Rague 2
A Social Crisis
Mackenzie Rague
LAC 210
University of Southern Maine
Portland, Maine
Most people believe that social messaging is more of a benefit than a consequence, but using social media can be harmful. Social media is something most kids, teens, and even some adults are using all the time. It has become a part of our generation’s lives. Having people on their phones all day long is not only disappointing, but also damaging. Instead of talking to someone face-to-face and hanging out, people prefer just texting or going on a social network. For some people understanding a life without social media is near impossible. However, using social media can have some adverse effects… it causes cyberbullying, it can have a factor in self-image issues, and can affect social skills of adolescents.
Bullying has been a present issue in all aspects in life, but is most commonly seen in school. With the recent rise in the popularity of social media in the last decade, cyberbullying has become one of the easiest ways for bullies to attack their victims. Although face to face confrontation still exists in and out of schools, saying hurtful things to someone on the internet while hiding behind a screen is more appealing to most people. Researchers have examined the relationship between involvement with cyberbullying and adolescents’ tendency to internalize issues (for example, the development of negative affective disorders, loneliness, anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts) (Nixon, 2014). This is no joke, over the past 10 years there has been hundreds of young teenagers committing suicide due to cyberbullying. We as humans are so vulnerable when it comes to our self-worth and cyberbullies attack and attack a person until sometimes, that person on the other side decides to take his or her. The most important thing to remember about cyberbullying is that is CAN be prevented. Parents can and should be monitoring what their children are doing on the internet, there’s way too much temptation out there for this generation of adolescents.
For young people growing up in today’s society, social media outlets such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have provided pictures and news that have become the first thing that their eyes see in the morning and the last thing that they see before going to bed. These pictures have provided unrealistic standards as to what is considered beautiful today. As young people refer to these images as a form of comparison, it has created harmful circumstances. Some people can experience self-loathing due to the fact they see Instagram accounts that encourage things such as thigh gaps and unhealthy fitness fads; this can make a person feel like they don’t look as “perfect” or as in shape as some of the people on those media outlets. Although it’s important to support one another and not shame people for the things they post, there is a line when it comes to what’s appropriate for posting and what’s not. The self-esteem o...
