What are the Negative Effects Social Media has on Teens?
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"Teens today are becoming obsessed with their phones that they cannot sleep without them"
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Another negative effect of social media is that teens are now becoming dependent on their devices. This becomes evident in a study done by Andrew Reiner, a professor at Townson University. In his study, he asked his students to sit in the dining hall and not touch their phones and social media. One student even left quickly after the study was done (Pawlowski).
According to Reiner, teens today are becoming obsessed with their phones that they cannot sleep without them at night, either with their phone on their table next to their bed and next to them on their bed (Pawlowski). Because social media is now accessible on someone’s phone, it makes it harder to pry teens away from their phone and get them to disconnect. |
Another lasting negative effect that social media has on teens is that it hurts their self-esteem. In a study conducted by two German universities, researchers saw that one in three people felt worse after spending time on social media because they compared themselves to their friends (Beres). This study can lead to weird effects like fake texting. Fake texting is when a person takes out their phones and pretends to texting someone in order to appear like their communicating with others. It makes a person feel like they are connected with others and has friends, rather than being on the outside. Both factors end up hurting a teen’s self-esteem because they can up faking it and hurt them more emotionally later in time.
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"One in three people felt worse after spending time on social media"
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