged sword and it is best for teens not to use it as a basis for their identities. To sum up, social media can inevitably cause mental health issues if teens decide to rely on it for their identities and who they want to be as people.

To conclude, the use of social media among high school teens in the U.S. is causing harmful effects to their developments. If these effects are not combated right away, they can cause severe issues to their mental health, cause them to believe harmful ideologies and take them into adulthood, and force teens to lose crucial in-person social skills. Teens should be more mindful of how they use social media and their usage. While they can still use it for leisure, teens ought to not rely on these platforms for every aspect of their lives and still form parts of their lives away from media. Extended use can cause severe issues and it is best to combat the issues while it is still early. There is more to life than behind a screen, and teens have as much time as they need to explore it.

 

Works Cited

Admin. “How Social Media Affects Teens – Dangers of Social Media Today – JSY.” Just Say YES, 20 May 2019, https://justsayyes.org/topics/how-social-media-affects-teens/.

Brown, Jane D. “Mass Media Influences on Sexuality.” The Journal of Sex Research, vol. 39, no. 1, Taylor & Francis, Ltd., 2002, pp. 42–45, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3813422.

Burch, Kelly. “How Social Media Affects the Mental Health of Teenagers.” Insider, Insider, 16 Mar. 2020, https://www.insider.com/how-does-social-media-affect-teenagers#:~:text=Social%20media%20can%20affect%20teenagers,help%20them%20find%20supportive%20networks.

Ehmke, Rachel. “How Using Social Media Affects Teenagers.” Child Mind Institute, 1 Mar. 2022, https://childmind.org/article/how-using-social-media-affects-teenagers/.

MANGANELLO, JENNIFER A. “TEENS, DATING VIOLENCE, AND MEDIA USE: A Review of the Literature and Conceptual Model for Future Research.” Trauma, Violence & Abuse, vol. 9, no. 1, Sage Publications, Inc., 2008, pp. 3–18, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26636172.

Monroe, Jamison. “The Effect of Social Media on Teenagers.” Newport Academy, Newport Academy, 2 Mar. 2022, https://www.newportacademy.com/resources/well-being/effect-of-social-media-on-teenagers/.

Moyer, Melinda Wenner. “Schoolkids Are Falling Victim to Disinformation and Conspiracy Fantasies.” Scientific American, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2022, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/schoolkids-are-falling-victim-to-disinformation-and-conspiracy-fantasies/.