The Effects of Social Media on Children

Munkhluun Gombojav

Tokyo International University

ARC I

Aida Corpuz

2023.07.23
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The Effects of Social Media on Children

Is social media making children more or less social? Some people argue that social

media is making children isolated, while others say it is actually helping children to connect

with others. Social media platforms like Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat have

given people significant chances to interact anywhere and anytime, which is a necessary

aspect of growth. These platforms, however, also have come to be increasingly associated

with mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, and issues with body image. While

social media can have some positive effects on children, such as emotional support and

community building, the negative effects, including increased stress, safety concerns, and

exposure to violent content, far outweigh the positives.

First, social media tends to make children more stressed, as they are constantly

connected to social media. Excessive use of social media has become a common cause of

unintended stress. One of the main causes of stress is that they continuously compare

themselves to others, which has led children to become dissatisfied with their own bodies.

“Three out of four children as young as 12 dislike their own bodies and are embarrassed by

the way they look, increasing to eight in ten young people aged 18 to 21” (Hill, 2023, para.

1). This article claims that social media presents a significant risk to adolescents. Today’s

children are faced with problems such as self-rejection and stress from a younger age than

ever before, which is definitely one of the increasing incidences that we should take into

serious consideration.

Secondly, there is no evidence that social media is beneficial or safe for our children.

The usage of social media can be dangerous as the age of people accessing social media

becomes younger and younger, which in turn will require parents to monitor what their

children are doing on social platforms. As highlighted by Pilkington (2023), a study

conducted by the surgeon general of the United States reveals that an astounding 95% of
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American adolescents aged 13 to 17 actively engage with some form of social media

platform, while over one-third admit doing so “almost constantly”. This study provides

compelling evidence that social media has become an inextricable component of young

people’s daily lives. However, it is important to note that excessive usage of these platforms

has the potential to pose significant risks to their well-being. It is essential that steps be done

to reduce these dangers in light of these findings. The adoption of legislation and regulations

aiming at reducing the amount of screen time that children are exposed to on a daily basis can

be one approach.

Moreover, Amanda (2015) states, “Social media plays a critical role in connecting

teens to new friends, allowing them to learn more about each other and get to know them

better. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of teens who have made a new friend online say they met

their new friend on a social media platform.” This evidence demonstrates that the majority of

adolescents rely on social media platforms to stay connected with each other and make new

friends. While it may be true that social media can be used appropriately and have a positive

effect on youth, children are more likely to come across a breach of individual privacy and

security due to excessive exposure to social media. Personal information is an important

matter to monitor and it is intertwined with the development of children. “As the number of

social media continues to grow due to the different purposes of these platforms, users keep

generating and transmitting content willingly with little awareness of the risk of security and

privacy being compromised, making these problems worse.” (Chang et al., 2023) This

evidence illustrates how the problem of social media privacy can negatively affect children’s

psychological and personal development. Teaching children about digital citizenship is

equally as vital as teaching them about social media privacy. This includes educating children

on how to be responsible and secure online, how to safeguard their personal information, and

how to engage with others in a courteous and constructive manner online. We can assist to
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shield them from the potentially damaging effects of social media on their psychological and

personal development by educating them about these significant issues. To sum up, it is clear

how damaging social media is to young people’s mental health; therefore, schools should

teach how to safely use social media.

In conclusion, although social media can benefit young people, the negative impacts

exceed the benefits by a wide margin. Nowadays children are suffering from far greater

levels of stress than ever before, becoming victims of the new threat of cyberbullying, and

being exposed to content that is far too inappropriate which is damaging their mental health.

Therefore, to ensure younger children’s safety online, it is crucial to remember that access to

the internet should be closely supervised. Some possible solutions to this problem could be

for the government to limit young children and teenagers’ screen time, to establish an

educational curriculum in schools on how to use social media safely from a young age, and

for parents to properly supervise their children. Finally, if we can set legal limits on the

amount of time young people and teenagers can access social media, increase parental

responsibility for their children, and introduce guidance about the appropriate usage of social

media in the curriculum of schools. If the following regulations are to be put into action, we

can avoid the possible degeneration of our future society as a whole, after all, It is the

responsibility of adults to provide safety for children both physically and mentally.
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References

Amanda, L. (2015, August). Chapter 4: Social Media and Friendships. Pew Research

Center.

https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2015/08/06/chapter-4-social-media-and-

friendships/

Chang et al., (2023, March). Cybersecurity for children: an investigation into the application

of social media. Taylor and Francis Online.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17517575.2023.2188122?

scroll=top&needAccess=true&role=tab

Hill, A. (2023, January). Social media triggers children to dislike their own bodies, says

study. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jan/01/social-media-

triggers-children-to-dislike-their-own-bodies-says-study

Pilkington, E. (2023, May). US surgeon general issues advisory on ‘profound’ risks of child

social media use. The Guardian.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/may/23/social-media-warning-kids-mental-

health