Impact of Social Media on Teenager’s Life

Impact of Social Media on Teenager’s Life

 Research Question

The research question of this study is:

What are the social media impacts (positive and negative) on teenager’s life?

Introduction

The current world is characterized by increased use of technology which is influencing almost every aspect of our lives. Technology has made things to become easier, and it has also increased efficiency on how operations are carried out both at home and in the workplace (Rodriguez, 2011). In a nutshell, technology has influenced almost every part of life, and it has become part of us, and we cannot do without it. Notably, technology has significantly changed the mode of communication and the form of interaction among people, mainly through mobile phones, e-mails and the use of social media platforms to interact with one another (Drago, 2015). Social media has become part of almost every teenager, and some adults in the country and arguments have been raised on the impact of social media. The debate is yet to be adequately concluded. According to Anderson and Jiang (2018), 95% of teenagers in the country have access to a smartphone, and 45% are usually online almost at all times. In the past, majority of the youths in the country have been using Facebook, however, according to Pew Research Center survey, things have changed, and only 51% of teenagers are using this social media platform. The study revealed the majority of teenagers; about 85% aged between 13 to 17 years are now using YouTube (85%), followed by Instagram with a share of 72%, and Snapchat has a share of 69% (Anderson & Jiang, 2018). The survey revealed that YouTube, Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram and the commonly used social media platforms among the teenagers in the country. In the recent past, there is increased moral decay and cyberbullying, which has made social media to be highly criticized; however, it has also made a positive contribution among the youths. Therefore, the core purpose of this study is to establish the impacts on social media on the life of teenagers.

Review of the Literature

In light with the impact of social media impact on teenagers’ life, various studies have been conducted in the past with contradicting results being obtained. Therefore, this section of the proposal will focus on various studies that have carried out in the past regarding the use of social media platforms and their impacts on teenagers’ life.

Anderson and Jiang (2018) carried out a survey to examine the use of social media and technology among teens aged 13 to 17 years. The study established that 95% of teens and access to a smartphone and 45% were online “almost constantly”. This was an increase of 21% compared to 2015, where only 24% of the youths were online “almost constantly” (Lenhart, 2015). The researchers were also interested in knowing the opinions of teenagers on the contribution of social media in their lives. Majority of the respondents;45% of teens in the selected sample felt that social media did not have either a positive or negative impact on their life (Anderson &Jiang, 2018). 31% of the respondents felt that social media had a positive in their lives, while 24% thought that it had a negative influence on their lives (Anderson &Jiang, 2018).

The study found out that teens had mixed feeling on how social media influenced their lives. Those who said that social media had a positive impact on their lives cited the following as the key benefits of the platforms. First, social media enabled them to connect with friends and family members at all times easily. Secondly, social media platforms enabled them easily to find news and information. Thus they remained update on current affairs from different parts of the world (Anderson &Jiang, 2018Thirdly social media enabled them to network and find people with the same interests. Fourthly, they also cited that social media kept them entertained or “upbeat”, as they could read materials, watch funny clips and even listen to music (Anderson &Jiang, 2018). Fifthly, the majority of the teens cited that social media platforms gave them platforms where they could express themselves and also get support from the other. Lastly, the teens also said that social media did not only provide them with a platform to network and be entertained, but it also allowed them to learn new things (Anderson &Jiang, 2018).

Those who felt that social media had a negative impact on their lives cited the following as critical issues of concern. First, they mentioned that social media encourages social bullying and spreading of rumours which negatively influenced their lives. Secondly, they cited that social media gave unrealistic views of other lives (Anderson &Jiang, 2018). Thirdly, they cited that social media platforms are distractors and highly addictive and many of the teenagers spent more time in them (Anderson &Jiang, 2018). Fourthly, social media platforms were also cited to highly influential and encouraged negative peer pressure among teenagers. Lastly, teens mentioned that social media platforms cause mental health issues, especially when one’s fake rumour is spread (Anderson &Jiang, 2018).

O’Keeffe and Clarke-Pearson (2011) examined the impact of social media on children, adolescents and their families. The authors cited that there was increased use of social media among children and teenagers. Therefore parents were supposed to encourage healthy use and monitor how their children used these platforms as there was increased cyberbullying of the children and teenagers (O’Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011). The authors identified the following as key benefits of using social media among children and teens. First, these platforms allow teens to socialize and communicate with friends and family members regularly. They also enable them to get new friends, share ideas and experiences, thus strengthening their social networks with friends (O’Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011). Secondly, the authors also cited that social media enabled students in middle and high school to connect with their colleagues when doing homework and assignments. As a result, social media enhanced learning. Thirdly, the authors also cited that social media enabled teens to find and access health information share in different platforms that had a positive influence on their life. However, they also noted that negative information was shared on these platforms (O’Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011).

