Yeung 1

Edison Yeung

Mr. Phillips

English 3

28 February 2019
Social Media Crisis

Social media exposes teens to dangers without them realizing it. It causes unknown

attention to people’s lives and can often lead to many harmful problems. Sites like facebook and

twitter have become less private and enables even long-distance relations such as friends of

friends who you may not even know personally to gain access to private information. These

accounts can be easily hacked by predators as well. I’ve noticed one of my cousins is addicted

to being on his phone and he’s becoming less interactive with me and my other relatives. He

used to want to to come over to hang out, but always seems too busy these days. Even during

family gatherings, he’s always on his phone and doesn’t seem like himself. ‘​Although some

social media enthusiasts say that the internet benefits people by helping businesses promote

themselves and helps people in building networks, ​I read that ​“three billion people, around 40%

of the world’s population, use online social media,” which leads to many health concerns

including relationship problems, low self-esteem, and envy.’ Therefore, I feel that social media

should be more supervised, especially for kids, and be more secure to protect personal

information from predators.

Although some social media fanatics believe that it can help build vast social networks,

research supports that too much networking can cause problems in our relationships with

friends, family and significant others. My cousin’s relationship with me and my relatives has

changed because he isn’t around as much and even when he does come to family events, he is

constantly on his phone, posting pictures and browsing his instagram feed. Many teens are

exposed to information regarding their peers relationships which can cause them to reflect

negatively on their own relationships, according to a news article which states, “The researchers
 Yeung 2

concluded they felt the Facebook environment created these feelings and enhanced concerns

about the quality of their relationship”.​ ​Social media can also cause low self-esteem by users

comparing ​their own physical features, achievements and living standards to people they follow.

My cousin follows a lot of athletes and celebrities which I feel has made him more aware of the

way he looks. At one of our family dinners, my cousin didn’t eat much and when I asked why, he

said he is trying this new diet he saw on instagram. In a news article, I read that “s​ocial media

sites make more than half of users feel inadequate, according to a ​survey​ of 1,500 people by

disability charity Scope, and half of 18- to 34-year-olds say it makes them feel unattractive.”

Having low self-esteem can eventually lead to envy. ​According to a research paper, viewing

posts of peers such as their travel experiences, successes in their careers, etc.causes

significant envy among teens. Furthermore, “​in a ​study involving​ 600 adults, roughly a third said

social media made them feel negative emotions – mainly frustration – and envy was the main

cause.” I believe that the pages that my cousin follows has made him envious of their lifestyle

and he often talks about wanting designer items and complains that his parents never buy him

what he wants while his friends get to have everything. It’s hard for teens to appreciate what

they have when they constantly see other people their age looking better and having better

things.

Many social media enthusiasts believe that the internet has helped society develop in

very meaningful ways. Many businesses have been able to promote themselves on sites like

Instagram and Facebook, enabling them to get more customers. While this may be true, a friend

of mine tried to buy contact lenses through an advertisement he saw on his Instagram feed and

ended up getting scammed. Once he placed his order, he never got a receipt and the contacts

were never sent. I’ve seen a lot of companies promoting themselves on my instagram too, even

if I don’t follow them. Enthusiasts may argue that this is the only way for companies to get a

wider range of customers. However, I believe that pages that we don’t choose to follow should
 Yeung 3

not be allowed to be on our feed, because many people have fallen for these fake businesses,

especially kids who can’t always tell the difference. Another point that social media enthusiasts

say is that these sites help us to find jobs and build a professional network. I agree that social

media sites like LinkedIn helps us to build our resumes and enables companies to see our

experiences. However, it is easy for our personal information to be hacked into and our

sensitive data to be shared with people and companies we don’t know. My uncle tried finding a

job online and now he keeps getting calls from random companies not even looking for

employees that match his skill set. That’s why I believe that while social media can be helpful,

the risks involved are more dangerous, especially for teens.

Social media has affected many others and should be taken seriously. There should be

some way to make sure that children under the age of 18 don’t gain access to the full contents

of social media sites. For example, everyone should have to prove their age by putting in an

official document that states their age, such as a driver’s license or passport. That way, children

under 18 won’t be able to make their pages public and open to everyone to gain access to

them. Furthermore, a “Student Account” can limit the amount of time spent on social media so

children don’t get addicted. Also, these accounts should be free from any type of

advertisements. That way, only pages that students choose to follow will show up on their feed.

These extra precautions would help students limit the amount of time spent on social media,

thus reducing the amount of relationship problems, low self-esteem, and envy that could occur.

It allows students to make good decisions, thinking first before trying anything, and will make

parents feel safer for their children to create social media accounts while also enabling children

to stay connected with their friends and relatives.

 Yeung 4

Works Cited

Brown, Jessica. “Is social media bad for you? The evidence and the unknowns.” ​BBC Future.​
Jan. 2018
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180104-is-social-media-bad-for-you-the-evidence-and-the-un
knowns
 Yeung 5

DUE DATE: Thursday

Title: Social Media Crisis

Paragraph 1:

● The premise of the problem - Social media exposes teens to dangers without them
realizing it. It causes unknown attention to individual’s lives and can often lead to many
harmful problems. Sites like facebook and twitter have become increasingly less private
and enables even the loosest connections to gain access to personal information.
● Opposition - Some would oppose to the idea that social media is a negative thing
because it enables them to stay connected with their long distance friends and family.
● Thesis - However, ​with “three billion people, around 40% of the world’s population, using
online social media” (bbc link) this leads to many health concerns including relationships,
low self-esteem, and envy.

Paragraph 2
● Evidence 1 - Relationships
○ Teens are exposed to information regarding their peers relationships which can
cause them to reflect negatively on their own relationships.
○ Quote: “The researchers concluded they, felt the Facebook environment created
these feelings and enhanced concerns about the quality of their relationship”.
● Evidence 2 - low self-esteem
○ Social media can cause low-self esteem by individuals comparing their own
physical features, achievements and living standards to their peers.
○ Quote - ​Social media sites make more than half of users feel inadequate,
according to a ​survey​ of 1,500 people by disability charity Scope, and half of 18-
to 34-year-olds say it makes them feel unattractive. (bbc link)
● Evidence 3 - envy
○ Viewing posts of peers such as their travel experiences, successes in their
careers, etc. causes significant envy among teens.
○ Quote - ​In a ​study involving​ 600 adults, roughly a third said social media made
them feel negative emotions – mainly frustration – and envy was the main cause.

Paragraph 3 - opponent’s viewpoints

● Opposition one - social media enables us to stay connected with long distance friends
and relatives
○ Rebuttal - enables not only relatives and friends to gain access to personal
information, but also their long distance relationships
● Opposition two - Social media is good for people to find jobs.
○ Rebuttal - Social media does allow people to find jobs, but there have been
countless of scam businesses, so it may be dangerous for others.
Paragraph 4 - Conclusion
 Yeung 6

Conclusion (solution) - talk about how you should have to prove your age to make accounts on

social media.

Social Media has affected many others, and should be taken seriously. There should be

someway, somehow, making sure anyone 16+ must prove their age. Age for everyone should

be posted, so others know who their speaking to. It’s a dangerous assault if a 17 y/o is

messaging an adult, thinking their actually 18. They would be in a dangerous situation, that is

hard to fix. Social Media should defend them, by making sure they prove who they are, with

age, date of birth, and ect. This allows people to make good decisions, thinking first before

trying anything.

Works Cited

● http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180104-is-social-media-bad-for-you-the-evidence-and
-the-unknowns