ABSTRACT

With a world in the midst of a social networking sites revolution, it is more than obvious that social media like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest are used extensively by teenagers to portray their online self. According to several studies, social networking sites are detrimental, distractive platforms which have led to moral decadence among the young people. It has shifted the eyes of the teenagers from studies to a number of other vices, hence, causing the scantiness of academic excellence among young people in the world. This paper will analyze the major impact of these social networking sites on the development of values among teenagers and how this extensive online presence has ingrained depression and other emotional distress

Since its creation, social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat have tantalized multitudinous number of users from baby boomers to millennial who have incorporated theses sites into their day to day life. However, youngsters nowadays are the most active users of social networking sites and they are growing up in a background where several facets of their lives will be liaised by social media and some of their knowledge and prospect will be determined within their involvement with social networking sites. Although these sites have several advantages, enabling people to easily connect with friends and family all around the earth, allowing its users to destroy international borders and social barriers, social media is high-price. Consequently, several queries and arguments arise about the consequences social networking sites may have on youngster’s development owing to how their lives are entrenched in social media. Social networking sites have a considerable Impact on young people and this is due to the fact that social media have now flooded their lives to an extent that may seem inconceivable to yesterday’s teenagers. Bryant et al. (2006) established, through network data collection and analysis study, that there is a rise in teenage depression, self-mutilation, dysfunctional families, and debauchery within youngsters nowadays than ever before.

All over the world, parents, teachers and medical professionals are showing concern on how social networking sites impacts the youth and children. These sites have been deep-rooted in today’s society that it is virtually impossible for anyone to take people seriously if they are not on any social media platform. However, media use for adults and children are different as it is linked to maturity and the development. Adults have a level of maturity that allows them to make more knowledgeable decisions or to distinguish between the positive and negative facets of on-screen or online content (Abba, 2015). Youngsters are vulnerable and they tend to construct their behavior patterns based on what they witness, hear or interpret. In other words, the attitudes that teenagers observe on social networking sites are often implemented in their real life. Moreover, an overexposure to these sites can have a damaging consequence on the emotional development and social interaction among the youth. Obsession with the self and posting endless updates and “selfies” on social media is known to influence young people development leading to a rise in narcissism among youngsters. Their moods depend greatly on how acceptable their snapshots are on social networking platforms and develop anxiety when they do not obtain the attention they were anticipating. Furthermore, by having their own online pages and social profiles, this can turn young people into a more self-centred individual and some susceptible teenagers would then live with the belief that everything gyrate around them (Abba, 2015). Extensive online engagement in interrelated with personality and brain disorder and this impact negatively on the development of values since this is a pioneer to dysfunctional emotional state later in teenagers’ life such as lack of compassion and empathy towards other people, narcissi tendencies and other emotional distress like depression, apprehension, and seclusion.

Firstly, Facebook is one of the most famous social networking sites which influence the social behaviors and values decadence of young people. Seabrook (2016) have anticipated a recent phenomenon called the “Facebook depression’, which can be defined as depression that build up when people expend a disproportionate amount of time on social networking sites, mainly Facebook, and then commence to reveal typical sign of depression and since, Facebook is presently the leading and most commonly used social site, this social depression has taken its name. One of the main aspects of social life for youngsters is to seek acceptance and stay connected with their peers. However, the vehemence of the online planet, which necessitates unvarying engagement, generates an aspect of self-awareness that could generate depression on the youth (Seabrook, 2016). Moreover, as with offline depression, youngsters who has experienced Facebook depression are at risk of social remoteness and may sometimes revolve to precarious online websites and blogs for ‘support’ that can encourage physical abuse, unsafe sexual practices, hostile and self-destructive comportment among teenagers (Jacobs, 2014). According to Boase (2008), depression is one of the unintended costs of extreme social media exposure. However, Facebook depression is not just restricted to Facebook itself, but it also includes other social networking sites which is causing psychological harms. Furthermore, a research conducted by Professor Dr. Joanne Davila and Lisa Starr, on the link between depression and social media on a sample of young girls shows that exorbitant Facebook usage engender the cluster sample to be at an elevated risk for depression as well as anxiety. The same sample group was examined one year later and it was found that the teenage girls who usually conversed about their problems with their peers, through social networking sites, endured a peak record of anxiety than those who stayed secretive (Starr & Davilla, 2009). Dr. Davilla (2009) also mentioned that, “Texting, instant messaging and social networking make it very easy for adolescents to become even more anxious, which can lead to depression.” This shows that social networking sites are unconsciously exposing young people more prone to turn into an exceedingly self-conscious, apprehensive and ultimately depressed individual.

