The Internet revolution has brought about many advantages and equally, a lot of uncertainties to man. The internet is widely praised for how it has enabled man to carry out communication efficiently, in addition to making the world a small village. The corporate world, individuals as well as the learning world have all turned to the use of the internet for the various valuable information that it contains. Consequently, social media is still a product of the internet, and it has gained new momentum in the current times (Kurniasih, 2017). Everyone in society has turned to various social media sites for a variety of reasons. Accordingly, increased social media usage among the youth comes with a variety of disadvantages.
Social media sites offer an interactive platform for people. Some of the common places that people have subscribed in significant numbers include, first, WhatsApp, Facebook, Skype, and Instagram amongst others. The various platforms offer communication between people in a variety of ways. First, individuals can get to exchange written messages with each other, and in other situations, the various sites have incorporated messaging, voice calling as well as video calling options. Social media has gained much popularity, more so among young people across the world. Consequently, the same group of people is predisposed to further risks.
Increased social media use leads to addictive and dependence effects. Addiction refers to the situation where individuals find it hard to carry out their normal operations without the association with something they have been using. When young people continually engage themselves on the sites, it is evident that addiction will develop, since it will become a habit that will be hard to quit. Consequently, the addiction levels will further impact their productivity as young people, in addition to making them entirely dependent on the sites for satisfaction and socialization (Andreassen et al., 2016). This soon makes individuals less social in the various communities they live.
Excessive social media usage is linked to time wastage in young people. Young people are at such a crucial time in their development that a lot of time is required for gradual improvement. Social media addiction leads to a situation where the students tend to spend their time in various sites at the expense of the time they could have spent learning. Furthermore, young people have a lot of productive activities that they can engage in as learners. The activities tend to be sidelined, with much preference for spending time on social media. The trend is on the rise, considering the much accessibility of smartphone devices to the young population. Hence, school academic performance deterioration is inevitable, in addition to slowing down progress.
Social media on an increased rate is associated with mental and psychological disorders. Addiction has a wide range of effects on individuals. Research points out that social media has an association to mental defects among young people which has characteristics such as psychological preoccupation, withdrawal symptoms as well as increased depressive symptoms (Moreno et al., 2011). Additionally, individuals tend to develop anxiety as well as eating disorders which is in connection with social media addiction. When individuals get to increase the rate at which they engage in social media, the dangers that they are predisposed to include, though not limited to mental and psychological disorders
Social media is a platform where young people are exposed to inappropriate content. Most of the time, there is no such restriction on the kind of content that people share on the various sites. Hence, the population is vulnerable to exposure to uncensored internet material sharing such as nudity and pornography, which in turn, affects their morals and behaviors. While social media cannot be easy to monitor, it will require much self-discipline on the side of the youth so as to prevent exposure to such content.
Cyberbullying and cybercrime are common incidences across social media sites. In the current times, the internet and social media sites have become targets for fraud and crimes that are highly punishable by the law. According to Hamm et al., (2015), various persons have become victims of cyberbullying on multiple sites. The incidence has negative implications for the individuals considering that the mass turns violent or against one person, which is not physical. In many instances, the victims are left with psychological issues, decreased self-esteem in addition to some cases of suicide, and the development of suicidal thoughts.
Social media has had much usage in the current society, and consequently, many effects on the youth users. It is evident that the increased usage leads to social media addiction, increased chances of mental influences, and therefore, depression and eating disorders. More so, internet usage and social media use can be time-wasting for youthful age and also for scholars that have to concentrate on their school’s work. Social media also happens to be an agent of degraded morals due to the sharing of inappropriate content. Lastly, cyberbullying and cybercrimes predispose youths to many risks.
References
Andreassen, C. S., Billieux, J., Griffiths, M. D., Kuss, D. J., Demetrovics, Z., Mazzoni, E., & Pallesen, S. (2016). The relationship between addictive use of social media and video games and symptoms of psychiatric disorders: A large-scale cross-sectional study. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 30(2), 252-262. doi:10.1037/adb0000160
Hamm, M. P., Newton, A. S., Chisholm, A., Shulhan, J., Milne, A., Sundar, P., … Hartling, L. (2015). Prevalence and Effect of Cyberbullying on Children and Young People. JAMA Pediatrics, 169(8), 770. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.0944
Kurniasih, N. (2017). Internet Addiction, Lifestyle or Mental Disorder? A Phenomenological Study on Social Media Addiction in Indonesia. KnE Social Sciences, 2(4), 135. doi:10.18502/kss.v2i4.879
Moreno, M. A., Jelenchick, L. A., Egan, K. G., Cox, E., Young, H., Gannon, K. E., & Becker, T. (2011). Feeling bad on Facebook: depression disclosures by college students on a social networking site. Depression and Anxiety, 28(6), 447-455. doi:10.1002/da.20805
