The Relationship of Teenagers and Social Media (Other (Not Listed) Sample)

Student's Name
Course
Lecturer
Date
Teenagers and Social Media
Prologue
Research on social media usage amongst kids and teenagers depicts a worrying trend of negative implications often realized at later stages of these kids' lives. Social media in teenagers represents quick interactions on websites and applications that facilitate the transfer of messages, audio files, photos, and video files ( Andersen et al., 2-3) (Uhls et al. 68). While socialization on the internet may seem harmless, research surveys illustrate negative consequences to kids and teenagers.
For instance, According to Child Mind Institute ("How Using Social Media Affects Teenagers"), social media usage promotes anxiety, poor body image, loneliness, and, consequently, depression. Anxiety results from indifferent comparisons and insinuations regarding perfection. Failure to achieve alleged perfection results in poor body image and loneliness stemming from a lack of friends and low self-confidence.
Other than that, poor communication skills and bullying are also prevalent effects on kids and teenagers. Social media interactions promote non – verbal communication with typing and captions on images majorly used. Consequently, communication skills degrade due to a lack of physical interaction while communicating. Communication skills develop due to observable changes and reactions between individuals conversing (Morony et al. 7).
Then, disagreement resulting from social media interactions results in violent language and abuses termed as bullying. Bullying is a consequence of a lack of empathy between the two individuals disagreeing. However, empathy stems from understanding and observing your counterpart's reaction, mostly emotional. With social media impeding physical interaction, teens disagreements and consequent communication ensue without prior emotional check; thus, unchecked hurling of cruel words hence, bullying.
Despite the information discussed above, Social media usage, kids and teenagers' topics pose a semblance of the vastness that the discussion above barely covers. Therefore, further information on the subject seeks to expand my scope by supplementing information on other social media usage effects on kids and teenagers. However, the need for further development of this subject does not stem from a scholarly perspective. It originates from a social standpoint of parenthood. Being a parent to two teenagers, Cameron, aged twelve years, and Emma at Seventeen, I am compelled to seek additional information. My limited knowledge on the subject as a parent begs the question, what will be the effect of social media usage by my children, given their recent affinity to social media devices.
Research Journey
Concerns expressed in the discussion above instigated a need to find more information, thus my research journey. Contemporary technological advancement means that the primary source for such information is the internet. Keywords used at this juncture were "effects and Teenagers." Subsequent information yielded more negative implications like Dependance and Stalking due to social media usage (Child Mind Institute, "How Using Social Media Affects Teenagers"). Stalking results from permissions granted to Social media applications, thus, easy location identification.
Further, the interconnection arising from constant communication amongst teenagers means they are always sharing information, hence a dependence where there is always a need to be contact. The resulting reaction led to the limitation of social media-related devices around the house. However, the limitation of social media usage led to disgruntlement and constant emphasis on its benefits. "Benefits, social media and teenagers" would later form the keywords for my next source.
Research material containing information on social media benefits follows Uhls' et al. (68), highlights the importance of social media in identity development, exploration, sexual, and friendship maintenance. Relating to Cameron and Emma's Current age group, all the above aspects develop within their age limit range. Interest picked on social media sites, and applications intrigue adolescents with varying intensity, thus a critical element of forming their identities. Further, adolescents conform to their sexual identities due to picking interest in available sexual orientations on social media. Then, monotonous identities necessitate adolescents' need to explore other identities that may become their primary identities.