Social Media Affecting Society?

To begin my first post, I am going to talk about something I know we can all relate to: social media. Mostly everyone has social media today, including myself. Anyone with social media is immediately drawn into this world. Now, I am not a hypocrite. I use social media quite a bit, and I post a lot on my medias (i.e. SnapChat, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook). I am sure most people know the positives of social media. For example, we can communicate worldwide with family and friends who are not in our perimeter, or how social media has increased creativity in millennials (i.e. cooking, exercising). Yes, there are positives to social media. But has anyone considered the negatives? Now, I am sure some of you have said "Yes, I have." Some of you may have said, "No, I haven't." Whether you said yes or no, I would like to take the time to explain the effects social media has on society.

How old were you when you first got any type of social media? According to an article on CNBC, the common age that parents allowed their child/children social media is between the ages of 11-13. To take a step further, children are given smartphones as early as the age of 10. Explain why a child needs a smartphone at the age of 10? When I was 10, I never considered needing a smartphone. I got a cellphone, a smartphone, when I turned 13. I got Instagram at 15, Facebook at 16, SnapChat at 17, and I just decided to create a Twitter account. Never did I feel less than others from not having social media. Not having social media didn't make me unpopular, it made me learn important social skills this generation is lacking.

Having social media so young is leading more and more students, like us, to be easily manipulated. Taking away these skills will make us more susceptible to what we are told is the truth, compared to what is not. Not being able to express yourself, without the "fakeness" surrounding social media, causes us to lose touch with ourselves and those around us. Having a smartphone at the age of 10, when our social skills should be developing, causes children to have a harder time. This is why we need to have time to develop these skills. Take an instance where certain states are taking out recess or making lunchtime shorter. During these times, children form important social skills with their peers, so why wouldn't you want them to have this. In Japan, students are given 5-10-minute breaks between classes, are given recess for 20 minutes, and lunch for 40 minutes. Japan has one of the best educations, whereas the United States is MUCH below. See the correlation?

What we don't realize, ladies and gentlemen, is that we are losing touch with reality. Instead of spending time with close friends face-to-face, we are simply chatting through these social medias. Not only this, but society is truly suffering for it, if anyone pays attention to the news. My mother and I were just talking about this a few days ago. People in this generation have become more entitled because of the increase in social media and technology. Instead of having patience, most people of this generation want everything NOW. This picture needs to upload, I need to see what my friend is doing, I have to go tweet this - these are all instances where social media has caused entitlement. Instead of enjoying the moment, we try to focus on what is happening in social media. What really gets under my skin is when college democrats, MY AGE, complain about capitalism, yet can post and share it on social media with no problem. This is a prime example of entitlement. Entitlement, as we are seeing more of, is a major factor in the divide in this country.

Look, I am not condemning social media. I do believe in the positives, and I enjoy posting, seeing what my friends are up to, things of that nature. What I do condemn is the abuse of social media. People need to be reminded that social media doesn't dictate how we think or feel, WE DO!! If we can remember this in our daily lives, I believe the future will continue to look bright for the future generations.

Read these websites if you don't believe what I have said:
https://senseimarketing.com/social-medias-culture-of-entitlement/

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/12/21/what-age-is-appropriate-to-sign-up-for-social-media.html

https://web-japan.org/kidsweb/explore/schools/q9.html

P.S. This month is Autism Awareness, and being a sister to a wonderful, autistic brother, this month is very important to me. Please be mindful of those who don't see the world in the way we do.