Integrative Project: Chapters 1–5

Running head: RISK OF SOCIAL MEDIA TO DEVELOPMENT OF ADOLESCENTS 1

RISK OF SOCIAL MEDIA TO DEVELOPMENT OF ADOLESCENTS 5

Risk of Social Media to Development of Adolescents

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Social media has a great impact on the lives of adolescents. Some of the effects of social media are good but others negatively influence social, moral, physical and spiritual development of the adolescents. Technological advancements and penetration of the communication networks have made social media, social networking sites and development of the smartphones have made accessibility of the social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, WeChat, Qzone, Google and many others readily available to the adolescents. However, there are significant risks that are associated with the use of social media that influence the development of adolescents.

Various studies have been done touching on the effect of social media on the development of adolescents and teenagers. Some studies consider both negative and positive effects of social media. However, in this particular study, we learn more on the risk factors hence we deal more on the negative effects of the social media on the development of the adolescent.

In the study conducted in the year 2019 by Keles, McCrae and Realish, they revealed that in 92% of the teenagers are the active users of social media. This clearly shows that teenagers are the greatest per cent that is the active users of the social media and therefore are mostly affected by social media.

In reviewing further studies to establish how social media can impact the development of the adolescent, Urie Bronfenbrenner makes it clear that type of the environment that people interact in will influence their behavior. This means that social media has the ability to influence adolescents negatively. It is therefore important to evaluate bad behaviors that are related to the use of social media and determine if they are applicable to adolescents.

In one particular study, it was revealed that mental disorders are very common among adolescents. In the United Kingdom, the study revealed that cases of the girls harming themselves had increased by 68%. Many of the cases of mental disorders were correlated to social media. On further analysis, it was identified that majority of the teenagers have multiples social accounts which demand much their attention, some do not have enough time to sleep while on the social media and others have been addicted to the social media which leads cases of the depression among the adolescents (Keles, McCrae & Grealish, 2019).

In another study, cyberbullying has been reported has the common problem of social media. This is the problems that teenagers are suffering in the hands of social media. In the year 2017, Underwood and Ehrenreich established that particular research done in 2014 had identified that 10-40% of the teenagers had reported having suffered from cyberbullying. Cyberbullying instils fear among the teenagers, anxiety and low self- esteem hence affecting their social and moral development. In a different study, it is argued that cyberbullying is correlated with school bullying. In particular, in the 432 students that were used in the study, students that were bullied in the cyberspace are likely their peers in the cyberspace and also be bullied in the school. Those students that were bullied recorded low marks, poor concentration and absenteeism (Beran & Li, 2008). This clearly shows that bullying affects learning of the teenagers.

Finally, social media exposes teenagers to immorality and sexual behavioral practices. There is pornographic content in the social media that teenagers and adolescents are exposed to which creates curiosity among the adolescents where they engage in the premature sex and others get unplanned pregnancies. Others create friendship on social media and start sexting which graduates to an intimate relationship. The study revealed that teenagers that engage in the sexting have higher chances of engaging in sexual intercourse (Allison, 2018). Therefore, sexting is correlated with unprotected sex and also a high number of sex partners. Engaging in sexual intercourse has ruined destinies of many teenagers because some of them have dropped out of the school because of the pregnancies while others have contracted diseases such as HIV/AIDS. In general, in reviewing all studies that have been mentioned, there several risk factors of the social media to the adolescent such as depression, cyberbullying, sexting, drop out of the school and HIV/AIDs which negatively affects social and moral development of adolescents and teenagers.

References

Allison, K. (2018). Online Risks, Sexual Behaviors, and Mobile Technology Use in Early Adolescent Children: Parental Awareness, Protective Practices, and Mediation.

Ashiabi, G. S., & O’Neal, K. K. (2015). Child social development in context: An examination of some propositions in Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory. Sage Open, 5(2), 2158244015590840.

Keles, B., McCrae, N., & Grealish, A. (2019). A systematic review: the influence of social media on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 1-15.

Underwood, M. K., & Ehrenreich, S. E. (2017). The power and the pain of adolescents' digital communication: Cyber victimization and the perils of lurking. The American psychologist, 72(2), 144–158. doi:10.1037/a0040429

Beran, T., & Li, Q. (2008). The relationship between cyberbullying and school bullying. The Journal of Student Wellbeing, 1(2), 16-33.