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Alexis
LAVT P
Research Paper
12/13/15
The Drastic Impact of the New Age
In the twenty first century, there are many new inventions in the world that no one
would have dreamed of one hundred years ago. One general idea that has skyrocketed is
technologies. Humans have been using technologies for many years, but they have
advanced the most in the last 30 years. Humans have created have machinery, like cars,
tractors, and trucks, but also have also created new technologies such as phones, tablets
and computers. All of these and more play a big role in our every day lives. Most of us
can easily go on our phones and computers to do just about anything. We can do many
things, such as check the weather forecast, or see what time a store closes. There is a
world of opportunities with these recent developments. Considering all three of these
recent developments, there are also different varieties of ways to keep up with old
friends. One huge way the people keep up with their friends is social media. The phrase
social media can have a lot of different meanings. Social media would be considered
Facebook, Twitter, iMessage, Instagram, Snapchat, and lots more. Social media provides
ways for people to keep up with their friends and let everyone know what they have been
up to lately. Recent studies, however, have shown that social media can lead to mass
destruction of teenage brains. Social media is not good for teens in many different ways.
Social media has drastically affected this generation in a negative way because it causes
suicide, hinders brain development, and increases insecurities.

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One thing that a social media can cause is a low self-esteem in teens, which is one
of the leading causes of suicide. Low self-esteem can seem like nothing, but it actually
can have very bad effects. Bennet Rosemary collected evidence that shows us that
children from the ages of 10 to 15 are highly susceptible to many mental health issues,
anxieties, and increasing amounts insecurities if they spend a lot of time on social media
(Rosemary 1). Also, cyber-bullying is another huge problem with social media. This can
cause such hatred in a childs heart. If their could are continually punctured and wounded
that it can cause suicide. Eli Anderson states his point clearly by saying that Among
individuals ages 15 to 24, suicide is the second-leading cause of death, and 16 percent of
U.S. high school students report they seriously considered attempting suicide in the past
year (Anderson 1). This is the sad truth, and mean people on social media cause it.
(Luckily, there are suicide hotlines that are available twenty-four seven). While suicides
among people are very tragic, social media can be used for good in certain instances.
Social media has many effects on children, and while many of those things are bad, some
of them can be good. On the same note, many children in America dont have the best life
at home. This includes children being abused/neglected by parents, having alcoholic
parents, having parents who are addicted to drugs, etc. While they are stuck at home in
these awful situations, sometimes the best option is to turn to social media. Online, there
are chat rooms and forums that can help many children that fall into these categories.
Believe it or not, sometimes just talking about how you feel and having a stranger listen
on the other end is the best way to help someone in need. Sometimes, getting out lockedup feelings is the best way to help a child. Eli Andersons colleague says that While it
can expose users to bullying and ridicule in a public forum it also allows people an

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opportunity to vent their feelings and find others who are struggling with similar issues
(Anderson 2). Things like online dating can relieve stress from a person when asking
them out. Brakkton Booker claims that letting someone know how they feel about
another person over social media has become a common practice for teenagers ranging
from 13 to 17 years old (Booker 1). Face-to-face interactions can be stressful in this
case; so online interactions make a good first step to a relationship. You cannot just keep
a relationship online, though. Social interactions are key to a healthy relationship. The
good thing about this is that breakups are generally still in person, as tradition. Social
media is not only bad for a childs body and soul; it is also bad for their mind.
Social media can also affecting the childs brains in significant ways that many
people are unaware of. It is no secret; social media is huge part of every youths life.
Social media affects people in different ways all around, mostly negatively. It can greatly
impact their test results in school, and in the real world. Social media seems to rewire a
childs brain and turn it into mush. We see this in Bennett Rosemarys study. Rosemarys
studies have concluded that, Children who spend three hours or more on social media on
a school night are twice as likely to suffer poor mental health (Rosemary 1). It seems
like almost everyone can agree that social media is not good for your brain in almost any
way. Scientists arent exactly sure why this happens, but they see this reoccurring pattern
pop up in their conclusions. Jensen claims that There is inscreasing evidence of the
effect of excessive Internet use on mod in adolecents and severe studies have shown a
connection between deoression, poor academic performance, and an inability to curb time
online (Jensen 207). Not only does social media affect a child when their brains are just
starting to develop, it also affects the brain in its later stages, even when the brain is

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already fully developed. Apparently, this new wave of technology is not working for us,
but rather against us. Bennett Rosemary concludes that conversations in real life have
become a particular struggle for adults and children alike who have spent a lot of their
free time on social media. (Rosemary 1). Granted, it can be a lot easier to say the thing
you need to say to someone over instant messaging or a phone call because said thing is
hard for both of them to face. Everyone, at some point, has committed a crime that they
are afraid to fess up to. Telling someone the crime over texting can easily relieve a huge
weight off his or her shoulders. People might also tell someone something over a social
media because of fear of ridicule, or simply because being away from that person will
give both of the people some time to blow off some steam. With this, this setting has
certain audiences that it attracts. Strom compares Girls are more likely than boys to text
and rely on instant messaging, and they become involved at earlier ages. For example,
79% of 6th-grade girls use the Internet as compared with 44% of boys (Strom 2). Now
that it is concluded that social media is bad for a childs mental health, what about their
physical health? How does social media affect the way that teens look at their physical
bodies?
Social media is affecting the way teens look at their bodies in a negative way.
Social media is just one of the ways that can lead teens to having an insecure body image.
There is no clean way out of social media really, its everywhere. It is addictive and that
is why teens can not look at their body any other way. Jensen teaches a valuable lesson,
Internet involves the same reward center as drugs (Jensen 206). What Frances
Jensen is saying is very relevant. To explain Frances Jensens quote a little bit further, the
Internet is an escape away from all of the worlds problems. If a person is ever bored,

