Growing up with social media
Do the benefits of social media outweigh the downsides, asks Emily Waghorn
Today we live in a generation where social media has become a huge aspect of our society. Its use is nearly universal, with statistics stating that 97 percent of 13–17-year-olds use at least one social media platform. Of course, the influence of online platforms has erupted over the past 10 years and has inevitably changed the way we function and act as a society. However, the most pressing question is - has social media damaged society rather than benefiting it?
As young people, our perspective of social media is understandably going to be different to many older generations that have grown into this virtual reality and are constantly adapting to this new norm. I'm a teenaged girl - you probably guess I use social media on a daily basis. And I do.
But did I really get a choice in the matter? Of course everyone makes conscious decisions on what they choose to do. However, I am of the belief that society has failed our generation, considering we were socialised into social media from a young age. It’s one of those things that if one kid in your class has it, then another will, and another, and another. Before you know it, that's our generation's norm. You may ask yourself, how has society failed you in regard to social media? Well, isn’t that a million-dollar question!
Social media undoubtedly is full of positives, with quirks that inspire and impact people's perceptions and create uniqueness. We’ve adapted as a society and use it for meeting and interacting with others, inspiration, creativity, jobs, opportunities, awareness, promotions, business, news, the list is endless. It’s impossible not to see or acknowledge these amazing aspects that advances to technology present us with. They are providing the resources for society to develop and better itself as we advance with the speed of forever changing technology.
However, I’d urge you to consider the darkness that is hidden within the depths of this new normal. The negativity warping our sense of reality. These days, you can present any side of yourself that you want people to see, with filters, Photoshop - pretty much any editing format. You can promote all the one-sided, selected positives to post and display to the world. You can be whoever you want to be… as long as that version of you is shown through social media of course, because apparently that's the only version of perfect that exists. It’s an almost universal experience to have looked on social media and compared yourself to others, wanted to look like them, envied what they have, and questioned your sense of worth. Sadly, I’m sure the majority of society has done that, and why? Because social media promotes a warped, negative sense of reality. How often do we see the negatives of someone’s life? The rubbish days, the days of low mood, the days of not looking our best. We don’t - because people portray one side that they want us to see, but what does that result in? Anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, self-image issues, sleep issues, distraction - I could go on. The truth is we, all hide the negatives away - the honesty - and it simply results in suffering.
For those who have children, a statistic worth noting is that ‘One out of four (25 percent) teens are bullied, while up to 43 percent have been bullied online’. As parents, this is only one statistic that is concerning about the wellbeing of children when it comes to social media. The saddest thing about our generation, is that childhood years are decreasing, and the innocence of young people is being corrupted because social media is having an irreparable effect on our wellbeing.
Aspects of the media are everywhere - it’s scarily hard to get away from, and we are beginning to lose people who are sucked down by the misery of it all. We need to protect others and look after ourselves, in a day and age that eats, sleeps, and breathes the media. It’s positive in so many ways and has allowed so many amazing advances to take place in society. However, it’s clear that it’s becoming far more damaging than we care to admit. We need to break this cycle and improve how we use social media.
It’s essential we do.
Emily Waghorn, Year 12
Today we live in a generation where social media has become a huge aspect of our society. Its use is nearly universal, with statistics stating that 97 percent of 13–17-year-olds use at least one social media platform. Of course, the influence of online platforms has erupted over the past 10 years and has inevitably changed the way we function and act as a society. However, the most pressing question is - has social media damaged society rather than benefiting it?
As young people, our perspective of social media is understandably going to be different to many older generations that have grown into this virtual reality and are constantly adapting to this new norm. I'm a teenaged girl - you probably guess I use social media on a daily basis. And I do.
But did I really get a choice in the matter? Of course everyone makes conscious decisions on what they choose to do. However, I am of the belief that society has failed our generation, considering we were socialised into social media from a young age. It’s one of those things that if one kid in your class has it, then another will, and another, and another. Before you know it, that's our generation's norm. You may ask yourself, how has society failed you in regard to social media? Well, isn’t that a million-dollar question!
Social media undoubtedly is full of positives, with quirks that inspire and impact people's perceptions and create uniqueness. We’ve adapted as a society and use it for meeting and interacting with others, inspiration, creativity, jobs, opportunities, awareness, promotions, business, news, the list is endless. It’s impossible not to see or acknowledge these amazing aspects that advances to technology present us with. They are providing the resources for society to develop and better itself as we advance with the speed of forever changing technology.
However, I’d urge you to consider the darkness that is hidden within the depths of this new normal. The negativity warping our sense of reality. These days, you can present any side of yourself that you want people to see, with filters, Photoshop - pretty much any editing format. You can promote all the one-sided, selected positives to post and display to the world. You can be whoever you want to be… as long as that version of you is shown through social media of course, because apparently that's the only version of perfect that exists. It’s an almost universal experience to have looked on social media and compared yourself to others, wanted to look like them, envied what they have, and questioned your sense of worth. Sadly, I’m sure the majority of society has done that, and why? Because social media promotes a warped, negative sense of reality. How often do we see the negatives of someone’s life? The rubbish days, the days of low mood, the days of not looking our best. We don’t - because people portray one side that they want us to see, but what does that result in? Anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, self-image issues, sleep issues, distraction - I could go on. The truth is we, all hide the negatives away - the honesty - and it simply results in suffering.
For those who have children, a statistic worth noting is that ‘One out of four (25 percent) teens are bullied, while up to 43 percent have been bullied online’. As parents, this is only one statistic that is concerning about the wellbeing of children when it comes to social media. The saddest thing about our generation, is that childhood years are decreasing, and the innocence of young people is being corrupted because social media is having an irreparable effect on our wellbeing.
Aspects of the media are everywhere - it’s scarily hard to get away from, and we are beginning to lose people who are sucked down by the misery of it all. We need to protect others and look after ourselves, in a day and age that eats, sleeps, and breathes the media. It’s positive in so many ways and has allowed so many amazing advances to take place in society. However, it’s clear that it’s becoming far more damaging than we care to admit. We need to break this cycle and improve how we use social media.
It’s essential we do.
Emily Waghorn, Year 12