Discussion Forum 8 – Social Media

Discussion Forum 8

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Discussion Forum 8: Social Media

The social media plays a great role in shaping the behaviour and character of teenagers as it provides a new carefree culture that associate with the high curiosity the teenagers have leading to risky behaviour and sometimes deviance. In the modern day, negative forces fostered by the media have been shaping the way teenagers behave as well as the attitude they have on anything that they do. The social media is full of violence, commercials that are sex-oriented and almost practically anything negative they want to know but are morally restricted. Considering that a lot of experimentation hallmarks teenage life, negative behavioural change, and deviance take root at this stage if parents are not careful.

I love the media especially the social media, in fact, I am on twitter most of the time communicating with my friends, sending pictures and even planning events. On the other hand, I also love watching movies and music, live streaming. I would say that I am ‘addicted’ to social media, especially WhatsApp and Twitter due to the groups I and my friends have formed there. I, therefore, spend so much time, almost all my free time on my smart phone chatting with friends, I would like I consume too much of social media and average on television and films. There are some advantages of being online all the time, one tends to know what goes on all the time and we plan things together as friends.

However, too much social media has started affecting my academic performance and my social life with my family. I rarely have time to talk to my parents, and I think this is affecting the quality of the relationship we had. Social media has become a culture that I am unable to break away from; sometimes I just think of my phone even when I am at school. Also, I have heard cases of cyber-bullying whereby some of my friends had stalkers who were threatening them via the social media; I am afraid I might fall a victim one day. A lot of vulgar languages is also used through the social media, TV adverts and even some commercials are inappropriate for young children to watch.

Most importantly, the ability to maintain attention has been affected greatly as teenagers are always glued to their phones. Apparently, some parents fall into the same trap, and nobody ever has time to discuss important family matters and school progress. The media may be a good platform for outsourcing useful information, communication and creating awareness, however, it has more negative social implications for children and teenagers than good. Students neglect their studies; others engage in deviant behavior while others use the platform to bully others as well as copying bad habits that are against social norms.

I would recommend that parents should devise a better strategy for keeping their children busy. The social media be controlled, especially in a home setting ensuring that parents are the leading examples. Some children develop low self-esteem, as a result, the ‘high profiling’ illusion created via the media. Parents should often talk to their children and encourage them about the social evils brought the social media. Secondly, they should ensure that they come up with constructive programs that will keep their teenagers engaged positively.

Social media is good, but it should be controlled or else it will lead to the breaking of the bond between parents and their children, children and their studies as well as exposing the teenagers and other younger children to social evils that may affect their behaviour negatively or even lead to low self-esteem. I do agree that I am a victim of a social media culture that is unhealthy, however, there’s need for change and I hope to start spending my free time constructively while spending less time in the media.

References

Broderick, P. C., & Blewitt, P. (2015). The life span: Human development for helping professionals.