Without question, social media can be an extremely harmful and toxic environment. Even at 19, I occasionally realize what I have seen online hurts me. Therefore, we can only speculate about social media's detrimental impact on impressionable, helpless, and defenceless kids.
Being at the height of their educational careers, young children and teenagers using social media raise particular concerns. They cannot be aware of all internet risks because they have yet reached adulthood. Our experiences, environments, and lessons as children shape who we become as adults. If children use social media, we fear it may leave them with many negative characteristics or problems that will follow them throughout their lives.
Stats Time!
According to Samaritan's 2019 suicide data, the rate of suicides among UK women under 25 "rose by 93.8% since 2012, to its highest level in 2019." Additionally, "The suicide rate among young people aged 15 to 24 jumped by 52.7% in Scotland. It hasn't been this high since 2007. It's possible to dismiss the positive association between suicide statistics during the previous few years and social media use as just coincidence. Still, we think there may be some element of causation.
It is a construction of social media. Sadly, many of the photos we see are made up; each photograph and message submitted has been carefully chosen to present the appearance of a "perfect" life. Since the general public also uses Photoshop and airbrushing, it is even more challenging to distinguish between what is real and what is not. Singers, actors, and other influential people adored by the general public promote their surgically and photo-shopped bodies as "normal" and "genuine," which teaches audiences an unrealistic beauty and body ideal. It opens the door to mental diseases, including melancholy, disordered eating, body dysmorphia, and the general sensation of not being good enough.
Even though they are aware that what they see on social media is not genuine, we observe that adults occasionally struggle to distance themselves from it and refrain from comparing themselves to others. Therefore, if children under 18 grow up using social media, they will not only have a skewed perception of what is beautiful, but they will also have high expectations for how they should behave, dress, and live their lives.
Aside from that, social media may be incredibly dark, violent, and sexualized due to a lack of control and content policing. Social media makes it simple to obtain images of terrorism, extremism, and other forms of violence. Still, as adults, we know how to report offensive or distressing content so that it won't impact us. However, exposure to abusive behavior online could have a lasting impact on a young, impressionable child. According to research by psychologist Albert Bandura, young boys, in particular, are more prone to emulate aggression if exposed to it.
Social media is also a highly sexualized space, with everything from celebrities tweeting pictures of themselves in their underwear to porn. To purchase pornography or view porn online, you must be 18 years old, according to the legislation. So why should anyone under the age of 18 have access to social media?
Social networking may be extremely dangerous in addition to being mentally harmful. Social media makes it possible for every parent's worst nightmare—that a stranger talks to their child online. From an early age, children are taught to "not talk to strangers," yet it can be challenging to verify a person's identity when communicating online. People can easily lie online about their age and identity since social media is so poorly policed. To groom youngsters, online predators or pedophiles might assume the identities of other students, instructors, or other trustworthy relatives. Sadly, there have been numerous instances when strangers impersonating other people have manipulated youngsters online, leading to rape or murder.
Furthermore, no child is ever fully protected, even if they recognize the danger and take precautions to protect themselves. Various information, including your home phone number, address, and the school you attend, are stored on social media. Children and teenagers under 18 are not educated enough about the dangers of social media and are not sufficiently aware of how to stay safe. Social media usage by people under the age of 18 must be prohibited to safeguard their mental health and their lives.
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