The world has advanced and there is a whole lot more of the advancement to come, we can't stop that. The only thing we can do is, strike a balance and remind ourselves not to be controlled by our own creations. Humans end up controlled by their creations, it is a very concerning situation.
Generally, the world of social media has played big roles in influencing the real world lifestyles and causing many to be vulnerable to what it has to offer. But we do know it is more on our growing children especially our curious adolescents who have access to social media.
No doubt, there are more adolescents having access to social media than in the past where only few had a phone for just calls to keep order at home when parents are away. The phones now allow people access way more than before and so users need more guidance to make use of it.
I remember the first time I had access to a phone that allows me create and grow a social media account (Facebook), I got addicted to it, trying to grow likes and following people who now, I believe were just living fake lives online and misleading whoever would believe them, it's sad.
I can still remember how bad I'd feel when my guardians threatens to seize my phone because I got lazy doing chores and would prefer to chat all day if I'm allowed to. It was crazy really, struggling to sleep when my phone is just lying around was an everyday fight I mostly didn't win.
That was then, there were only a few of us actually earning from social media or online but today, we have lots of our adolescents earning on these social media apps. While that is true and is beneficial for them, there are many wasting all their time doing nothing productive on the apps.
The Effects Are Very Worrisome
- Lack of sleep slowly causing brain damage.
- Total reliance causing no use of the brain.
- Give potential to lead a copied wayward life.
- Get bored so easily and resort to bad habits.
- Loosing the value for real life connections.
I can actually go on and on about the effects social media have on the mental health of our adolescents and yeah, not just them but to many who are addicted or rely on these apps. Our adolescents who can be very curious about everything needs extra attention at that stage.
I believe a family where the children are well engaged at home and taught to enjoy family time, enjoy moments away from social media and value the joy in spending time with family, such a family would rarely have adolescents that are addicted to social media for the wrong reasons.
I've always imagined a world where we would utilize social media for all the advantages it has to offer, imagine our adolescents getting them for good purpose and becoming better persons because of social media, it's one of the great benefits and reasons to let them use these apps.
Sadly, there is always going to be the downside of anything and our parents or guardians have a responsibility towards our adolescents to make the right call when they are vulnerable and exposed to being influenced on social media, we want the positive sides, we should work on that.
Images are AI generated