Impact of Facebook on teenagers in America
The generation is what is referred to as the I Generation. This is the generation that is constantly connected to the internet surfing, texting, instant messaging, Facebooking, Instagram, twitter and so forth. Their lives seem to revolve around these sites and they cannot seem to function properly without them. It has come to our attention that while these sites and activities seem necessary and vital, they do have effects on persons who are constantly using them. The internet has sought to close the boundaries that exist in cultures. Through it persons from every walk of life can access any and all information with the click of a button. We are now able to venture into new world and develop new schools of thought from the comfort of our homes, forge new relationships with the collapse of time and distance. So what is the psychological effect of the social media on the population especially teens and young adults (Benkler, 65).
Facebook has been condemned by parents and teachers who term it as a distraction towards the student who have centered their lives on it. It is hard for the students not to have tier lives around these sites since there has been a shift from the use of textbooks as the only source of information. Many students from the lowest level to university have access to the internet and many own a laptop hence studying is now done via the technology available to the students. According to social media researcher Larry Rosen, there are both good and negative effects of social media.
A good example is that kids who use Facebook constantly are prone to be self-absorbed and vain but these same students will be seen to be emphatic in the way they express an opinion. The students should be allowed only to access Facebook on if they are performing in school. Experts reveal that the desire to login to Facebook can cause student to perform better. They should only to allow students to access their Facebook accounts at home. Facebook being a site for socializing, it is therefore difficult for a student concentrating when chatting, looking up friends and even meeting up with some of them.
There are a variety of positive effects of Facebooking to the teens: to begin with, the students were exposed to the happening of the world around them in a larger way than they would have from reading a book (which is highly unlikely). They are made aware of what is generally happening around them in a faster way. Facebook is very fast in keeping people posted. It allows people to post and comment on what their friends have said. It is therefore an easier channel to get to know things. It is possible for people to even get posted about what goes on in their families back at home. This can serve as plus for the students who have gone to study outside their home countries. Which interacting with their relatives on face book they even concentrate on their studies better. They are exposed to the workings on the world and how other cultures respond to issues. Through this interaction they are able to make friends form different parts of the world and they share opinions about their social life, school life, and so forth. Teens at this age do not think their parents understand them and will easily offload their issues on those that lend a listening ear mostly their peers (Brown, 76).
It is interesting to note that the persons between the gas of 32 and below use the internet more for communication purposes much like one would be calling or texting. The advantage of this is that one is able to communicate with several persons at the same time and this is a cheaper means of communication as compared to the charges that one would incur were they texting or calling. The current era is a digitized one. It is possible not to receive or reply an urgent text message for this generation.
As they are always online they are more likely to find a text message via an online platform than they are to get one through the normal means. It is clear to see that Facebook has changed the way in which people interact with each other. Facebook has helped to forge new relationships as well as strengthen old ones. When persons change schools or move to a new area they need not lose their old friends but they will be able to keep in touch with their friends. There are a variety of ways to interact of Facebook from wall to wall chats in which they are able to chat with more than one person, private messaging, sharing pictures, and updating their statuses (Ciastellardi & Emanuela 59).
Facebook has negative effects such as those who are constantly on the internet have tendencies to be narcissistic tendencies especially for teens. Facebook can also influence students to take nude photos and post them. This is because of the high affinity of people to photos in Facebook. It has been observed that when schools closed up, most students spent their time on Facebook like they do on anything else. Most students if were given homework, the probability of opening school with an undone assignment is very true. The same applies for young adults who are more likely to be aggressive in the manner they present themselves. They may be anti social and may feel that they do not belong in certain gatherings.
They are more likely to withdraw from the real world and are more to voice their opinions via chat rooms than they are in actual conversations. This may be very unhealthy for them since they may find it difficult in the chat rooms, for instance the kind of advice that they can get from their age mates. This is a saddening issue since it has not only affected the education of the teenagers but also their health. The health of teens is affected by over use of Facebook in that they are more prone anxiety, depression and other susceptible illnesses. That they are not able to move around outdoors or participate in activities outside the internet setting; they may lack enough sleep as they chat the night away. Lack of exposure to the outside world may render them susceptible to other psychological disorders such as anti-social behavior (Comstock &Erica 98). This situation may go on for months and change the interactional behaviors of a teenager. The teenager can all of a sudden make a young person reserved and anti-social. They can embrace and love the idea of expressing themselves through the internet.
Facebook can be distracting the learning process of students. Studies found that students who constantly checked their Facebook pages constantly were likely to have lower school grades as compared to their counterparts who were not as constant on the web. This is simply because they tend to get distracted a lot from school work. They find it very difficult to concentrate in class. According to the education board, it is very wrong to allow your child to come to school with this that may affect their learning or their friends. It is advisable for students in school to leave their phones and tablets at home during school days.
This is majorly because it is impossible for some students to stop the temptation of chatting. This daily overuse will distract the learner as they will be tempted to chat with their friends and check on their acquaintances and they will be distracted from their school work. Another negative effect of Facebook is that some of the persons in the sites are not very trustworthy. There have been incidences of cyber bullying where victims are marred with insults and negative comments for nay of their updates (Johnson, 81).
Cyber bullying has negative impacts on the user. They are likely to suffer self esteem issues where they think are not worthy, pretty enough or smart enough. There have been several incidences where the victims have even taken their lives for the bullying they have encountered. This harassment will see the victims suffer severe depression and anxiety and will withdraw from the outside world. This can therefore affect a teenager in a negative way. It is important to advice the teenagers on how they can overcome such things.
They should know the correct channel that they should follow. Depression and other psychological problems can occur due to such instances. Follow up should be also done to teenagers who look like they can be depressed. It is also important to follow up any other person who has experienced this before. This is to make sure that they have fully overcome the situation and that they are not suffering any severe consequences.
In conclusion, it is evident that in America social media is something that has taken up the teenagers. It has had impact on a good number of them. However, there is good impact and bad. As explained in the paper above, teenagers can go to an extent of hiding what they are doing on face book. It is therefore important to keep an eye on what they are doing to prevent them from straying.
Works cited
Benkler, Yochai. The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom. New Haven [Conn.: Yale University Press, 2006. Internet resource.
Brown, Ian. Research Handbook on Governance of the Internet. , 2013. Print.
Ciastellardi, Matteo, and Emanuela Patti. International Journal of Mcluhan Studies: Understanding Media, Today. Mcluhan in the Era of Convergence Culture. Barcelona: Editorial UOC, 2011. Internet resource.
Comstock, George, and Erica Scharrer. Media and the American Child. Burlington: Elsevier, 2007. Internet resource.
Johnson, Steven. Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Popular Culture Is Making Us Smarter. London: Penguin, 2006. Print.
