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Social Media Access Argumentative Essay
"Teens: This is How Social Media Affects Your Brain" by Susie East, "How Using Social Media Affects Teenagers" by Rachel Ehmke, and "Social Media 'Likes' Impact Teens' Brains and Behavior" from the Association of Psychological Science all include information about how the teen brain has been impacted by social media. Parents should limit their teen's access to social media because it can have negative effects on teen's health and social life.
The time allowed for teens to be on social media should be limited by parents. The article from the APS states, "When teenagers looked at risky photos compared with neutral photos, they had less activation in areas associated with cognitive control and response inhibition..." Teens get exposed to more things than they used to because of social media. If they see others doing risky things, they could feel pressured to do those things to fit in with that group of people. It could ruin their already established relationships. Teens also get negative thoughts about themselves because of social media. The article by Rachel Ehmke states, "The survey results found that Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram all led to increased feelings of depression, anxiety, poor body image and loneliness." People usually edit their photos to make it appear like they have the perfect life. Teens could get discouraged about themselves because they will feel like they can't be like what they see online. They might also get upset when someone else gets more interactions than them on a post. Social media can make teens connect their emotions to how well their posts do on social media, which isn't healthy. The internet has also affected the way teens communicate with each other. The article by Rachel Ehmke states, "But when friendship is conducted online and through texts, kids are doing this in a context stripped of many of the most personal—and sometimes intimidating—aspects of communication." Teens aren't able to see how people react to the things they say if they only communicate through text messages. Noticing body language during conversations can help you determine the other person's feelings about what someone talks about. Not being able to see these things could make you continue talking about a subject without knowing that it's having a negative effect on the other person. Parents should have certain areas and times where their teens can't be on social media. They can restrict phones during mealtimes so that the family can have face to face conversations with each other. Forming a safe environment for their teens can make them more willing to communicate about any negative feelings that social media brings on. Parents can provide input on improving their teens' self esteem and any friendships that could be taking a negative turn. Parents should also limit social media at night to help their teens focus on resting instead of scrolling. Limiting social media can have positive effects on teens' mental health and social life.
On the other hand, some people think that teens should be free to use social media and learn from their mistakes. The article by Susie East states, "'Now if you go online, one of the ways that you gauge the effectiveness of your message is in the number of likes, favorites or retweets, and this is something that's really different and unique about online interaction.'" The number of likes on a message doesn't determine whether or not people think it's positive or negative. Teens are more likely to like a post that has a high number of likes, even if they don't like the content of the post. Their reward systems also get rewired to get affected by social media, as mentioned in the article by Susie East. They feel better about themselves when a post gets a lot of interaction and is seen by more people. Teens will feel compelled to post more to try and get a higher number of likes and comments than their last post. They will try to make their posts more exciting for more interactions and could negatively affect other teens. If a post doesn't do as well as someone thought it would, their mood can drop. Many teens find communities through social media, and limiting them from these communities could make them upset if they have a lot of online friends. These communities could make teens try to change their personality and what they like and dislike to try to fit in more. They would want to become friends with more people so they would try to act like what most of the people in that community does, even if it's not true to themself. Limiting their access to these communities could create healthy boundaries with how they interact with people online. Teens shouldn't change their personas for an online profile since it could become too stressful trying to keep up with it. Parents who think that teens don't need limits on social media should reflect on how having no limits has affected their teens, and if they should slowly establish some limits.
Parents should limit their teens social media because social media can negatively affect teens' social skills and mental health. Having limits can promote a healthier connection to others and their own personality.
