Social media plays a major part in the way today’s youth are growing up. Although it may have its benefits, it causes a huge negative impact in our society. Social media has drastically changed since it was introduced in 1979 when Usenet systems were first conceived by Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis, and even since Mark Zuckerberg created “Facebook” in 2004. Social media sites such as Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and Omegle expose today’s adolescence to things they shouldn’t be seeing, and it is as easy as logging in. The following paragraphs will talk about the three main negative effects that social media plays on youth today. These are; one, continuously putting users of Social Media, (and even the internet), in danger, two, damaging face to face socializing skills, and three, exposing our youth to explicit materials.
Firstly, Social media poses many threats in today’s society. It is accessible from any Computer, Phone, Tablet or IPod with an internet connection. This means that it is easier for children as young as 8 or 9 to connect to a social media site. This in turn exposes them to nudity, swearing and the worst of all; pedophiles and rapists. Rheana Murray of New York Daily News stated that a whopping one in ten profiles online are fake (May 2013). This means that at least 10% or more of a child’s friends on Facebook could be phony. The Carly Ryan incident in 2006 proves that the internet is a very dangerous platform for children, teenagers and even adults to be using. Unfortunately, fake profiles are not just used for using fake aliases. Even if someone has only, say 10 friends on a social media site, and know that all of these are authentic, there are still ways for hackers to access your information; such as your location, photos or even bank details. Bullying is also a huge danger to youth on the internet. Back before Social Networking was created, bullying stopped when school stopped. Now, a child being