Social Media: Is it Helpful, or Harmful to Teenagers?

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Nowadays, phones play a huge role in our lives. Just how many times have you told your kids to “Put down your phone!”? It’s true, teens basically live on them, using them to order food, study new vocabulary, chat with a friend, and even just scroll through Instagram when we’re bored. “I’m probably on it 60% of the time I’m awake.” 16-year-old Kyiesha M. says.

But although phones can be distracting, I believe that they can actually help teens socially, academically, and also raise their awareness of the world.

First of all, phones are essential for staying in touch with our friends and loved ones. We all know that notification sound, where your phone lights up and it shows that someone has replied to your last text. And you’ll probably drop everything to pick up your phone to type a reply. But didn’t you just see that person at school today? In this situation, maybe phones are over-used. However, they are essential for keeping up long-distance friendships that you wouldn’t want to fade. As 15-year-old Stella S. says “since I’m from Korea, it’s hard for me to communicate with my Korean friends, but social media allows me to keep in touch with them.”

When it comes to academics, many parents believe that phones are actually distracting you from achieving better grades. But this isn’t completely true, as some students use their phones to memorize and take down vocabulary for their next test. As Kenji K. says, “I can look things up and use WeChat to ask my classmates questions regarding a task.” These smart actions with social media can actually help teens in their studies.

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What about current affairs? Some people believe that students are too involved in their phones to know what’s going on in the outside world. On the contrary, Michelle Z. says that “looking at the People’s Daily official account on WeChat can raise my awareness of things happening around me since I don’t have time to watch the news on TV”. Since we are living in a busy city, why not use time on the metro to scroll through your phone to look at the news?

Even though I believe we’re living in a time where phones are generally good for teens, there are still problems associated with constantly staying on your phone. Linda H. admits that “even though I use it to study, social media apps do distract me and cause me to procrastinate a lot.” And Alex C. points out that “there is also some fake news out there which can confuse us.”

So what should you do? Set stricter phone limits or let your teens stay on it regardless? Actually, this is where parents come into the mix. With the help of an adult who knows more about the world than you, they can provide you with the reliable news accounts and also help you structure your screen-time, with a password you don’t know, so you can stay on track while actually studying with the help of your phone. You don’t have to quit all of your social media, but instead, use it in a smart way to benefit you.

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Photos: Unsplash

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