Think about when you are in class and you pull out your phone to check your friend’s new Instagram post; no matter where you go you can’t seem to take your eye off of the screen like you are in some kind of hypnosis and after you go home from school you spent the rest of your free time on TikTok looking at the newest trends instead of doing homework. You wake up the next day quite tired because you didn’t get a lot of sleep; you are unable to focus in class because of the drama on social media.

Throughout life, many teenagers use social media to a concerning degree. Teenagers now think having a lot of likes on their posts is the most important thing in the world.

”Social media has impacted my life in a positive way, connecting me with friends from school, and allowing me to even make new friends!” said Addyson Granny, Norwin Senior Student Council social media manager.

According to National Library of Medicine, teenagers today have lower self-esteem than ever before due to the rapid popularity of social media. Teenagers spend much of their time on social media instead of doing more productive activities like doing a sport or being part of a social group, which has a direct link to higher self-esteem.

According to National Library of Medicine on the relationships between social media use and factors relating to depression, in the U.S. the most popular social media app for age groups between 12 to 24 years is Snapchat (46 million users), followed by Instagram (20 million users) and Facebook (2.6 million users). This shows how much teens use social media on a day-by-day basis and this was before TikTok was popular.

“I started using social media around Hillcrest/ Middle School just to try and fit in with the other kids and seem cool,” says Granny

Teenagers now get so caught up with how many likes they get on their Instagram posts or how many snaps they get on Snapchat instead of their grades. Just think about all the amazing things they could do in your life, but a lot of teenagers choose to spend time on social media watching the newest TikTok trend or AI animal videos on Instagram.

”It’s much easier to scroll on TikTok than to be productive,” said freshman Mary Jane Brosey. “ I think it has negatively impacted my life that way.”

Social Media has connected people in a way that nothing else has done in history, Social Media allows people to communicate with others around the world and spread different ideas about things can be sent more easily than ever before; just think of all the people you connected with online and how happy it made you feel and think about how it would be impossible without social media.

Another good thing Social Media has done is allowed people to buy things from the comfort of their homes.

According to Sprinklr,  Customers spend 20–40% more on brands that respond to customer service requests on social media. 40% of consumers want a response from brands within an hour while 79% expect a response within 24 hours. This information shows how much social media has an effect on brands and how it changes the way brands interact with their customers.

According to VAMP  Book sales also saw similar growth, as many rediscovered their love of literature. Despite bookshops in the UK being closed for the majority of 2020, over 200 million books were sold that year – the highest since 2012. Many went digital, with ebook sales soaring 24% and audiobook downloads rising by 37%. This is a great example of social media allowing people to do productive things by offering their users books to buy on their website and other things they can buy for their entertainment.

Social media is overall a great online store for people who want to order items online instead of going out and buying items from a store. Another great thing about Social Media is that people can expect themselves online freely.

According to NATURE Analyzing data of 10,560 Facebook users, we find that individuals who are more authentic in their self-expression also report greater Life Satisfaction. This effect appears consistent across different personality profiles, countering the proposition that individuals with socially desirable personalities benefit from authentic self-expression more than others.

The information shows that the people who are most authentic in their self-expression are on average happier in life versus people who are not online and you should always be yourself as it will get you better self-esteem and confidence.

According to a recent Norwin High School poll:

Does Social Media make you happy or not? 70.8 percent say Social Media makes them feel a little happy, 16.7 percent say Social Media doesn’t affect them, 8.3 percent say Social Media makes them feel very happy, and 4.2 percent say Social Media makes them feel a little upset.

Does Social Media give you more confidence in your life? 66.7 percent say yes and 33.3 percent say no.

How many hours do you spend on social media per day?. 41.7 percent say they spend  3 hours per day, 29.2 say they spend 5 or more hours per day, 25 percent say they spend 4 hours per day, 4.1 percent say they spend 1 or less per day.

”I would spend less time checking social media,” said Junior Zaki Lahlou. “because I check it constantly throughout the day.”

Which social media app do you use the most? 50 percent say they use TikTok the most, 29.2 percent say they use Instagram the most, 16.7 percent say they use YouTube the most, and 4.1 percent say they use Snapchat the most.

What is the main reason you use social media? 58.3 says to pass the time, 20.8 says to connect with people, 12.5 says to Find out what’s going on in the world, and 8.4 says to See what your friends/ peers are doing.

“It’s just funny to see what happens in other people’s lives,” says senior Ameer Elatrache. ”it would probably be best for me.”

Do you feel you are addicted to social media?. 54.2 percent said yes, 29.2 percent said maybe, 16.7 percent said no.

Do you think you know the negative consequences of using social media?. 58.3 Percent says yes, 20.8 percent says kind of, 12.5 percent says probably know, 8.3 percent says probably don’t know. Do you think social media makes people more mean?. 58.3 percent says yes, 29.2 percent says maybe, 12.5 percent says no.

Social Media can have a lot of positive but negative effects on teens and any young person should be very concerned about Social Media because it can affect your life in a lot of bad ways if you use social media in a small way and be careful about what you say online it can be very useful for communicating with friends and sharing your things with others.