Social Media Affecting America's Youth

The author of the book The Dumbest Generation is concerned over young Americans and what the digital age is doing to them. Throughout the book he cites many percentages of young Americans who are dropping out of high school and college and he blames the digital era for it. The author loves the idea of traditional values and routine and he believes that due to the amount of technology that is rising, it is killing off those core values that students need in order to grow and stay productive. He also claims that younger adults abuse their time, and their priorities compared to the older generation have changed significantly. The reasons that he gives because of these changes are due to the digital media and the advances of technology that have gone up quickly within a few years. This results in adolescent teenagers who are abusing their time over the web. Instead of trying to study and learn they are on Facebook and other social networks.

What is America’s Youth without social media? Social media is a big part of the American society. Most definitely the youth part of the society. Social Media comes with many pros and cons. It lets you stay in contact with new friends, lets you reconnect with old friends. It’s also a way of creating a mini biography for everyone in the world to see. Social media can be used responsibly or it can dangerous for some users. When used carelessly social networks can cause great damage to anyone. Some people don’t realize when using social media how much information they put out there for the world to see. Young teens can rarely tell when they put their selves at risk when using social media. Social

Today’s society of young Americans are concerned with social media and the trends that are presented, but what makes something a trend? In the past couple of years, it seems like in order for something to be a trend white people have to like it and make it popular. The media portrays to everyone in America that these trends were originated or even inspired by white people, but this isn’t true. A lot of the trends that are happening are actually from black people whether it’s black people’s facial features, appearance or hairstyle. The trends today represent cultural appropriation by offending black people and taking credit for these trends. However, white people think trends are innocent and don’t understand why they can’t do the same things

A Teenager’s life is not like it was for their parents. A generation ago, kids went out, hung out, did “stuff”. Now all they want to do is be in their rooms, on the computer or their phone, or both. Texting, sharing, gaming, liking, commenting constantly can’t prepare them for “real life”. This reliance on electronic devices can’t be good. How will they learn to relate to each other, to problem solve, to exist when the power goes out? The enormous amount of time spent online and plugged-in is harmful to a teenager’s development.

Social networks have impacted the lives of teens and adults everywhere. This new trend has become the basis for sharing and receiving information. Businesses have been able to attract many clients through advertisements on social networks. Social media is a tool used to connect with people from all over the world and allow the user to share experiences or ideas with others.  Journalists have been able to broadcast political and pop culture news not only on television, but also through social media. Because of social networks, fans are able to keep up with their favorite celebrities and are able to connect with them. Social media has affected political campaigns. Now it has become essential for the candidate to take part in social media cites in order to catch the eye of potential voters and reach a broader audience. The social network phenomenon is beneficial to American society as the best tool for publicity and for self-expression.

Over the past several years’ social media, television, and other collective communication outlets have increasingly been displaying children, adolescents, and adults who are gender nonconforming. In films such as the 1999 Boys Don’t Cry and now the popular television show I am Cait, more attention has been given to those with the current diagnosis of Gender Dysphoria (GD) and/or those who define themselves as “transgendered” (Zuker et al., 2008). Despite this new attention, there is evidence that gender nonconforming individuals have existed in cultures in what would become the United States since the sixteenth century (Beemyn, 2014). However, the nomenclature, legislation, and societal understanding of those who are gender nonconforming have evolved in the United States, and the ways in which transgender identity has been formulated has greatly changed. These narratives reflect the political and larger societal understandings of gender and sex. In fact as a diagnostic classification, Gender Dysphoria (GD) remains a focus of much contemporary debate; as some critics argue that a formal diagnosis continues the history of pathologizing and stigmatizing groups that express variations from the norm (Zucker & Spitzer, 2005). The following paper will outline the development of the diagnostic classification of Gender Dysphoria, and discuss the history of the social, cultural, and legal understanding of gender nonconforming individuals.

