Introduction
Social media has both positive and negative influences on adolescents, depending on how each individual uses it. Behavior and character are often shaped by the way individuals present themselves to society, which includes self-branding to create attractive images that entice the attention of others. Youths in the adolescent stage market themselves to suit the immediate environment. They have been negatively influenced by the content they experiment with on media platforms. According to Jean Kilbourne, a girl child has been affected much due to cultural atmosphere, such as fleshly objectification, that has affected her psychological character.
Potential Effects of Media on Physical Development
Advertisements for some products in markets, such as alcohol, have been accompanied by pictures of male characters. They object to the place where this alcohol is sold. Young boys entering adolescence strive to accept these aspects of themselves, including their abilities, body size, and strengths (Kilbourne and Timke 15). They tend to work their way, such as eating a lot of food to increase their body size. This picture branding, which does not depict the right image of an individual, has violated the rights of a boy child.
Potential Effects of Media on Identity/Gender Development
Sexual trade of young girls has flooded social media (Kilbourne and Timke 29). Seductive images have been repeatedly captured and posted in the media to draw attention to other individuals. Adolescent girls tend to emulate the images they see in the media and adopt their body image, dress, and attitude (Kilbourne and Timke 19). As they sample these crafted pictures, their mental health undergoes violation.
The media portrays desirable women models and their beauty as thinner. Teenagers compare their bodies to cultural ideals and covert them (Kilbourne and Timke 53). The justification of their bodies has led to eating disorders to meet the standard of thinness.
Gender stereotype perception of psychological functioning shown in the media has affected youths. Reaching the adolescent age gives a sense of the roles that a person should undertake to resist peer pressure (Kilbourne and Timke 22). Nita, as he attained adolescence, he felt some changes governing others. He gains a sense of giving rules to others surrounding him, regardless of the person’s age. It developed a negative impact on his character and respect towards others. He cannot show mercy to a person who does not follow the rules he gave, as he feels more energetic.
Cognitive Achievements/Limitations of Adolescents
Some of the cognitive achievements of sensitivity to social media include boosting communication with others within the adolescent bracket. Other advantages include helping them access significant educational activities and fostering connections with other teenagers. On the other hand, the negative impacts of sensitivity to social media among youths include exposure to improbable views of other people (Kilbourne and Timke 25). It also disrupts their mental health due to peer pressure from some activities in the media. Posting pictures in the media also might lead to blackmail among adolescents.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the media has significantly impacted the way youth live, with many of its effects being negative. It has led to the violation of mainly the female gender. Many youths, influenced by the media, have created a generation of incompetence. Many try to be like others by subjecting themselves to the shoes of celebrities. Others undergo eating disorders to meet the sizes of the online crafted image used to market some products or sexual marketing. It has affected their physical appearance and their mental health. Cultural behavior has been diluted from one generation to the next.
Work Cited
Kilbourne, Jean, and Edward Timke. “Fighting for a positive cultural environment: An interview with Jean Kilbourne.” Advertising & Society Quarterly vol 19, no.4 (2018).