The 21st century has been characterized by rapid development in technology. A notable field that has experienced several innovations and inventions during this period is digital technology. It is essential to note that the research in digital technology begun in the 20th century but the most remarkable advances have been made in the 21st century. Sociologists point out that increased technological research has been facilitated by the beneficial attributes of innovations achieved. Sociologists, however, highlight that technological advancements, especially in the digital field, have also resulted in several negative impacts (Messina and Iwasaki 163). One such detriment of technological advancement is the increase in teenage suicides. It has been noted that technological related factors such as cyber-bullying, reduced online supervision, exaggerated self-concept through social media and poor depression management strategies have increased the number of suicides among teenagers.
According to statistics, 13% of deaths among teenagers are as a result of suicide. Studies have also established that the 13% only represents a small percentage of the actual number of suicide attempts (Jacob 82). According to one research, for every complete suicide, there are about 25 unsuccessful attempts among other teenagers. In 2011, suicide was ranked as the third leading cause of death among young people in the United States. According to some statistics, there are approximately 32,000 suicides in the United States: 5,000 of which among teenagers (Kowalski, Limber and Agatson 57). The statistics above indicate that teenage suicide is an issue that requires sufficient study to help understand the causes behind it to aid in its prevention.
As noted in the introduction, innovations in digital technology have been a significant achievement in the 21st era. Some of the notable innovations in digital technology include social media and smart-phones, which have been adopted by a majority of teenagers. Studies indicate that 97% of teenagers use the internet, and 80% of these teenagers have at least one social media account (Kowalski, Limber and Agatson 101). While such high percentages in the adoption and integration of social media are commendable, the lack of parental supervision for most of these teenagers is alarming. It has been established that only 16% of teenagers using the internet share with their parents about what they do while online. As a result of this lack of adult supervision, over 60% of teenagers using the internet are doing something they would not want their parents to find out. It is essential to note that teenagers are undergoing the adolescent phase which is characterized by increased self consciousness and emotional insecurity. The prevailing high costs of living have led most parents to spend most of their time away from their children as they try to earn a living. Studies show that about 60% of parents are emotionally and physically unavailable during their child’s teenage life (Kowalski, Limber and Agatson 19). As a result, the teenager has to identify alternative sources of emotional support and information about their changing body functions. Unfortunately, most of the information that is readily available to these teenagers on social media sites is wrong and misleading. As a result, most teenagers become uncomfortable with how they look, walk, talk or even think as the internet has given them a wrong perception of self-esteem and personal image. Studies show that the feeling that something is wrong with their body is rampant among teenagers (Jacob 12). As a result, some of these teenagers post their naked pictures on social media sites as they try to build their self esteem through other people’s approval. When this and other subsequent methods fail, the teenager is depressed and it is then that they start having suicidal thoughts.
In the 21st century, the internet is considered as the hub of almost all information. Psychologists argue that this perception is more common among young people born at an age when internet usage was a norm than in the older generation. As earlier discussed, most parents are unavailable to guide their teenage children through the stage of adolescent. Subsequently, when such an adolescent starts having suicidal thoughts, they result to the only readily available source of information they know: the internet. Luxton, June and Fairall (195) established that in about 240 unrelated site results after an internet search of suicide and other related terms, more than 50% of the sites advocated for suicide. These results show that for a teenager who is contemplating suicide and decides to find more information from the internet, a majority of the information they will get encourages them to go ahead and kill themselves.
