How do Social Networks Affect Young People

How do Social Networks Affect Young People

Social networks have been revolutionary on many levels, especially in terms of human relationships. Although at first these networks were seen as a tool for bringing people together, and even to meet new people, we must recognise that this phenomenon is also causing people to stay glued to the screen, and is also affecting the way they relate to other people. OneHowTo looks into how social networks affect young people.

Steps to follow:
1

Social networks have had a great effect on the lives of young people and how they relate to each other. Although it has brought many people together, the reality for other people has been very different indeed. Young people spend the day glued to the screen of their mobiles or computers, and we are witnessing a progressive deterioration of interpersonal relationships. They live increasingly isolated in that vast virtual world, interacting little with the rest of the world. They prefer to deal with people through social network than enjoying real-life, face-to-face interaction.

It is so common to see groups of friends, all together, but each of them using their mobile phones. Instead of enjoying time with friends, they are more eager to take pictures of what they experience and share it on social networks. The priority is to be the centre of attention, even for a moment, on these different social networks.

2

Social networking has changed the lives of people and especially young people. Almost everyone has a profile on major networks like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and Snapchat. The positive effect of these forms of communication are unquestionable, e.g. they are fast, effective and instantaneous. However, they have also become necessary tool for social survival. That is, young people are fully hooked to these networks and feel a compelling need to be constantly connected. They need to flaunt their life through the networks, even the smallest incident, such as having coffee, needs to be documented and shared with all their friends.

These posts are often embellished with filters, comments and labels, giving a somewhat distorted image of the truth. This is done for favourable comments and shares. That need to display one's life and falsify facts has been detrimental to one's quality of life.

3

Other aspects in which social networks affect young people is their ability to attend to what happens in their environment. Addiction to these means (besides having a negative impact on the way they relate to their environment) they are negatively affecting attention and concentration skills. Many neglect important tasks, even their studies. A young person who develops dependence on social networks in particular can seriously damage their self-esteem and mood. It can cause nervousness, all kinds of distractions and mood disturbances.

4

Young people who cannot control their use of social networking and never disconnect have a serious addiction problem. The idea of going through the whole day without checking their social profiles seems unbearable. When they are, studying or in class, with friends, in the cinema, in the gym, etc., they always have their mobiles and are always checking their social networks. The problem with this is that if they aren't able to stop and focus on other things, their ability to enjoy the moment is crippled. Abuse of networks in terms of frequency and intensity disrupts daily life and the ability to enjoy, creating feelings of stress and anxiety, which can result in a depression.

5

Social networks are addictive because they generate very powerful emotions in the minds of people. They are addictive because they project positive things, which makes us feel good vibrations at the time and gives us a great feeling of satisfaction. At the end of the day, we should not eliminate social networks from the lives of young people; rather, we should learn to manage it. After all, they do have many positive aspects.

With controlled use of social networks, attention and concentration improves. However, parents should seek to manage the usage time so that their children can continue enjoying all aspects of life.

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