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The Effects of Social Networking on Youths

Introduction
Social networking is a process of building social relations with people through online platforms and sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, Google+, Instagram, WhatsApp, and LinkedIn among others. Initially, social relations were built among people who shared similar interests, backgrounds, activities and real-life connections. The connections built on social sites were purposeful and were for the wellbeing of the parties. However, the modern era has witnessed a deviation from this norm with some users making connections that have no underlying purpose a trending practice among youths. Since its conception, social media has proved instrumental in some areas like e-learning, advertisement, marketing, and building communities. On the contrary, social networking has had adverse effects on youths with the key side effects being cyberbullying, sleep deprivation disorders, sexual disclosure and mistreatment, and depression/ low-self-esteem.

                The research study explored the level to which social networking through the influence of the internet negatively affect youths aged between 10 and 25 years. Precisely, the research explored sexual harassment, cyberbullying, sleep deprivation disorders, low self-esteem/depression and the prevalence of suicide in the United States of America resulting from issues related to social networking (Ruddock). The current technological
advancements stand a chance of further worsening the situation as new mobile phones with faster internet access, high-quality picture resolutions, and selfies are availed in the market daily. With these new technological breakthroughs, many youths are likely to be affected by social networking either knowingly or through peer pressure through their exploration of the internet. To reduce this menace, key stakeholders must join hands in promoting parental care as well as formulating stern online rules like blocking, suspending, and revoking permits and licenses of those sites that promote moral decadence.

Research Question

What are the negative effects of social networking among youths?
Research Design and Methodology

There are two main methods of conducting research in social science; qualitative and
quantitative. However, the research used qualitative research method with an objective of giving
a detailed description in words about the effects of social Networking on youths.

Literature Review

Social Networking and Sleep Deprivation

Excessive internet use on a daily basis can make users to lack quality sleep thus impairing an individual’s cognitive functioning (Xanidis & Brignell). People who use the internet frequently demonstrate high levels of addiction in their behavior. Social network sites being among the most visited online sites by youths contains all sorts of activities and lessons; both moral and immoral that attract many consumers since most of their tastes and preferences are enclosed in these sites. For example, being a juvenile stage, youths undergo certain psychological and morphological transformations in their body system. As a result, they crave for certain things some of which are ever present in the social sites. The state of immorality globally has compelled the youths to develop a likeliness of viewing illicit sexual contents an act that further erodes their reasoning. Besides, the desire to be in a sexual relationship with
members of the opposite sex can affect their reasoning to a point that they end up sharing photos of naked socialites. Continued viewing and exposure to these photos develop the urge to see more of the same. Since it is safer viewing these sites at night when it is presumed that parents and guardians are asleep, most adolescents will stay awake until odd hours. Not forgetting their studies, these youths will deprive themselves enough sleep hence stand a chance of developing sleep deprivation disorders.

Also, continued exposure to illicit activities lowers one's reasoning and creativity. When they get Facebook accounts, for example, they come to see shapes of curvy artists and actors who shape the way they think and perceive things around them. Continued exposure to these things appeals to their immediate desires thus addiction among them hence it is likely to find them awake even at night. Also, there are prohibited sites like those containing pornographic content which is not recommended for adolescents. Since they crave for these activities, they will stay awake until the parents are asleep for them to secretly have a glance at these sites. Consequently, these youths will be deprived of enough sleep. Studies which were carried out to determine the relationship between internet use and quality sleep found out that excessive consumption of online activities deprives one quality sleep (Xanidis & Brignell). When youths are deprived of quality sleep, they are likely to report failures in their cognitive capabilities.

Social Networking and Cyberbullying

Online social networking sites are predominantly platforms for interaction and communication and continue to attract more people particularly the adolescents. Although the youths may be out to enjoy themselves, there are other users with ill motives especially adults or even other youths as well. Besides, the majority of adolescents are idle thus finding social sites as ideal places where they can drive away boredom, make friends and interact as well. Also, most adolescents lack agenda and pressing needs since most of them are middle and high school students whose needs are met by their parents leaving then ample time to visit social sites where they spend most of their time. As a matter of fact, youths especially high school, college, and university students constitute almost 80% of daily social network users. Therefore, instances of cyberbullying among the youths have become a global problem with more than half of the American teens having fallen prey (Hosseinmardi et al.). According to Dredge, Gleeson, and De la Piedad Garcia, cyberbullying is prevalent among youths aged between 15 and 25 years. It is worth noting that victims of cyberbullying are at risk of suffering from the physical and mental threat.

Moreover, cyberbullying has negative impacts on the studies of youths consequently leading to poor performance, dropouts, truancy, violent behavior, and absenteeism. Cumulatively, these devastating social and psychological impacts of social networking may lead to low self-esteem, depression and suicidal feelings as was the case of Jessica Logan and Hope Sitwell (Dredge, Gleeson, & De la Piedad Garcia). Most of cyberbullying happen via Instagram, Facebook, and Myspace where youths communicate and share all sorts of pictures. Moreover, social network sites are adequately accessible for aggressors who easily find vulnerable youths. Since these adults are more mature relative to the youths, they take advantage and molest youths who in most cases are naïve and are unsuspecting. People who cyber bully youths do not have any physical or social ties with the youths hence impact damages with impunity. Furthermore, these sites provide room for privacy so much so that youths feel safe communicating with one another.