On the other hand, the following were identified as the risks of using social media. First, it was identified that social media encourages cyberbullying and online harassment that sometimes causes psychological trauma among teens (O’Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011). The other risk of using social media was increased sexting, which entails sending, receiving and sharing of sexually explicit messages, photograph and video. In light of this, social media was cited as one of the major causes of increased moral decay in society. Lastly, O’Keeffe and Clarke-Pearson (2011), mentioned that increased use of social media among the teens was causing what is known as “Facebook depression”. This is a psychological disorder which occurs among the teens due to increased use of social media which make them exhibit behaviours that they continuously see in the social media O’Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011).

Siddiqui and Singh (2016) examined the positive and negative aspects of social media in society. The study was carried out in India, and the following were the results. It was established that 90% of students in colleges and universities were using social media. It was found that the students had mixed reactions on the impact of social media in their lives as follows. First, the study established that social media had a positive impact on students as it promoted education through sharing of materials among students and teachers over the online platforms (Siddiqui & Singh, 2016). Secondly, it was established that social media facilitates socialization and communication among students. It also allowed them to form social and professional networks. Thirdly, it was found out that social media enables the sharing of ideas among people within and outside the country and its also created business opportunities for teens mainly through marketing (Siddiqui & Singh, 2016).

On the other hand, the following were identified as the negative impact of social media on teenagers. First, according to Siddiqui and Singh (2016), social media as one of the significant distractors of students in classrooms as students mainly remained on their phones. Secondly, the study revealed the social media was contributing to moral decay among student as it was highly unregulated and encouraged sharing of pornographic materials (Siddiqui & Singh, 2016). Thirdly, it was established that that teens spent more time in social media as a result of its addictions. Lastly, it was established that social media was weakening family ties teens and their parents as they spent more time chatting and connecting with friends rather than interacting their parents or guardians (Siddiqui & Singh, 2016).

Richards, Caldwell and Go (2015) carried out a research to examine the impact that social media on the health of children and young people. The article cited that at the time, 87% of teenagers were using social media in the county, which was high compared to 79% in Australia. The study established that social media was the primary source of cyberbullying among teenagers in the country (Richards, Caldwell & Go, 2015). The authors cited Facebook was another form of school bullying was had come to the social environment (Richards, Caldwell & Go, 2015). Cyberbullying was cited as a cause of suicide among teenagers and caused physiological disorders. Secondly, the study revealed that social media was “Facebook Depression”, among children and teenagers and the authors recommended that there was a need for social media usage to be controlled (Richards, Caldwell & Go, 2015). Lastly, the study established that the was an online risk-taking behaviour among children and teenagers. This entails people wanting to behave as they see in the social media platforms without necessarily understanding the health risk that they could be exposing themselves to. On the other hand, Richards, Caldwell and Go (2015) recognized and appreciated the fact that the majority of the youths used social media to communicate with their friend and family members.

Conclusion

The review of literature has shown mixed reactions on the impact o social media among teenagers. In summary, it was established that social media encourages socialization among teens, enhance the sharing of new ideas, keeps teens updated, and they are also entertained in social media. Some of the negative impacts include cyberbullying, adoption of online behaviour, which is leading to increased moral decay, sexting and “Facebook depression”.

The reviewed literature focused on social media as a whole, this study will be different as it will focus on the impact of YouTube on teenager’s life, given that there is a shift from Facebook to YouTube according to Anderson and Jiang (2018).

Hypothesis and Methodology

This section of the proposal discusses the hypothesis and the methodology that will be used to answer the research question and the methodology that will be followed.

Research Hypothesis

Ho: Social media has no impact on Teenager’s Life

H1: Social media has an impact on Teenager’s Life

Methodology

According to Kothari (2012) in research, methodology refers to procedures and techniques used to carry out research and analyze the information about the topic to achieve the research objective. To answer the research question, the researcher will use both primary and secondary data. The research will be conducted using an online survey and observation. The two techniques will be used to supplement one another to obtain reliable information. The collected data will be analyzed using both qualitative and quantitive methods.

Summary of Research Questions

1. Do you think social media (YouTube) has impacts on teenager’s life?