BENIFITS & DISADVANTAGES OF  SOCIAL MEDIA 

Multitasking has become a common theme in our lives. It’s a wonder how we manage it all. We depend on mobile phone for work, school, our personal and social lives.  When was the last time you left home without your phone and kept on going? The internet has become a part of our daily lives.  So too has social media and it is having an impact on today’s teenager.

Consumption of social media 

Back in 2005, when social media was still in its infancy, only about 5 percent of users in the United States were involved in social media. In 2019, that number grew to about 70 percent.

Benefits of Social Media 

Social media and technology offer us greater convenience and connectivity:

staying connected with family and friends worldwide via email, text, FaceTime, etc.quick access to information and researchbanking and bill pay at our fingertipsonline learning, job skills, content discovery (YouTube)great marketing toolsopportunities for remote employment

Disadvantages of Social Media Social media can be a good thing, but if  teens ever feel uncomfortable about something they see or read on social, they should trust their own feelings and talk to someone – a parent, a teacher, or another trusted adult. Bullying, threats and cruelty on social media are all signs that the person doing those things needs help. 

• Online vs Reality. Social media itself is not the problem. It is the way people use it in place of actual communication and in-person socializing. “Friends” on social media may not actually be friends, and may even be strangers.Increased usage. The more time spent on social media can lead to cyberbullying, social anxiety, depression, and exposure to content that is not age appropriate.Social Media is addicting. When you’re playing a game or accomplishing a task, you seek to do it as well as you can. Once you succeed, your brain will give you a dose of dopamine and other happiness hormones, making you happy. The same mechanism functions when you post a picture to Instagram or Facebook. Once you see all the notifications for likes and positive comments popping up on your screen, you’ll subconsciously register it as a reward. But that’s not all, social media is full of mood-modifying experiences.“Cyberbullying” means bullying through the use of technology or any electronic communication, which shall include, but not be limited to, any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data, texting or intelligence of any nature transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photo electronic or photo optical system, including, but not limited to, electronic mail, Internet communications, instant messages or facsimile communications. What should parents  do?

• Set boundaries right way when you give your child their first phone. Set parental controls on his or her phone, with access to their passwords. Phones should be charged somewhere other than their room at night, and should be shut off an hour or two before bed.Have conversations with your children on why some things should be kept private.Take time to actively engage with your kids face-to-face. This interaction teaches them how to follow social cues, verbal and non-verbal.