Social Networking’s Negative Effect on the Young of Today
Social networking sites such as Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram are changing the youth’s focus from productive activities, to the indulgence of their adolescent egos. Many teenagers growing up today have chosen to pursue accomplishments that hold no meaning, such as getting 100 likes on their photos. What is worse is that the youth subconsciously know that having this-many followers or that-many likes will get them nowhere yet they still devote so much of their time to social networking sites. These social networking sites take a psychological toll, as well as a toll on their social lives. It also leaves people prone to other dangers such as cyber bullying. Social networking sites have negative psychological effects on the younger people that use them. The American Psychological Association states that, “Teens who use Facebook more often show more narcissistic tendencies…” (American Psychological Association). Anybody who uses Facebook, as well as other networking sites, can agree that they all have friends who ‘share’ their pictures multiple times a day and like to fish for compliments with captions such as, “I am so ugly”, so random strangers may comment, “no you’re not you’re beautiful!”. The American Psychological Association also states the overuse of this technology has a negative effect on the health of teens as well, making them prone to anxiety as well as depression. This can also be observed by other users of Facebook, Twitter, etc. we all have those ‘Facebook friends’ who enjoy posting about how miserable they are and how nothing goes their way. Social networking sites also have a negative effect on the person’s education. “Studies found that middle school, high school and college students who checked Facebook at least once during a 15-minute study period achieved lower grades.” (American Psychological Association). These networking sites are like a slow acting poison, turning