By Roland Bjerke
Social media has been around since the early 2000s and has had many negative and positive impacts on young people. Common social media platforms that started coming in the early 2000s include MySpace (2003), Facebook (2004), and YouTube (2005). Since these platforms and others like them have been coming out, kids have become more and more reliant on social media.
As kids become more reliant on technology they spend less time in the real world. The term doomscrolling was recently added to the dictionary, and it means to spend a large quantity of time scrolling through social media without realizing how much time you have spent doing it. Whether it’s TikTok, Instagram, or even Snapchat, today’s youth is spending an obscene amount of time on social media. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, on average kids today spend an average of eight hours a day on screens, and half of that time is spent on their phones alone.
Too much time spent on social media can lead to many negative impacts on today’s youth. The term “highlight reel” is a short, edited video that compiles the most exciting or impressive moments from a larger event, performance, or period of time. Highlight reels generate constant comparison to others and can lead to anxiety and depression. Cyber bullying on social media is another big cause of anxiety and depression among teens. Along with anxiety and depression, sleep deprivation also has a big negative impact on teens. The blue light from screens can disrupt sleep patterns, and not only is the blue light bad for sleeping, but using social media late at night in general can lead to insomnia as well. The reason teens are saying up so late using social media is because it is an addiction. Social media platforms are designed to be addictive, which leads to neglect of other activities such as school, work, extracurriculars and relationships. And lastly, social media is a major source of spreading misinformation. Spreading of misinformation causes you to have misguided views and thoughts, and when you are young is when you’re most susceptible to untruths. Always remember to not trust everything you hear on social media
Although social media is a major source of misinformation, it is also where most youth get the information that is happening in the world. Some could say that it is even the newspaper of the 21st century. Not all information that is spread throughout the internet is bad though. There are great DIY (Do It Yourself) videos out that benefit people in many different ways. For example, one time my mom had to get new windshield wipers on her car, so she looked up a video on how to attach them and they still work to this day. Social media is also a great way for the youth to communicate with others. Not all people have the same opportunities to commune with others, but staying in touch with someone over social media helps maintain friendships and lets others know how your life is going. Teens can also gain support online and find friends that they would not normally have if social media didn’t exist.
Ultimately, social media is a tool for everyone to use, but it can also be a danger. You just have to decide whether the good outweighs the bad, and remember to be careful while using social media. Social media is a great power put into our hands via personal devices, therefore we should remember Uncle Ben’s (Stan Lee) words of wisdom: “With great power comes great responsibility.”
Roland Bjerke is a Spring Grove High School student, one of 10 area students participating in the Journal Writing Project, now in its 27th year.
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