{"id":57653,"date":"2017-10-16T17:34:27","date_gmt":"2017-10-16T21:34:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gozen.com\/?p=57653"},"modified":"2022-02-14T06:40:30","modified_gmt":"2022-02-14T11:40:30","slug":"teensandsocialmedia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gozen.com\/teensandsocialmedia\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Reasons We Worry About Teens on Social Media (And Some Reasons We Shouldn\u2019t)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Parents, in increasing numbers, are concerned about their teens\u2019 use of social media. With countless news stories, books, and articles detailing its hazards, noise on the topic can make it hard for anyone to understand what\u2019s true and what\u2019s not. Parents trying to understand the digital generation have their work cut out for them.<\/p>\n

At the same time, teens by the millions have fully immersed themselves in the digital world. They have their own views on what\u2019s happening, but they\u2019ve never known life without social media, which makes it difficult for them to have perspective on the legitimate, research-backed concerns about its effects. Teens, like their parents, may have work to do.<\/p>\n

Social media is here and isn\u2019t leaving. It\u2019s a part of our lives and the lives of our kids.\u00a092% of teens go online daily<\/a>. Of those, 52% are online several times per day, and 26% are online almost constantly. So why fight it? Is there cause for concern? Is it all alarmist hype? There are no immediate or easy answers. Every family will need to decide on their own unique approach.<\/p>\n

However, there are so many layers to the issue, it\u2019s hard to know where to start thinking critically about our habits and the habits of our children. As a start, here are 10 concerns about kids on social media, along with some reasons not to be worried.<\/p>\n

#1 Hangouts:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Research suggests that kids are drawn to social media environments because it\u2019s where their friends are. When talking to teens, interviewers hear that most kids would rather be hanging out face to face, but that\u2019s not always possible: often there is no transportation; some malls enforce restrictions on groups of teens; they\u2019re not allowed to go out on school nights. Kids\u2019 solution is to find friends online. It\u2019s their place to hang out. It\u2019s a valid tool to promote social interaction. It\u2019s their mall. But, it\u2019s also their house party, and for many, the parents are out of town 24\/7.<\/p>\n

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#2 Addiction:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, it\u2019s addicting. However, there\u2019s debate about the reasons. There is general agreement that\u00a0the rewards of social media (likes, shares, comments, messages) trigger a release of dopamine<\/a>, the same pleasure-controlling chemical that is released in the body when addicted gamblers or substance abuse addicts get their fix. Being liked is addicting.<\/p>\n

However, Danah Boyd suggests in her book \u201cIt\u2019s Complicated\u201d that, well, it\u2019s complicated. She found that kids are really addicted to their friends, and that it\u2019s more about social participation. Teens want to go where their friends are, and this is nothing new. Other researchers have documented a real fear among teens that if they don\u2019t make social media a constant part of their social lives, they would have no social lives.<\/p>\n

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#3 Fame and Fortune:<\/strong><\/p>\n

For some, Social Media is a path to celebrity.\u00a0Youtube, Instagram, and Snapchat have made millions of dollars for people<\/a>\u00a0whose talent is collecting likes and followers. These digital celebrities earn endorsement deals, sponsorships, and jobs in television, film and radio.<\/p>\n

Obviously, this potential for fame is attractive for teens. But for those who wish to achieve that brand of notoriety, the cost might be high. In an increasingly crowded environment, those who wish to stand out may need to push the boundaries of what they might otherwise deem morally acceptable behavior. Too often, they\u2019re willing to do that.<\/p>\n

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#4 Defining Yourself:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Growing up, my generation\u2019s version of an online profile was a logo on a t-shirt, or the pictures hanging in our lockers at school. Now kids make statements about who they are online: their profile picture; the product brands and videos they like; the content of their posts. They, like every teenager before them, are working to forge an identity, and social media gives them highly accessible, flexible tools to do so.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s also easy to get wrapped up in an online identity. What if nobody clicks like on your new profile pic? Does that mean they don\u2019t like you? It\u2019s often difficult to separate reality from the world of 1\u2019s and 0\u2019s. We are NOT our profiles.<\/p>\n

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#5 Female Devaluation:<\/strong><\/p>\n

A recent\u00a0study<\/a>\u00a0found that regularly snapping and posting selfies may lead to increased happiness. But digging deeper into the behavior unearths problems. In her book \u201cAmerican Girls,\u201d Nancy Jo Sales illustrates how typical responses to selfies that girls post are words like \u201cgorgeous,\u201d \u201csexy,\u201d or \u201chot.\u201d And many girls place terrific stock in those assessments, to the degree that they quantify their own beauty based on the number of likes they earn. Their self worth becomes measureable. If one pic doesn\u2019t gain them the response they want, they work harder at the next, sometimes spending hours each day preparing themselves for, and snapping, the perfect pic.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, young boys, both emboldened and desensitized by social media, have increasingly fewer reservations about pressing girls to send them more sexually explicit photographs. And girls feel social pressure to comply with those requests. Such lewd behavior on the part of young males is also thought to be about self worth.\u00a0Social media gives boys a path to achieving a type of alpha-male status\u00a0that wasn\u2019t previously available to them. The quest to seem powerful and dominating is as much about social pressure as being beautiful or desirable is for girls.<\/p>\n

