Social media is one of the most popular things that can be found heavily throughout high school. An estimated 93 percent of students are found on a social media platform on a daily basis, according to Sentiment.io, a Conversational Customer service platform. It is so easy nowadays for a teenager to finish whatever they are working on and just pick up their phone and get on social media.
During Covid teenagers had no choice but to use social media for connecting with their peers and since then it has heavily influenced teenagers to start to form an addiction.
Government and AVID teacher Joseph King says that social media has become a bit of a problem in the classroom because of habits that teenagers have formed in and out of the classroom from being on social media so much.
King believes it is not only a distraction, but that students rely on it.
“So whether they’re trying to keep up with their friends or they’re trying to keep up with celebrities and things like that, where it’s really the first thing they turn to,” King said. “So if a student has free time, that’s what they’re gonna do instead of maybe if they are behind in a class, or need to get an assignment done.”
Social media can be quite an unhealthy thing to be on for so many hours, you tend to lose focus or yourself even because you get so sucked into the fantasy world of social media, but don’t realize the toll it may have on you. Senior Sarah Howe says how she used to be on social media so much that it made her realize how unhealthy it can be.
“ I ended up having to delete all my social media in April because I had been on social media so much it was unhealthy for me, so I deleted all my apps. And slowly tried to incorporate them back into my life in a healthy way”, Howe said. This self prescribed detox helped Howe for the better.
I learned things about myself and started finding a lot of hobbies that took up my life like playing guitar, scrapbooking, and hanging out with friends more and just doing a lot of fulfilling activities.
Social media can have its positives of bringing people together, helping them stay connected, to promoting products or events happening, to even staying updated about your favorite celebrities. But there are also negatives to social media such as it can become addictive, it could affect your self-esteem and make you feel bad about yourself, and make you lose focus on what’s really important in life.
The use of social media significantly impacts mental health. It can enhance connection, increase self-esteem, and improve a sense of belonging. But it can also lead to tremendous stress, pressure to compare oneself to others, and increased sadness and isolation, says bmc psychology.biomedcentral.com.
“I think it’s so negative, like people need to be content in their own lives and not everything on social media. I feel that nobody feels like they exist if they’re not on social media, I just don’t think it’s good for a person.” Senior Madelynn Nichols said.
Social media can become a very addictive tool for teenagers so it is good to be aware of how much time you or someone you know spends on social media. It is good for everyone to just be themselves and not base their worth off someone they saw on social media. If that means deleting social media or putting screen time on, do what is better for you!
