Fear for Younger Generations
Have you ever noticed how different life became after social media became universally popular? Its widespread use created less room for personal face-to-face interactions and communication skills, gave voices to those who would otherwise remain silent, and allowed the formation of a false self-image to be manifested for all to see. Among the bad, there were beneficial outcomes such as the facilitation of advertisement for businesses and the ability to quickly and easily communicate across the world. However, have we stopped to think about the effects that increased social media has caused on our youth?
This question was one that researchers at the University of Essex and UCL sought to answer. A national survey followed 9,859 adolescents from 2009-2015, all starting at age 10 and ending the study at 15 years of age. Social media use was measured by recording daily frequency of interactions on social websites. Each year family members were interviewed and teenagers’ wellbeing was assessed. This was done using 2 questionnaires; one which assessed how happy they were with various aspects of their lives and one which assessed their strengths & difficulties. This allowed them to measure both positive and negative aspects of wellbeing to then build a happiness score.
Findings revealed that social media use among boys and girls both increased with age, but more predominantly in girls than in boys. By age 13, half of the girls were online for at least one hour, but the same was only true for one third of the boys. At age 15, 59% of girls and 46% of boys were using social media for at least one hour. Scores in wellbeing, or happiness, decreased for both genders, however more-so in girls where it dropped from 36.9 to 33.3 compared to 36.02 to 34.55 in boys.
These results are alarming, as it shows that high use of social media during younger years impacts later adolescence, especially in females. I have a younger sister the age of 10 who is developing in a social media era growing faster than she is. It is frightful to learn that allowing her to be increasingly exposed to this will have a negative effect on her later in life. However, it is nice to learn this now when she is still young and it is preventable. This article should be read by all, as it can be beneficial for those with young children, those who have younger siblings, and also those who will choose to have children of their own someday. Sometimes, technology isn’t always for the best!
Sources: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180319215657.htm
Photo: http://marketingland.com/wp-content/ml-loads/2016/08/social-media-mobile-icons-snapchat-facebook-instagram-ss-800x450-3-800x450.jpg
Sources: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180319215657.htm
Photo: http://marketingland.com/wp-content/ml-loads/2016/08/social-media-mobile-icons-snapchat-facebook-instagram-ss-800x450-3-800x450.jpg
Posted by Kamilla Leao (2)
I feel as though it is already too late to go back. Children will never grow up in a world without social media dn constant screen time. This seems alarming but people once thought that pinball machines and televisions were evil. I think our society is changing, social media is young and has time to evolve.
ReplyDeleteA study just as this should be run on older adults or parents. I bet the results would be even more shocking. You always hear that millennial spend too much time on social media, but I have many aunts who share much more than I do myself on social media, and I only wonder the effect this plays on them as well.
ReplyDelete-Katherine Patota (2)
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThat is very true! I also have many family members that are older that use more social media than I do. I wonder what results would be produced from a study of adults!
Delete-Kamilla Leao (2)
I wonder how negligible or not that data on wellbeing actually is considering their demographic is teenagers. At this time in their lives I feel like moodiness, puberty, growing older and gaining responsibilities could possibly attribute to those values. However, I wouldn't be completely surprised if the case was that social media can overall, be depressing for its users in long term.
ReplyDelete-Sunaina Sharma (3)
That is a good point, being teenagers they are at a crucial point of development. However, it is a point in time where decisions effect the rest of their lives and it seems as though the increase use does not bring anything positive to them. It would be interesting to do a follow-up study in following years to see how increased use has effected them later in time.
Delete-Kamilla Leao (2)