Definitions
Did you know? There’s a new way to bully people. It’s called social media. Talking face to face is great, but Internet has made online talking and social media thrive. Today’s youth especially are given a way to keep in touch with new and old friends, follow celebs and their brands, and just lets people know about you. If used well, can be a great tool and a communication tool. However, when used by immature and careless people, it becomes a dangerous channel, the youth can use to deal damage. Sometimes, teens have difficulty differentiating between what is a good use of social media and what is not. Social media is not at all a great channel as it corrupts the youth by advertising bullying, narcissism, short attention, and a popular society rather than a successful one.
Bullying has been here all our lives, but since social media became popular, it has expanded. We see this more and more as our lives become more enveloped in social media. And everyday, social media is the culprit, as victims are attacked on sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Some say that you cannot blame the sites, but Dr. O’Keeffe and Dr. Clarke-Pearson disagree saying “cyber bullying is quite common, can occur to any young person online, and can cause profound psychosocial outcomes including depression, anxiety, severe isolation, and, tragically, suicide” (2011). Since now, instead of a place such as park or a playground, the attack can come from anywhere, from anyone.
Social media is also responsible for the short attention spans of our media today. Mass media gives us news in short videos, consumers see advertisements on television screens, and social media helps many companies with this today. Users post status updates, and look at the status updates of others as well. These could be as simple as “I don’t feel good”, or as complex as a vlog on how your day went. By creating an outlet for children to pour their thoughts, no matter how small, they have no choice but to...