Is Social Media Pernicious to Younger Generation

Originally published: March 08, 2020 11:48:05 AM, updated: November 19, 2022 12:00:00 AM

Nobody had ever been thought that they would have the power to socialize with the whole world in the future through social media platforms. Technology has played a remarkable role in introducing platforms that enable users to connect with people they don’t know in real life—social media, no doubt with every passing moment gaining fame, especially in the younger generation.

When we explore the statistics, we know that the average time spent on social media platforms within a single day is almost 1.72 hours. Young teenagers spent more than 27 hours within a week on social media websites and instant messaging applications. Smart mini-computers in the shape of smartphones play an equal role in spending time on social media, only because it provides access to young users towards social media within no time having the Wi-Fi net. No doubt the digital world serves humanity well, but at the same time, it is very pernicious to the younger generation. Youngsters don’t realize what sort of evil social networking has. They are addicted to social media activities online, and these social platforms destroy their lives regularly.

What sort of Malignant Effects has social Media?

Social media applications and websites such as Facebook, Tinder, Line, WhatsApp, Instagram, and many others are spreading plenty of social issues and dangerous health symptoms when users become addicted to it. Following are some essential things to know which may cause destructive impacts on the younger generation.

Misinformation:

It is very ordinary on social media to spread false news and self-diagnosis of health problems, and young users apply wrong medical advice. Therefore, the misinformation on social media may create dangerous and life-threatening issues.

Health Hazards:

The obsession with the digital world creates lethal health hazards among young children. The sexual content on social messaging apps affects the cognition growth of youngsters. More screen time can create physical and behavioral issues, and the effect on the eye is very general in young users. Late-night usage makes unhealthy sleeping patterns, and kids and teenagers lose their health by gaining weight.

Advertising:

We have often seen the advertisement on social media sites such as Facebook. It influences through the ad and forces youngsters to spend more money. The advertising business companies got information from user’s social accounts and get information about their likes and dislikes and then create products to attract users to buy their products. So, teenagers usually got manipulated through these advertisements appears on digital media.

Cyberbullying:

On social media platforms, every type of user is present. Sometimes do cyber bullying mainly done with young and innocent social media users. Bullies usually send intimidating and threatening messages to teens and sometimes create emotional trauma, and in plenty of cases, teens commit suicide. According to some news reports, almost 49.5% of students are the victims of bullying online, and 33.7% admitted that they do bullying online.

Encourage youngsters to Commit Crimes:

Some hate groups utilize digital networking platforms, plan and propagate false and hittable content on social sites. Most criminals use social media tools to commit crimes such as kidnapping by getting complete information about any young teenagers or kid and then demanding ransom. The lack of privacy on social media accounts of young users creates problems for them. Almost 63% share the name of their school, and 18% share contact information without setting the privacy.

A waste of time:

Young users mostly spend their time on social media and don’t bother to do their school homework, and their grades got affected due to their addiction to the digital world. In teenagers, students need to perform well, but they waste their time on social sites by repeatedly scrolling up and down on their profiles.

What can we do to save the young generation from social media negative effects?

Usually, parents are very fearful when they heard about social media evils. They should put all their worries to rest by using the spy applications on their kid’s digital devices to monitor all of the activities and the top instant messaging applications their kids use on their digital devices with the complete time stamp.

Conclusion:

No doubt, social media is playing a positive and negative role, but the users need to take care of using social media carefully. For youngsters, parents should educate their young kids and teens about the usage of social media.