Given the intensity with which cyberbullying affects youths in high and middle schools, appropriate measures should be put in place to curb the immorality that comes with cyberbullying. Efficient technologies should be put into practice for detecting cyberbullying among youths. Also, technocrats should invent and install programs that automatically detect and monitor cyberbullying on social media. Furthermore, they should formulate effective intervention strategies for following up the cases. Also, parents, guardians, and educators should play a role in sensitizing adolescents on the side negative impacts of social networks in their lives.

The social network, Sexual harassment, and Infidelity

According to Manaf, Ismail, Shanmugam, Yaakob, and Mokhdzar, interaction through social sites can make people create relationships leaving an individual desiring an intimate relationship with the supposed friend. This individual will become addicted to an online friend. Constant use of the media by married couples may tempt them to indulge in infidelity. Consistent use of the social site also reduces social ties with the family and breeds addiction hence one will spend more time browsing than attending to family members especially partners. This may switch the attention of the individual to online dating since most of the people he/she will spend time talking to our online friends. Youths being the majority in the social media are more likely to be victims of sexual harassment as the emotionally disloyal family members will opt for young people who are more sexually appealing and active especially the girls. Also, older
women from broken relationships lure youths with monetary favors hence exploiting them sexually. The older generations chop these unsuspecting youths through groups and pages with the title sugar mummy or sugar daddy embedded in their names. Once this becomes a habit, youths stand chance to be sexually molested for sexual gratification by the older people.

Additionally, youths might come across some post from different users in the social platform, which might hinder their sex and gender equality. The social networking platforms have different users that have age variation. Hence, their interaction would be difficult for youths when accessing their profiles. Naturally, society discriminates against girls. As a consequence, online sexual harassment through social networks amplifies and intersects this norm rather than discontinuing it (Salter). Entrenched within the social platforms are inducements to harass and abuse other underprivileged social media users like young girls. Moreover, some social media platforms promote sexual arousal and fantasy. Continued exposure to such sexual content is disadvantageous to youths whose ages do not meet the recommended age for viewing sexual matters.

Social Networking and Mental Health

Prolonged use of social networking sites may negatively impact an individual's behavior thus causing psychiatric disorders. For example, Facebook may result in depression of young generation. Using social networking sites expose youths to certain styles, body shape, and trends like the six packs and size eight. Besides, the consistent use and sharing of ladies with slender bodies in an advertisement may work to discourage youths whose genetic make-ups are totally different. Besides, ladies with the help of new phones have come up with ways of amplifying their beauty through photoshops and editing tools (Liebert). However, these tools only seem to amplify beautiful ladies. Obese and relatively bad looking youths may suffer from low self-esteem which if not checked may lead to depression and other mental disorders result in suicide feelings and attempts. Also, character assassination through the social networking sites may induce stress on the victim causing them to undergo trauma. For example, youths upon break-ups
with their lovers can post and share defamatory (Liebert).

Recommendations

                      To begin with, parents should play a leading role in educating their children on the effects of social networking. Besides, they should ensure that their children are not exposed to Smartphone early enough since Smartphones are the main garget used by youths in accessing the internet. By so doing, they will reduce incidences of cyberbullying and sexual harassment as the youths will be exposed to social platforms when they are mature enough. Also, there should be an international regulatory body with stern measures of reducing the effects of social networking
on youths. Besides, this body should come up with appropriate technologies and programs that can detect, monitor, and evaluate incidences of cybercrimes on youths. Moreover, parental -guidance lessons should be made mandatory in every institution to help in empowering and enlightening youths on the long term effects of social networking on their future.

Conclusion

               Although there are a few benefits of social networking on youths like online learning, the negative effects on youths far much outweigh the benefits. Based on the research findings, social networking is seriously detrimental to youths’ health, psychology, sexuality, and cognitive functioning. Besides, it is responsible for most of the problems affecting youths like cyberbullying, sleep deprivation disorders, and undermines one's privacy as well. Consequently, social media lead to depression, low self-esteem, and are responsible for the prevalence of suicidal attempts and feelings among youths in America. If not checked and managed, the next generation of adults will consist of mentally impaired adults whose cognitive functioning does not match their ages.

Works Cited

Dredge, R., et al. "Cyberbullying in social networking sites: An adolescent victim’s perspective."
Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 36, 2014.
Hosseinmardi, H., et al. "Analyzing Labeled Cyberbullying Incidents on the Instagram Social
Network." Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2015.
Liebert, M. A. "Online Social Networking and Mental Health." Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and
Social Networking, vol. 17, no. 10, 2014.
Manaf, A. R., et al. "THE LEVEL OF SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCES ON CYBER
HARASSMENT AGAINST WOMEN." International Journal of Law, Government and
Communication, vol. 3, no. 11, 2018.
Ruddock, A. Youth, and Media. SAGE Publications Ltd, 2013.
Salter, M. Crime, Justice and Social Media. 1st ed., Taylor & Francis, 2016.
Xanidis, N., and C. M. Brignell. "The association between the use of social network sites, sleep
quality and cognitive function during the day." Computers in Human Behavior,
vol. 55, 2016.