Kids for Social Media!

Social media does nothing bad for the youth. Some people say teens will compare themselves based on likes, comments, views or any other form of social media attention. This is true, and can hurt peoples self esteem. However I don’t believe that’s how people should be using social media. The truth of it is that people use social media incorrectly. It’s very easy to fall in the trap of a popularity contest especially if you’re still in some form of school. I believe schools should be held liable for teens feeling bad about themselves on social media.

School is the killer not social media. Schools are filled with judgement and hidden specifics that may not be identifiable by everyone. Most people would just assume that teens mental health issues and poor self esteem is directly linked with their social media usage, but that might not be the real contributing factor, regardless of what numbers are shown. Teens who have already succumbed to poor self esteem and a lack of confidence are most likely not doing very many things that make them happy in their personal life. This makes way for prime time doom scrolling on any and all kinds of social media daily. Instead of social media being viewed as the problem, it might just be the solution for many people because it’s always there for you. While that might not be completely healthy for the brain, we can’t deny that most teens don’t care if what they do is healthy or unhealthy long term as like as they see immediate benefits. The immediate benefits of social media for teens with mental health issues can easily be that it’s a distraction and not a cause. If we think about the other factors at that age that could cause these negative feelings, such as going to school in our day and age, you’d see it’s possible for teens to have developed their sufferances there.  Due to social media popularity being farfetched and inconceivable for most, student bodies at schools take it into their own hands. Student popularity hierarchy can be vicious to some, especially since it’s mostly based on uncontrollable factors about ourselves. This leaves many students excluded and feeling “not good enough.” I think social media takes way too much of the blame and the evidence saying the opposite should be rethought and isn’t actually relevant to how todays teens operate.

Proper use of social media is important and can be rather beneficial. Social media is filled to the brim with opportunities for people. It’s an excellent place for promotion and a very viable source of entertainment when you have a little free time. Of course its important to use it sparingly and not take anything too serious, but most people understand that by now and it isn’t quite a substantial danger like it might’ve been in the past. I know most people my age look up to entrepreneurs and want to start a business, in that case social media is your friend. It’s one of the easiest things in the world to get your name out on these websites. People tend to get discouraged doing this but consistency is key and these apps will boost you’re name if you have quality promotions, a product that consumers want to consume, and consistent/daily posting. I think social media is beneficial if used correctly and it should be adapted into classes in  our school systems to help students further. That doesn’t just mean a unit about social media in health class that means whole school year long classes going over advantages and disadvantages in order to properly educate students and ensure beneficial knowledge in their futures, as social media will only become more and more popular as time moves.

“just pretend for now, but it’s only a matter of time” by woodleywonderworks is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

“Kids Using Phone” by AndLikeThings is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.