Nowadays, social media practically shapes the psychological state and the life attitude of adolescents. The me-centered world is also the result of the social media life pattern. The existence of social media contributes to the appearance of the feeling of invincibility and impunity because there are no limits on the Internet, and people can tell and do whatever they want without being condemned by the ones they know in person.
Another impact of social media on adolescents is that they witness the feeling of insecurity. Being surrounded by profiles where everyone is thriving and has no regrets makes the adolescents’ unstable and still unshaped personalities shatter because they do not comply with the internet personas’ lives. Adolescents experiencing the life values forming period cannot help but absorb the pattern they see every day on their screens (Dogra, et al., 2018).
Therefore, their mind forces them to believe that they are not successful enough and must change their lives for the better. However, adolescents cannot comprehend that social media are just a mere shell and that the years of hardworking are hidden behind the beautiful picture. As a result of the race to success, they become too concentrated on themselves and afraid of making mistakes because it distant them from the people on the screen. Thus, due to mental inconsistency, the contradiction in adolescents’ behavior appears in the inability to accept any critique.
From my point of view, adolescents are in great danger because of social media. As a result of the contradictions described above, their personalities form based on envy and the lack of understanding of the necessity of hard work. Being unable to accept critique, adolescents have a lower chance of understanding themselves and choosing their way of living. Moreover, their character will not have strong points because they do not have the image of hard work and difficulties, which are the driving force of progress. Therefore, social media impacts adolescents’ minds, and without proper mental support from the parents, it can badly harm the developing personality.
Reference
Dogra, N., Eruyar, S., Hughes, H., O’Reilly, M., Reilly, P., &Whiteman, N. (2018). Is social media bad for mental health and wellbeing? Exploring the perspectives of adolescents. SAGE Journals, 23(4), 601–613. Web.