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Deztiny A. Villalpando

Mrs. Ramirez

English 4.1

November 30, 2023

Harmful Effects of Social Media

Social Media is harmful for your mental health. There have been lots of situations where

people have been catfished, cyberbullied, cyberstalked, or even developed low self esteem from

social media. Do you think people would be happier without social media? Online, you might

meet someone who isn't who they say they are and in most cases, you could be talking to

someone who is twenty years older than they said they are. Body Dysmorphia and low self

esteem can come from seeing people online with filters and apps that make them look “perfect”.

Social media can provide platforms for unrealistic ideas of how our bodies are supposed to look

like. People on social media tend to be more aggressive because you get to be anonymous if you

want to by making a fake account. They can also avoid retaliation. Another problem with social

media is that people can cyber stalk you. People that you think you trust can be secretly stalking

you and gain your trust in order to trick you into downloading something that can make it easy to

gather information about you. Social Media is harmful because it can ruin your mental state and

can possibly put you in danger. It can be especially dangerous for younger kids because there are

some things you cannot restrict on social media.

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Social media is harmful because you can meet someone who isn't who they say they are.

People who catfish tend to target those who have a desire for a romantic relationship. Social

media is considered to be the easiest generator of fake accounts. (cyberights.org) Even if you

aren't looking for a romantic partner, the people who you become friends with can also be a

catfish. A few reasons people catfish is because they are bored , they have low self esteem ,

revenge and grooming. These are all harmful even if someone is doing it to be funny. (bark.org)

The people being catfished may get comfortable and you might end up telling that person some

personal information. If someone were to find out they were being catfished and the information

came out, they would be humiliated and this situation could possibly resort to depression. Many

child predators use social media to gain a child's trust and either lure them to a location for sex or

convince the child to send explicit photos. (middleearthnj.org) I feel like it's so easy for young

people to be naive and trust someone easily, leading them to get taken advantage of. Social

media is an easy way for predators to find and gain trust from people.

Social media can lead to someone having body dysmorphia or low self esteem. Social

media can show people unrealistic ideas about what our bodies are supposed to be. What young

people see on social media, will make them think what is being shown is expected. Since a

young person's brain is still developing, it can be destructive to identity development.

(publichealthcolumbia.edu) Not everyone on social media looks the same from online to real life.

Most people don't show their flaws and they can edit things out with new technology. Studies

have shown a big change in weight in male and female models. Teens today grow up in a world

with social media and overtime the ideal image for a woman's body is thinner and for men it's

stronger and masculine. (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) Most young people are unaware of the digital
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manipulation that lots of social media models and fashion industries do. When people on social

media compare their own photos of their face or body with photos of other people, they might

feel a sense of insecurity, shame,and embarrassment. Social media uses algorithms to promote

content designed to what the user is looking up or liking on their feed. For example, if someone

is focused on eating healthy they will search up tips on how to do so , this means their feed will

start showing and advertising exercise , weight loss tips, and dieting. (socialmediavictims.org)

Some people who advertise this stuff might have eating disorders and there's people who want to

spread their sickness to others. Leading them into being anorexic or bulimic. People are

influenced by standards set on social media.

People on social media aren't always kind. You or someone you know can get

cyberbullied, sometimes for no reason at all. 59% of U.S teens have been bullied or harassed

online. 42% of them said they have been called offensive names online. 32% say someone had

spread false information about them online. (pewresearch.org) It's hard for teens to post anything

because it is easy for internet trolls to say rude things. When teens are online, they start to make

themselves fit into a set of social media norms, different from when they interact with people in

person. For some reason they are oftentimes more aggressive on social media because they can

easily be anonymous. (news.uga.edu) I believe that teens think they are invincible behind a

screen, but in person they don’t act how they do online. Social media allows open commenting

where people can say what they want. These cyber bullies can say aggressive and mean things by

messaging or commenting. These bullies can also edit pictures or videos and post it online out of

the victims control before they have a chance to defend themselves. Embarrassment like this can

lead the victim into isolation from family and friends . Further building feelings of depression ,
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anxiety suicidal thoughts or self-harm. (news-medical net) Most of the time these bullies are

people who struggle themselves and try putting others down to their level. Cyberbullying is easy

to do on social media and anyone can be targeted. There are millions of people on the internet

and they are all free to do whatever they want.

On social media you share everything, therefore making it easy for someone to stalk you.

Cyber stalking can lead to someone tracking your location. In cases that are most extreme , cyber

stalking can lead to trafficking, kidnapping, or death. The growing numbers of naive kids and

teens online are the easiest target.(socialmediavictims.org) I feel like lots of young kids now are

more aware than kids back then because there have been cases about these situations. Social

media , blogs, or any different sharing sites give cyber stalkers data that helps arrange

harassments. Sometimes if you trust or established some type of relationship with them , they

might trick you into downloading something that allows them access to your camera. Another

way they can stalk you is when you post your location , it makes it easier to find you.

(geeksforgeeks.org) I feel like with today's technology it is easier to find someone. Also a lot of

people online post their whereabouts without knowing the types of people that follow them.

Stalking is a crime that affects a lot of people each year. 3,002 people did a survey and 8% of

American social media users have been cyber stalked. The age group for this survey was 15 and

older. Stalkers lean toward social media because many people share most of their life online.

There is no federal law on cyberbullying but there is one for cyberstalking. In California , cyber

stalking is a crime that will give you up to one year in jail and/or a fine of $1,000.

(cyberbullying.org) People who want lots of followers and views don't understand the potential
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risk of someone being able to stalk them. Which is why it's best to be private. You never know

who you might be giving information to. Anyone can be cyber stalked.

In conclusion, Social media can cause harm to anyone, anytime. Nothing on social media

is private. To prevent yourself from experiencing any of these situations you should keep private,

don't talk or meet anyone online, only allow people you know and trust to follow you, and don't

post your location. Not everyone is truly who they say they are and in reality, people online are

strangers no matter how much you think you know. I do believe that most teens' insecurities

today are caused by social media. People who have these insecurities might resort to

cyberbullying, which is a big concern about social media. Cyberbullying is caused by many

things and can lead to suicide. Cyberbullying can also lead to cyberstalking, which is an offense

that can lead to jail time. Social media can be harmful to anyone’s health because there are some

not so kind people online and anyone, any age can be affected .