Effects of Social Media on children

Effects of Social Media on Children

Cynthia Ayoub

Maria Sabbah

Sally Shouman

Lebanese International University (LIU)

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Abstract

There are a lot of disadvantages on children because of the use of social media. In this report

we will talk about the disadvantages of social media on children. Nowadays, our life depends

on social media. Children have a big risk because of the use of social media such as

addiction, lack of communication. Also cyber bullying is quite common. It can occur to any

young person online, and can cause profound psychosocial outcomes including depression,

isolation and suicide.

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 Effects of Social Media on children

Social media is about the interaction between groups or individuals in which they produce,

share, and sometimes exchange ideas over the internet and in virtual communities.

Nowadays, youth live on social networks. The media not only serves as a source of

information but also provides a source of entertainment. Children are growing up surrounded

by mobile devices and interactive social networking sites such as Twitter, My Space, and

Facebook, which has made the social media a vital aspect of their life. Social network is

transforming the manner in which young people interacts with their parents, peers, as well as

how they make use of technology. Social media can provide education and entertainment.

However, social media has many disadvantages in damaging children.

First, social media leads to addiction. People waste their time by using Facebook, Whatsapp,

Messenger, and Twitter… Later on, it’s difficult for them to stop using it. Children get

addicted to the use of internet because nobody follows them up and monitors them. Children

prefer to chat with friends, and this leads to a waste of time. Instead of chatting, they could

have done their homework and learned new skills.

Second, social media causes cyber bullying. Cyber bullying is using electronic

communication to bully a person, by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening

nature. It is the most common online risk for all teens and is a peer-to-peer risk. Using social

media always put children in a risk of cyber bullying. It can occur to every person and more

to children since they are not aware of what they are doing. This can cause psychological

problems, depression, anxiety, isolation and suicide.

Third, social media causes lack of communication. Children’s acquisition in social

communication appears through face-to-face imitation. They should see a person who speaks

and act in order to be more social. So when people communicate face-to-face with each

other’s, they use non-verbal communication such as face expressions, eye contact, voice tone

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and verbal communication like words. Using excessively social media decrease social skills

because people often communicate in a digital way where verbal communication doesn’t

appear.

Social media makes children isolated. Most of children will prefer to stay alone in order to

chat, play games and watch videos on the internet. This will lead to isolation and they will

begin to feel lonely. As a result, they will spend less time with their families, friends. Their

hobbies will decrease and they will lose their social relationship. Furthermore, their

communication at school will be affected because they don’t spend time with people. For

example, people who are addicted to Facebook are unhappy and vice versa.

In addition to that, social media lets children receive sexual content message. Pictures and

videos are distributed among children who use computers or mobiles. These children are

more likely to imitate such states and it causes to them psychological problems. In addition to

that, it affects their performance at school. Because of that, children will become violent

when they communicate with their classmates. For example, some parents are not awared of

this risk to which they expose their child when they post pictures of their children in the bath

or in their swimsuit. That can have a negative effect on the children after a time.

Also, social media can lead to health problem and disease. Obesity is one of the major

problem that children encounter. They spend hours and hours watching television or playing

games. This causes physical inactivity which leads to obesity. Most children suffer from

obesity due to time spend on the internet. They don’t exercise. In addition to that, using

internet excessively leads to dry eyes. When a child focuses on his laptop, he will have a

decline in his spinal column because he uses uncomfortable seats. Children may suffer from

lack of sleep because they prefer to use social media rather than sleeping.. children’s eyes are

more sensitive and they should take extra precautions .For some children, the rapidly flashing

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images of certain websites and games can trigger epileptic seizures, according to authors of

"The Impact of Home Computer Use on Children’s Activities and Development," published

by Princeton University.

Moreover, social media has a role in increasing usage of alcohol. A study has been done and

it shows that teens who drink alcohol spend more time on the internet on social networking

sites than others who don’t drink alcohol. Teenagers use drugs, alcohol after interacting with

people who consume these items. Drinking alcohol leads to many problems in the brain.

Also, it causes health’s problems. Sometimes when a child drinks, he may do something that

he didn’t mean to do. However they may drink to create their own lifestyle and to be

independent.

In conclusion, it is good for people to acknowledge both the advantages and disadvantages of

social media because they can aid take the essential steps to enjoy the social media and be on

the safe side of the negative impacts of the social media. If people acknowledge what is

happening within the social media, they get a clear view of what to anticipate and whether or

not it is something that would want or would do without it. Social media has become part of

the people lives. People can’t escape from the disadvantages of the social media as long they

continue using it without a clear view about it. It is all about the direction an individual select

and on how to go about it. Nevertheless, social media plays a significant role in the society as

well as all over the world, and with the increasing growth of technology; it is likely that

social media grow with it. Thus, it is good to consider the advantages and disadvantages of

social media since its activities will probably increase in future.

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References

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New behavioral Health Staff Writer’s blog. The impact of social media use on
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social-media-use-on-social-skills

Stephanie Pappas, Live Science Contributor. (June 22, 2015). Cyberbullying on

Josh Patrick. (Feb 18,2015). Physical and Social Effects of Internet Use in
Children. Retrieved from https://www.livestrong.com/article/516549-physical-
and-social-effects-of-internet-use-in-children/

James Wright. Negative Effects of Computers on Children. Retrieved from

Brown. (Sep 14, 2017). 11 negative effects of internet on students and

Josh Patrick. (Feb 18,2015). Physical and social effects of internet use in
children.

Retrieved from https://www.livestrong.com/article/516549-physical-and-social-

Tibi Puiu. (June 13, 2013). Teen drinking linked to internet use. Retrieved from

https://www.zmescience.com/research/teenage-drinking-link-internet-434324/

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