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#6 Brain Development:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Repetitive, sensory activities change the way our brains process information. Such concerns were voiced decades ago when kids began watching television in their homes, when video game systems entered the living room, and when personal walkmans were introduced. Some researchers argue that concerns over the developmental impacts of social media are nothing new\u2014a typical, alarmist approach to technology adults don\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n

Others argue that screen time is at an all-time high, and it certainly forges new connections in the brain, strengthening certain pathways and severely weakening others. Dr. Frances E. Jensen in her book \u201cThe Teenage Brain\u201d describes how teenagers\u2019 still-developing minds are more susceptible to permanent, lasting changes.<\/p>\n

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#7 Depression:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Teens, and adults, love to \u201ctune out\u201d and relax by scrolling social media. Many find it a relaxing escape. A way to refresh. Some might call it a happy place. In small doses it can be just that.<\/p>\n

However, research shows a connection between time spent online and lower rates of happiness. In experiments, kids asked to spend a week away from social media had vastly greater levels of wellness and satisfaction. Furthermore,\u00a0rates of depression over the last six years are up more than 50% in teens<\/a>, and suicide rates among young teenage girls are up 300% in the same period of time. She argues strongly in her book that there is a connection there, as well.<\/p>\n

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#8 Cyberbullying:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like so many of these issues, social media did not lead to the invention of bullying. However, it does give cruelty, in all its forms, a larger, more easily accessible audience. It accelerates the spread of gossip and makes insults more permanent and visible. Focusing on news reports, one gets the impression that cyberspace is a den of aggression and insults.<\/p>\n

Cyberbullying is an issue, but teenagers see it differently. According to Boyd, most of the teens she interviewed saw bullying as an adolescent act, something outgrown after middle school. They were more likely to label negative exchanges on social media using words like \u201cdrama,\u201d \u201cpunking,\u201d or \u201cpranking,\u201d terms that suggest more balanced fights, two-way aggressions, or even playful exchanges, rather than the one-sided, abusive, repetitive imbalance of power that defines bullying. Make no mistake, cruelty is cruelty, regardless of semantics, but don\u2019t be surprised if teens fail to recognize a bullying epidemic in the same terms adults do.<\/p>\n

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#9 Business:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Each social media platform is a business, and\u00a0every click, share, like and post means real money to somebody<\/a>. The more regularly people engage a medium, the higher that company\u2019s value rises. Constant engagement means they can charge other businesses more for advertising. And those advertisers are eager to pay, because social media means they can market more directly (remember all those likes that define us?), and monitor reactions to their campaigns in real time. That\u2019s great news for business owners leveraging social media to drive sales and drive our economy.<\/p>\n

Now, consider for a moment the tech industry\u2019s interest in keeping people, including kids, glued to their devices. They have a huge financial interest in a world getting unhealthy doses of screentime.<\/p>\n

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#10 Literacy:<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a generally accepted notion among adults that communication via social media and texting degrades proper written communication skills. How can hyper-abbreviated words, alpha-numeric spellings, cryptic acronyms, and emoji possibly support the literacy of developing minds?<\/p>\n

David Crystal, in his book \u201ctxting: the gr8 db8,\u201d explores the complexities of the short-hand language of texting and instant messaging, and while acknowledging the lasting, long term impacts of its use, cites evidence that it helps rather than hurts literacy.<\/p>\n

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Do you have concerns about issues not on our list? Please leave a comment and let us know. We\u2019d love your feedback as\u00a0GoZen!\u00a0prepares to deliver creative content on the topic of social media.<\/p>\n

References<\/a><\/h4>\n
Boyd, D. (2015).\u00a0It\u2019s Complicated: the social lives of networked teens<\/em>. New Haven: Yale University Press.<\/p>\n

Sales, N. J. (2016).\u00a0American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teenagers<\/em>. \u00a0New York City: Borzoi Book published by Alfred A. Knopf<\/p>\n

Jensen, F. E. (2015).\u00a0The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist\u2019s Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults.<\/em>\u00a0New York City: HarperCollins.<\/p>\n

Twenge, J. M. (2017).\u00a0IGEN: why today\u2019s super-connected kids are growing up less rebellious, more tolerant, less happy\u2014 and completely unprepared for adulthood (and what this means for the rest of us)<\/em>. New York City: Atria Books.<\/p>\n

Crystal, D. (2008).\u00a0txting: the gr8 db8.<\/em>\u00a0New York City: Oxford University Press.<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Parents, in increasing numbers, are concerned about their teens\u2019 use of social media. With countless news stories, books, and articles detailing its hazards, noise on the topic can make it hard for anyone to understand what\u2019s true and what\u2019s not. Parents trying to understand the digital generation have their work cut out for them. At … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6752,"featured_media":57757,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[135,531],"tags":[530],"class_list":["post-57653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gozen-anxiety-relief","category-parents","tag-social-media","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gozen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gozen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gozen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gozen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6752"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gozen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=57653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gozen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57653\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gozen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/57757"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gozen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gozen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gozen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}