Teens and Technology - The Hard Truth

Over the past few years, the rate of teens and younger kids getting more freedom with technology has grown very much. While technology brings kids together with texting and calls, there are some risks that can affect kids. For example, with some social media apps, like Snapchat, the messages will delete after a period of time, so kids can say mean things and the parents wouldn’t know. Most people get social media around mid to late teens, but some can get it at 8 years old. It could be really bad for a kid to have some social media apps because some kids might abuse their time or limits on social media. Even though you might have social media and like it, it might not be the best thing for you.

Social media can feel like a fun thing to share photos and videos with your friends, but there are some costs and some benefits. Let's start with some of the benefits. Teens are trapped in a world where there are friend issues, loads of school work, and most of all, drama. Social media is made for people to build connections online with others and to get away from the negative things in the world. Of course, making new friends is a good thing, but not all people are trustworthy. So what about the costs? Social media can be an addicting thing to some people, which isn’t great because you shouldn’t spend your free time on a phone. For people all around the world, they will have to be on their phones more and more for work, calls, etc.

According to the Mayo Clinic, social media can distract, disrupt sleep, misinform people, and lead to unrealistic views. It can also cause severe depression, anxiety, and stress and can cause teenagers to doubt themselves. Cyberbullying, rejection, and the fear of missing out can cause bad feelings for some people, which can have a big impact on people’s lives. Sometimes, when teens have too much screen time, it leads to bad behavior afterward, which can also cause fights to happen with the people around them. So if you are a person who uses a lot of technology all the time, you might want to take a break and decide to socialize with your friends instead. Does technology cause anxiety to teenagers? Yes, more technology use causes more anxiety.