The main thing parents need to understand is that without boundaries & outside help, almost every teenager has a chance of developing an unhealthy social media habit. Every habit-forming drug, from amphetamines to cocaine, from nicotine to alcohol, affects the dopamine system by dispersing many times more dopamine than usual.” ( Click here for a more detailed explanation of how social media leverages dopamine) “The capacity for so-called “persuasive technology” to influence behavior in this way is only just becoming understood, but the power of the dopamine system to alter habits is already familiar to drug addicts and smokers. It’s a social-validation feedback loop…exploiting a vulnerability in human psychology.” The more time your teen spends on social media, the more money the platform makes.įacebook’s founding president, Sean Parker, said it this way, “When Facebook was being developed the objective was: “How do we consume as much of your time and conscious attention as possible?” It was this mindset that led to the creation of features such as the “like” button that would give users “a little dopamine hit” to encourage them to upload more content.
Social media platforms have thousands of Ph.D level researchers spending billions of dollars trying to figure out how to get users to spend more time on their platform. Why Be Concerned? Putting Social Networking in Contextĭid you know that over 210 million people worldwide suffer from social media & internet addiction? While you may want to blame your teenager for not having more self-control, it is important to realize what they’re up against.
From music to photography, from math to engineering, teens can learn almost anything they want. Collaborative learning – classroom discussion groups, YouTube tutorials, and online learning libraries provide teens with greater access to knowledge than ever before.Using social media improves teen’s digital literacy, a required skill for almost any job today.Social media provides amazing platforms for collaborating on and sharing creativity. We are living in one of the most innovative and creative times in human history. Social media can help teens express themselves creatively.Networking sites can offer a sense of belonging and genuine support as teens connect with others around shared interests, challenges, passions, causes, and/or communities. It strengthens friendships & relationships.If you are worried about your teen’s social media usage, this guide is for you.īefore we dive into the dangers social media has for teens, it is important to recognize that these platforms can also offer immense benefits when used appropriately. In fact, 38% of young people reported that social media has a negative impact on how they feel about themselves. With 89% of teenagers having a smartphone and 70% using social media multiple times a day, these digital dangers affect well-known and regular teens alike. However, there are many more subtle or hidden dangers of social media that are influencing a whole generation of teenagers as they become young adults. When talking about the dangers of social media, cyberbullying and sexual predators get most of the press.