The Positive Effects of Social Media On Teens
Teens today have never known a time without Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. For them, the existence of social media is nothing but a fact of life. They don’t see it as a technological breakthrough, as older generations do.
Some might think that social media is ruining life as we know it, but teens don’t think that way. It’s very possible that they’ve learned from the mistakes of their older generation, especially back when social media was new and exciting. Let’s take a break from all the negativity and look at all the benefits that come from social media.
Teens are more informed about current events
Social media has truly made the world smaller. A simple scroll through their feeds and teens today are able to see what’s happening in the world. Yes, the social media age has made teens more informed citizens.
This is important because by hearing from all parties about the problems the world is facing, teens will learn how to think constructively and form their own opinions at an early age.
Social media helps develop awareness and empathy
Social media offers diverse content that encapsulates the hardships and difficulties people from all cultural societies are facing. In that area, social media has helped teens boost their awareness and encourages empathy. It is very common to see people helping out those in need by trying to raise awareness through social media.
Take this situation for example. Someone tried to steal this homeless man’s violin, and a social media user photographed him and posted it on Facebook, with the caption “in the hope that a good Samaritan has a violin to give.”
The story went viral, and help came along. Exposure to stories like this can help develop the empathy of teens, which is one of the most valuable human traits. Despite the complaints from many people about how technology makes us care less about other people, some research actually shows the opposite.
However, stories like these are only helpful if they go viral. If you ever wanted to use your social media presence for a greater good, you should think about buying social media followers. The accounts that have a large following usually attract the most attention, given that they have stronger social proof. This, in return, helps their posts get more attention and increases their chances of going viral.
Social media can improve social skills
While socialization on social media differs from face-to-face interaction in real-life, teens actually develop social skills from using social platforms. Teens learn how to connect with people from all around the world.
In fact, studies show that social media can positively impact friendships. People develop a close relationship with their friends and family, and sometimes, they don’t even know.
This depression get the best of me…
— DeMar DeRozan (@DeMar_DeRozan) February 17, 2018
This is what Matthew experienced when he opened an account on Instagram. He’s the teenage son of a medical profession, who was himself suffering from depression. He received kind words and support not just from friends and family, but even from strangers. Social media helped him to not only battle and overcome depression and anxiety, but to also share a message of hope to other teens like him.
Gets teens up to speed with technology
There’s no doubt about it, the use of social media makes teens tech-savvy in a way most of their parents will never be. Technological advances and habitual use of the latest gadgets are becoming the norm.
Teens today are capable of easily grasping the concept of complex ideas in technology, and are becoming more comfortable with advanced, revolutionary technology.
It enhances creativity
Technology enhances creativity in many ways. Social media makes it easy for teens to meet other people, read about other people’s views, and learn new insights from real people around the world. Through social media, teens can also pick apart ideas and collaborate with other people in an easy way.
On Instagram, for example, teens can discover photography techniques and encourage each other to take up photography as a hobby. Pictures of:
- Exotic places
- Mouth-watering food
- Creative crafts
- Daring challenges
Can inspire young people to seek out their passion. Social networks, like Instagram, are great because they thrive on diverse and unique content. Here, anyone with a genuine idea has a chance to stand out and receive the recognition they deserve.
Being social increases self-confidence
Admit it, social media makes us feel good about ourselves. Those little victories where you score a lot of likes, or your crush <3s your photo, are indispensable. Those feelings may come out as narcissistic tendencies in some, while they translate to true self-esteem for other people.
Indeed, people can get obsessed with the number of likes, comments, shares, and followers, and see them as a sign of approval. If you also draw your self-confidence from the number of likes on Instagram, buying auto-likes on Instagram will do wonders to boost your organic growth and get more people really paying attention to you.
Helps teens develop trust and build closer relationships with friends
A study has found that the use of the Internet and social media affects trust, and that people online are more than twice as likely to feel that people can be trusted, compared to people offline. They found that, particularly on Facebook, users are more trusting and that they have closer relationships.
This shows how social media has the potential to add meaning to your teen’s life by helping them develop close and meaningful relationships and have more faith in people.
Teens: Generation sensible on social media
I think it is safe to say that teens get the best out of social media. Even though social media presents a threat in a way that it can be addictive to some people, teens seem to handle it pretty well. Teens use social media a lot, but more because they want to stay in touch with their friends and family than anything else. The fact is that they seem to benefit more from social media than the older generations.
Will this trend continue into the latter parts of their lives, and for later generations too? Nobody can say, and only time will tell, but social media is here to stay. We better learn to make the most out of it.
Date: October 4, 2017 / Categories: Interesting, / Author: Chell