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they can go to social media and it will give you entertainment. Social media can give you
lots of good entertainment, but there are also bad things about it that drastically affect
teens. People, and especially teens rely in the Internet for the answer to everything, and it
is making them loose their independence. One thing that they are not independent of is
how they are expected to look and act. Teens are already sensitive enough about
themselves at this stage in their lives, and they do not have to have another bad influence
that tells them that they have to look a certain way. First of all, some may ask the
question of, how can social media reflect how teens look at themselves? It is common
knowledge that social media puts out the depiction of the perfect person. This basically
means perfect facial features, perfect curves, and a preferred weight. A woman by the
name of Amanda Leigh Mascarelli traveled to the islands in Fiji to test her theory of
whether social media causes bad influence on ones body image. Mascarelli found out that
In one small survey of teen girls in Fiji, slightly more than one in every 10 reported
having vomited to lose weight (Mascarelli 1). Social media is full to the brim with
cosmetic expectations that boys and girls, alike, feel obliged to live up to (Although, this
is more common in girls). One of the results of these expectations is purging. Mascarelli
shows her viewers that, At least four girls in every 10 reported having purged to manage
their weight. Some said they had taken traditional herbs that can induce purging
(Mascarelli 1). This number might seem small but it has a drastic impact. On the same
note, all of these things have fallen into the hands of adults, who have stepped in to help
kids in need. Teens are very testy and experimental, so there is no way that you can for
sure know if you child is being safe on social media and in real life. Thinking on, parents
do not have too much control over these outcomes, no one is able to protect their child

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forever. Niederberger mirrors Andersons idea when she says, Social media bullying
has been blamed for suicides among teens and young adults, but now there's a national
effort afoot (Niederberger 1). Despite all of the efforts being taken, social media still
seems out of control for all.
Social media has drastically affected this generation in a negative way because it
causes suicide, hinders brain development, and increases insecurities. Lets look into the
future and see where someone would be after reading this. Any teenager, even after
reading this, is not going to view social media any differently; they are all going to be on
it the same amount. There is nothing anyone can do about that though, teenagers have a
rebellious persona. Anyone would hope that, if any sensible teenager reads this, this paper
might just change their way of thinking about social media. Someone who reads this
might think that the point of it is that social media should be taken away all together,
when, in fact, that is not true at all. Social media will never be completely eliminated,
but it doesnt need to be. People just need to change their perspective about social media.
They should think of social media as not a place of mockery or burlesque, but as a place
of networking. Social media can be a good, reliable resource in many ways if it is used
responsibly. But in all seriousness, social media is bad for kids and they should be limited
on how much time they spend on it. One of the best ways to monitor your teenager on
how much time they spend on social media. Another simple piece of advise to any parent
would be to let their teenagers be independent, but if they are spending too much time on
social media, do something about it. Make them go outside, or reading a book. Its hard to
tell, but they just might enjoy being outside or they might enjoy the book that they just
read. Even watching television can be better than being on social media. And nothing

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beats quality family time with the ones you love. All of this sounds cheesy, but it just
might change the outcome of a childs different stages in their life. So, yes, social media
is bad in some ways and it has a negative influence on teens, but it can never be replaced
by anything else. Social media is the outcome of the new age.

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Works Cited
Anderson, Eli. "Internet Discussion Focuses on Teen Suicide and Social
Media." Watertown Daily Times (NY) 17 Sept. 2015: Newspaper Source. Web.
11 Nov. 2015. <http://search.ebscohost.com>.
Brakkton, Booker. "Study: Social Media Play Key Role in Maintaining Teen
Romances." All Things Considered (NPR) (2015): Newspaper Source. Web. 3
Nov. 2015. <http://search.ebscohost.com>.
Jensen, Frances. The Teenage Brain. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2015.
Print.
Mascarelli, Amanda Leigh. "The Media's Dangerous Influence on Body Image."
Science News For Students (2014): 1. Middle Search Plus. Web. 5 Nov.
2015. <http://search.ebscohost.com>.
Niederberger, Mary. "Advocates Hope to Harness Power of Social Media to Prevent
Teen Suicides." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA) 14 Sept. 2015: Newspaper
Source. Web. 3 Nov. 2015. <http://search.ebscohost.com>.
Rosemary, Bennett. "Teens Hooked on Social Media Risk Breakdown." Times, The
(United Kingdom) (2015): 20. Newspaper Source. Web. 3 Nov.
2015. <http://search.ebscohost.com>.
Strom, Paris, and Robert Strom. "Growing Up With Social Networks and Online
Communities." Education Digest 78.1 (2012): 48. TOPICsearch. Web. 5 Nov.
2015. <http://search.ebscohost.com>.

Reflection:
I really like this paper because I had somewhat of a personal connection to it. I am
a part of this new age of technology and with all of this new information, it kind of made
me think differently about social media. Im proud of the way I used quotes in this, but I
am particularly not proud of the way that I crammed to find sources in the beginning. I
put it off and I think I could have gotten better sources and quotes if I had taken more
time earlier.