Influence of Social Media on Young Adult Behavior- Arguement Essay

Using social media Web sites is among the most common activity of today's children and adolescents. Social Media can sometimes seem like just a new set of cool tools for involving young people. The National School Boards Association found that youth aged 9 to 17 spent an average of nine hours a week on social networking sites (National School Board Association, 2007). For young people, technological changes, such as the Internet on cell phones, iPads and other tablets, and better computer capabilities make access to social media easier.

Middle and high school students are using social media to connect with one another on homework and group projects.11 For example, Facebook and similar social media programs allow students to gather outside of class to collaborate and exchange ideas about assignments. Some schools successfully use blogs as teaching tools,12 which has the benefit of reinforcing skills in English, written expression, and creativity.

Short-term exposure increases the likelihood of physically and verbally aggressive behavior, aggressive thoughts, and aggressive emotions. Recent large-scale longitudinal studies provide converging evidence linking frequent exposure to violent media in childhood with aggression later in life, including physical assaults and spouse abuse. Because extremely violent criminal behaviours (e.g., forcible rape, aggravated assault, homicide) are rare, new longitudinal studies with larger samples are needed to estimate accurately how much habitual childhood exposure to media violence increases the risk for extreme violence.

Researchers have proposed a new phenomenon called “Facebook depression,” defined as depression that develops when preteens and teens spend a great deal of time on social media sites, such as Facebook, and then begin to exhibit classic symptoms of depression.22,–,27 Acceptance by and contact with peers is an important element of adolescent life. The intensity of the online world is thought to be a factor that may trigger depression in some adolescents. As with offline depression, preadolescents and adolescents who suffer from Facebook depression are at risk for social isolation and sometimes turn to risky Internet sites and blogs for “help” that may promote substance abuse, unsafe sexual practices, or aggressive or self-destructive behaviors.

Recent surveys reveal an extensive presence of violence in modern media. Furthermore,many children and youth spend an inordinate amount of time consuming violent media.Although it is clear is that reducing exposure to media violence will reduce aggression and violence, it is less clear what sorts of interventions will produce a reduction in exposure. The sparse research literature suggests that counterattitudinal and parental-mediation interventions are likely to yield beneficial effects, but that media literacy interventions by themselves are unsuccessful.

Parents need to work with their children on using safety precautions when on social media sites. Thirty-one percent of youth surveyed by the National School Board Association (2007) reported posting inappropriate pictures and sharing personal information with strangers. Youth need to be taught of the dangers of putting their personal information online. Information that is posted online can never be permanently erased. Parents and their children should establish privacy settings, and the children should learn to check to be sure that their privacy settings have not changed. Updates on social media sites involve changes to privacy settings. Parents should also discuss with their children the impact of cyberbullying and the importance of not engaging in this behavior.