Social Media Saturated Society free essay sample

We live in a world of drones preoccupied by checking notifications on Facebook and responding to their next text message. Social media is described as electronic devices that enable communication of media, news and conversation between people. With a mounting 1. 6 billion active Facebook members as of 2013, aside from Google Facebook is the most popular website in America (Smith, 2013). Online communities such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are not the only thing distracting the populous. Cell phones, mobile applications and interactive gaming are just a few examples of social media in the 21st century. One cant help but wonder what kind of effects relentless participation in social media will have on our body and our mind. Our future generations are being conditioned to wake up and text until they fall back asleep. Children are spending more hours a day interacting with electronics than spending time with their family or engaging in physical activities (Hutton, 2013). Studies are proving kids growing up spending this amount of time engulfed in social-media results in less participation in the classroom and lowered grades (Hutton, 2013). Teenagers are more likely to become involved with dangerous activities such as drug abuse, drinking and sexual activity (Frank, 2010). Many may not know the negative impact social media can have on ones health and the astonishing new findings actually state it may be altering the way our genes work (â€Å"Online networking harms health,† 2009). Studies are proving that spending too much time sucked into social networking is hazardous to the well-being and growth of adolescents; therefore parents need to limit how much time their children are hypnotized by social media. It would seem, with hundreds of Facebook friends, people would have an abundant social life, but surprisingly it is the exact opposite. Dr Sigman, who has a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, a Master of Science degree in The Neurophysiological Basis of Behavior, and a Ph.D. in the field of the role of attention in autonomic nervous system self-regulation studies how social media is effecting people today. His results went beyond people creating isolation stating, â€Å"lack of face-to-face networking could alter the way genes work, upset immune responses, hormone levels, the function of arteries, and influence mental performance† (â€Å"Online networking harms health,† 2009). These findings indicate our current social media addiction may be causing biological side effects. Dr. Sigman also found shocking information stating people who are media-dependent, â€Å"could increase the risk of health problems as serious as cancer, strokes, heart disease, and dementia† (â€Å"Online networking harms health,† 2009). Most people have no idea the dangerous health concerns that Dr. Sigman brings to light. Social media is booming like never before, and the majority of Americans are at risk for these negative effects. A large amount of the people in the United States that participate in social media are teenagers and children. A website that was made for family education is coming fourth with astonishing information, broadcasting that children are spending more time involved with social media devices than spending time with their family, being in school, or even sleeping. The article reveals,In just five years, media use has increased from 6 ? to nearly 7 ? hours a day in children between the ages of 8 and 18. Even more alarming children have become master multitaskers, often using two or more media devices at the same time. Counting each device separately, these kids have found a way to cram in a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes of media content into those 7 ? hours. (Hutton, 2013, para. 3) That is seven hours that could be spent reading books, engaging in real face to face communication with their family, or running around outside using their imagination like generations before this media craze began. These â€Å"media saturated† children are also having this phenomenon negatively impact their grades in school. â€Å"Almost half of the children in the survey who were considered heavy media users had grades of mostly Cs or lower† (Hutton, 2013, p. Parents need to limit the amount of time their children spend using the computer, playing video games or any other electronic device. If parents allow their kids to continue overdosing on social media it will not only effect their education, it could also change their satisfaction with life and consequently their behavior stemming from those inadequate feelings. The same website created for parenteral education that explains how social media is becoming detrimental to students grades continues to share it is damaging kids ability to feel fulfilled. FamilyEducation. com informs readers, â€Å"kids who spend more time with media devices reportedly have a lower level of personal contentment, and have a tendency to get in trouble more often. They also reported feeling more sad or bored than their non-media-obsessed counterparts† (Hutton, 2013, p. 1. ) Young minds that are addicted to media devices could be feeling unenthusiastic about life and not even understand why. Maybe this is why studies are linking dangerous actions, such as suicide, to social media-dependent teenagers. A term new to some, â€Å"hyper networking† describes spending more than three hours on social networks per day and â€Å"hyper texting,† which means texting more than 120 text messages per day. In 2010 Case Western Reserve School of Medicine study showed, â€Å"correlations between unhealthy behaviors in teens, including drinking, smoking and sexual activity† (Frank, 2010. ) When teenagers spend more time captivated by sites like Facebook they are gaining access to people older than them, and with that comes more exposure to dangers such as substance abuse and drinking. The study also concluded â€Å"Hyper networking was also associated with depression, substance abuse, poor sleep patterns, suicide and poor academic performance. † Remember poor academic performance and feelings of sadness were also reported in children that were spending hours a day removed from real-life interactions. It is up to parents to protect and nurture their children as their mind and bodies develop, so limiting how much time is wasted lurking on sites like Facebook is essential. Many parents are completely ignorant of the unfavorable effects of social media. Parents need to be informed of the enormous increase in likelihood that teenagers would engage in these self-destructive activities. Teens who are hyper-networkers are 62 percent more likely to have tried cigarettes, 79 percent more likely to have tried alcohol, 69 percent more likely to be binge drinkers, 84 percent more likely to have used illicit drugs, 94 percent more likely to have been in a physical fight, 69 percent more likely to have had sex and 60 percent more likely to report four or more sexual partners. (Frank, 2010, para. In all statistics conducted there was at least a 60% increase in the chance of a teen partaking in these harmful activities that, for some, will form into habits. Minors are naive to all the dangers of social media. It is the responsibility of parents to filter what their children are exposed to and alter the amount of time spent interacting in social networks. Speaking of naive, I have a little sister who is socially underdeveloped for her age. When I was in middle school the only way I could talk to my friends was through real face to face interaction or calling them on the telephone. Those circumstances forced me to learn social skills and communication. My younger sister, on the other hand, barely has any friends and spends days in isolation playing games or spending time on sites like Facebook. She already has issues with self confidence like most young girls, and being in the bubble of social media seems to enable her even more. She has always struggled in school with reading and writing. I am positive if she would have spent more time outside or practicing her grammar and exploring literature she would not only have a different experience in school but also a greater self-confidence. Changing how upcoming generations engage in social media would have a impact on how healthy our future adults are mentally and physically. That impact could be negative or positive based on the duration of time devoted to social media and how dependent on that interaction they are. There are some positive aspects of social media like staying connected with family or friends and outsourcing of information like the news. America is still at war and some families have members overseas. They rely on the use of programs like Skype to stay connected. Others have claimed to find the love of their via use of internet access. While not all use of social media is negative, in regards to nurturing our children it is still essential to limit their interactions with social media. Kids growing up in this era of social network overload spend most of their days pushing plastic buttons instead of turning book pages. Children are being effecting by the overuse of electronics from their grades in school to feeling depressed and unsatisfied (Hutton, 2013, p. 1. ). Parents need to be in control of their teens internet usage, and monitor who they are interacting with and how much time they spend dazed in front of computer screens. Teenagers are more likey to regress by par taking in self-destructive activies such as binge drinking or smoking if particiating in hyper texting or hyper networking (Frank, 2010). New research has shown too much time spent in isolation due to social networking is negatively effecting peoples health and might even be altering our genes (â€Å"Online networking harms health,† 2009). Not all use of social media is bad, but limiting the amount of time spent frivolously playing online is of the utmost importance to our up coming generations.  Social networking in abundant amounts is clearly disruptive to adolescents health and development. Parents have the power to break their childrens addiction to social media so that they may transcend and prosper into healthy, well rounded, happy individuals.