Harmful Effects Caused By Social Media

Social media use has seen rapid growth and user adoption in the last decade and some of its most involved users are children. Your child likely uses at least one social media platform and many young people spend a great deal of their free time engaging with social media. As such a widely used and accessible platform, it is important to consider the harmful effects of social media and how it impacts your child. Social media can be the root cause of many very serious issues that are only recently started to be fully understood.

Five Ways Social Media Is Harmful

1. Bullying and Harassment:

online bullying is a sadly common event. It happens to a majority of teenagers online and can take many forms. Bullying activity can be text posts, direct messages, email, video-based, or pictures. There are many toxic personalities who take advantage of the distance social media offers to harm others through words and mockery. Also, online bullying can easily cross the line into prolonged illegal harassment.

2. Addiction:

social media can lead to addiction in its users. The type of behavioral addiction overuse of social media causes is not dissimilar to other types of addiction. It can lead to various issues with daily activity such as a lack of focus, continued distraction, and even negatively impacting sleep. Many heavy users of social media do report that they are addicted to these platforms.

3. Fear of Missing Out:

often abbreviated to FOMO fear of missing out is related to social media addiction. However, this is not a new issue. FOMO is often found at the core of several fraudulent businesses, such as investing scams. Social media platforms make use of advanced algorithms to drive engagement, much of which is centered around the user fearing they will miss something important or exciting.

4. Self-Image Issues:

social media is often driven by influencers putting forth the image of a perfect life. From filters that alter a poster’s appearance to claiming an expensive rental is something the poster legitimately owns much of social media can lead to self-image issues in a young person. This is because while an adult can easily see through the marketing material, a teenager or child lacks the life experience to know what they are seeing is not an accurate reflection of real life. This can lead to harsh self-judgment based on a fictitious reality.

5. Damage To Personal Relationships:

another area where social media can be harmful is in how a user manages their real-life personal relationships. Social media with its addictive qualities can use up a great deal of time. Even in situations where a child is engaging with parents, peers, and other family members, their smartphone and its social media apps can serve as a consistent distraction. Over time this lack of focused engagement can cause harm to friendship and personal bonds.

Final Thoughts

As a parent, you want to keep your child safe from the dangers of the world. These dangers also include how your child engages with the internet and social media. However, even the best parenting cannot prevent all harm. In situations where your child has been harmed by social media, there are methods of legal response you can take. In such a situation you should contact a lawyer as soon as possible.