Social networking sites is now turning into a medium for discussions and authorizing for the sustained repetition of the debate over teenage girls’ “problems”, leading them to become gripped over this dilemma while hampering them from progressing in their life.  For most of these teenagers, their “problems” are commonly petty issue, such as obsessing over their appearance or distressing about peer rejection (Boyd & Ellison, 2007).  In the past decades, teenage girls would write their problems in a personal journal or they would just disclose their issue to a friend on a landline telephone to deal with their problems they are suffering from. However, in today’s era, social networking sites are the prime medium for youngsters to voice out the problems they are experiencing in their daily life (Saedi, 2012). As such, when a teenager posts about some issues online, it is expected to obtain both optimistic and pessimistic comments. Besides, once an information or any photos is posted online, the post will never disappear, even if it was deleted it still remain on the web or even taken as a screenshot on any apparatus which may lead the sender to be more depressed and anxious. Additionally, a research conducted by psychologist Dr. Mark Beckerhas found that youngsters, who use social networking sites, engage in gaming and texting are more expected to be depressed and anxious. His study discovered that a “70% increase in self reported depressive symptoms among the group using social media and a 42%increase in social anxiety” (Beckerhas, 2013). This discovery again shows that an exposure to social media will obviously lead teenagers more susceptible to depression, tension as well as stress and this might impact negatively on their values and responsibilities towards society.

Instagram is another prime social networking sites that impact on the social wellbeing of young people. Teenagers suffer from depression and tension due to the stress generated from relentlessly attempting to present an idealistic and unfeasible insight of flawlessness through picture and videos on their Instagram account.  The trial to present an ideal self at all times lead to the social tension of stress among teenagers (Jacobs, 2014). Livingstone (2008) mentioned the act of posting selfies and other non-suicidal self-mutilation act can have significant consequences to teenagers’ emotional wellbeing. He also pinpointed that conceited behavior is when a teenager has tantalizing satisfaction from approbation of his or her own substantial or psychological attributes, and this can be far-fetched by glamorizing self hurting behaviors (Tanner, 2015).  According to Dunggan et al. (2012), “a non-suicidal self-injury behavior is the most alarming of them due to the dangerous effects it has on one’s body and the risk of suicidal tendencies”.  This type of conduct stems to a significant social and cultural power that is influencing thousand of teenage girl into the world of self-loathing (Tanner, 2015). Another consequence of excessive usage of social networking sites resulting to melancholy is the occurrence of false intimacy. First and foremost since social media encourages building up a facade that accentuates all the enjoyment, thrill and achievement people appear to enjoy but merely alights about where teenagers are battling in their daily life. As such, to fit in the image of ‘perfection’, these teens strive to reveal perfectly cheerful and perfect façade since this is what they see others doing on social media(Baym et al, 2007). As a result, their online profiles portray how they wish to be perceived seen, rather than showing a candid picture of who they really are. Furthermore, many people are displaying their eating disorders such as anorexia and addictions of all kinds on several famous social networking sites such Instagram and are promoting immoral messages to teenagers (Tanner, 2015). In his study on teenage girls, Tanner (2015), she deduced that among the social networking sites subcultures, these teenagers share photos and videos which portray and encourage eating disorders and much other dependence. For instance, these online users often convey the belief that to ease negative emotional tension such as loneliness and any kind of stress, they must execute self-mutilation, drink alcohol or starve themselves. These explicit images of the act of physical mutilation can become thorny as they communicate the message to youngsters who have never self-hurt themselves, that this will alleviate their tension and stress (Tanner, 2015).  Undeniably, such types of behaviors might have adverse effect on teenager’s emotional growth (Tanner, 2015).

Furthermore, another adverse effect of the usage of social networking sites is that is has disabled teenagers responsiveness and consciousness of surroundings (Boyd, 2015 and Lee, 2009). Due to their head being constantly looking at their phone scrolling through the various social networking sites, these teenagers is deprived of observational abilities. Lee (2009) highlights that youth nowadays are oblivious of how to reach to some places due to their constant usage of the electronic devices and they are not observing where they are going while being on a ride in a vehicle. He also added that teenagers have insufficient sense of safety when they are attending any public occurrence as they are constantly dwell upon their social media profiles while being unaware of the people and circumstances around them (Boyd, 2015). Additionally, it was found that teenagers overpasses the aptitude of engaging with other individual on a face to face conversation while they in a public settings and as such lacks the required communication skills indispensable for daily life (Boyd, 2015).  Furthermore, with the use of the web and electronic devices, a new type of bullying has materialized, frequently called ‘cyber bullying’. This type of bullying occurs online through an electronic device and via the internet and social networking sites. “Cyber bullying has become a major issue among youths in the last couple of decades, as it allows its victim’s to post things in front of their peers and humiliate them” (Boyd, 2015).

To conclude it can be said that social networking sites have some consequential impact on today’s youth and can impact significantly on their development of values and influence their behaviors towards their peers, families and the society as whole. Young people are spending too much time online and not enough time in the “real world” which may influence their character and teenage depression is the main consequence of this extensive online presence. Modern-day youth are growing up in a social environment in which some areas of their lives are controlled by social networking sites and several of their escapades and opportunities are generated by their involvement with social media. However, connecting to a social media has proved to be precarious and unsafe not only for teenagers but also for any other generations as no one is safe from cyber bullying, online fraud or any exposure to inappropriate content

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