According to Hinduja and Patchin (1534), there is a link between suicidal ideas and victimization or bullying. The authors point out that teenagers who are bullied have a higher probability of having suicidal attempts, thoughts, and completed suicides. This argument is supported by other studies showing that most victims of peer harassment suffer depression, loneliness and reduced self worth: all of which are causes of suicide (Kowalski, Limber and Agatson 64). In the early 1990s, bullying was mostly orchestrated at school and other physical locations where teenagers frequented; however, advancement and integration of technology in a majority of teenagers’ lives has resulted in a new front for such harassment- the internet (Jacob 2). This form of harassment via electronic networks such as the internet is referred to as cyber bullying. Psychologists argue that the emergence of social media where personal information is shared with many other people has facilitated cyber bullying (Shelton 1). The effects of this form of harassment are further accentuated by the fact that more than 70% of teenagers use the internet daily. Shelton (2) points out that cyber-bullies use communication channels such as tweets, Facebook posts, email, mobile phone texts and blogs to identify and harass their targets. The author further notes that while bullying at school may end when the teenager goes back home, cyber bullying can happen 24 hours in a day throughout a year. As a result, cyber-bullying becomes a dominant issue in a teenage victim’s life. Hinduja and Patchin (217) established that such pre-dominance of cyber bulling in a teenager’s life is a precursor for suicidal thoughts. A notable finding by the two authors was that cyber bullying does not directly lead to completed suicides among teenagers; it leads to feelings of loneliness, hopelessness and emotional instability which may subsequently lead to suicidal thoughts.
Teenage life may become a lonely stage when an adolescent finds it hard to interact face to face with other teenagers. When this happens, the teenager feels lonely and may opt for other ways of interaction to satisfy their emotional need for interaction. In this era of digital technology, alternative ways of interaction include social networking and use of smart phones. Consequently, in their quest to interact with other teenagers, such an adolescent spends a considerable amount of their time awake online or chatting on their phone. Psychologists have established that people who spend long hours on social media sites on their phone have a high probability of being stressed by minor issues (Messina and Iwasaki 162). As a result, when a teenager spends most of their time interacting with other teenagers via technological channels, the teenager is bound to experience increased levels of stress and anxiety. When these levels are combined with the emotional distress characteristic of the adolescent stage, the teenager feels more lonely and desperate than they were when they were not interacting with others. Since loneliness, anxiety and desperation are precursors to suicidal thoughts, the teenager starts to contemplate committing suicide. Prolonged periods of these precursors may lead to a suicide attempt which in some cases may be fatal.
Technology advancement has had considerable benefits; however, some of the innovations have negative implications associated with them. Technology has been a major contributor to increased suicide among teenagers. This increase has been caused by technology related issues such as cyber bullying, reduced self-worth from a distorted self-concept advanced on social media, lack of adult supervision when teenagers are online, and poor depression management. It is, however, necessary to point out that most of the incidences where technology has caused suicide or suicide attempts among young people could have been avoided through adult supervision. It is vital for parents and other guardians to note that most of the activities teenagers conduct on the internet and other technology related platforms, only aggravate the emotional insecurity and loneliness characteristic of adolescence. It is, therefore, essential that adults supervise how teenagers spend their time on such platforms. As a result, this will help reduce suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts among teenagers.
Works Cited
Luxton, David, Jennifer June and Jonathan Fairall. “Social Media and Suicide: A Public Health Perspective.” American Journal of Health 102.2 (2012): 195-200. Print.
Hinduja, Sameer and Justin Patchin. “Bullying, Cyberbullying, and Suicide.” Archives of Suicide Research 14 (2010): 206-221. Print.
Messina, Emily and Yoshitaka Iwasaki. “Internet Use and Self-Injurious Behaviors Among Adolescents and Young Adults: An Interdisciplinary Literature Review and Implications for Health Professionals.” Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 14.3 (2011): 161-168. Print.
Shleton, J. “Social Media’s role in Teen Suicide.” Hub Pages, 12 Oct. 2010. Web. 4 Dec. 2012. (http://jcshelton.hubpages.com/hub/Cyberbullying-Social-Medias-Role-in-Teen-Suicide).
Jacobs, Thomas. Teen Cyberbullying Investigated. New Jersey: Wiley, 2010. Print.
Kowalski, Robin, Susan Limber and Patricia Agatson. Cyberbullying. New York: OUP, 2011, Print.