In recent trends, adolescents in the United States are now experiencing an explosive rise in the usage of technology. There have been many technological advances since the 20th century such as the invention of the Internet, cellular devices, and other screens. However, the new generation of adolescents in America; the “millennials,” are the ones living through and experiencing this new economy and lifestyle. Millennials and many other young adolescents tend to use their free time to socialize and connect online, activities that are considered unchallenging and spend a lot of their time on devices that stream the media, such as: tablets, phones, and laptops. In modern times, about

Amidst today’s society it is hard to imagine that just fifteen years ago people actually communicated by email, and even that was uncommon. Now everybody is in constant communication with people from social media, and the new highly advanced technology that is constantly being created. Experts predict that by 2020 the world wide information base will double every seventy three days (Online Social Networking p.g 6). Basically all the advanced technology and resources are going to get worse than what they already are. People spend more time on their cellular devices then they do experiencing the actual world and what is presently around them. Social media is becoming dangerous, and is something that people, especially today’s generation, need to spend less time on.

The development of technology has also allowed teens to find the answer to a problem using little or no brainpower and instead using the buttons on cell phones and computers to answer a problem. Surprisingly, teens automatically seem to know the answer to any question related to technology or media related questions. SoundVision states the percentage of teenagers thirteen through seventeen who can name the city where the US Constitution was written (Philadelphia) is twenty-five percent while the percentage of teenagers thirteen through seventeen who know where you find the zip code 90210 (Beverly Hills) is seventy-five (SoundVision). The technological growth has not only cut the communication between parents and their children, weaken the minds of the youth, and create a dependency to it that can be similar to an addiction, but it has also affected the educational level of students and made youth more vulnerable to the dangers technology brings. In the field of Communications we used technology to broaden our ways to communicate with individuals and society as a whole. Mass media uses social networking sites as a way to keep in contact with their audience and However, as we echnology has altered the way life was once lived where youth relied on themselves and others to communicate and solve social, mental, and personal problems now, youth now depend on the touch of a button to communicate and solve their problem.

In todays day and age technology and social media has made it easier for us to communicate with family and friends. However there is the select few who have used it as a domain to express their negative views towards one another. Which over time can make the victim feel vulnerable, exposed, powerless and dissatisfied with who they are . When all of these elements combine this can lead to teen suicide, assault or even worse, murder. Which can seriously impact a community and the Queensland Police Force.

I’ve decided to take this step and come out of my comfort zone to discuss and explain my experiences, both positive and negative, around social media platforms and their effect on young people’s minds. But before I dive deeper into my discussion, let me ask you one questions. Do you really know what your children are being exposed to online? Now you’re probably looking at me and wondering how a 16 year old has the audacity (some of you may call it stupidity) to stand here in front of you to discuss my ideas and experiences of and with social media. Most of you may be uncomfortably aware that your children are significantly more knowledgeable and interested in the 24 hour online culture than you may be and this is something I want to explore with you today.

Social networking has become a norm in our society. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Myspace are but a few examples of the relatively new phenomenon of online social networking that play a significant role in our daily lives. The popularity of online social networking sites is constantly growing having people of all ages signing up for this sites y the million. Social networking has without a doubt contributed to many positive things in our lives, it allows us to share and communicate with friends and family, meet new people, and stay connected with the world, but social networking also has its negative effects. Social networking affects our youth i many different ways, it especially affects their self esteem.

As part of a generation whose oldest members were born when CD players were all the rage, and whose youngest members consider anything older than the iPhone 6 to be outdated, I won 't deny that we 've grown up in a time of rapid change. We live in a world that would be unrecognizable to those who came before us, and will likely be unrecognizable to us, by the time we die. In this world, the only constant is change, and it stands to reason that when changing our world, we inevitably end up changing ourselves. Digital technology happens to be one of the most rapidly changing aspects of our culture. In fact, the changes we 've made in technology have been so staggering that for a while, we had overlooked the ways that technology had been changing us. Advancements in technology have revolutionized the way we work, learn, play, and communicate with one another. At first, it may seem as though changes in digital technology have had mainly positive effects on our society, and to a certain extent, that has rung true. However, when researchers noticed that young people were spending an extraordinary time on devices, such as computers and smart-phones, they began to question what affect overuse of digital media could have certain aspects of a person 's life. Eventually, it came to the attention of researchers that some people, especially teenagers and young adults, had become more depressed and seemingly introverted as digital technology and more specifically, social media,

Some of the top benefits of social media over the years are that it is free to anyone, the content can get out to resources virtually immediately, and it can be delivered to a wide variety of people. For these reasons, communication through social media has become an extremely accessible and convenient way to communicate. It is also popular for those who need to be in contact with others. One example that comes to mind is a teenager who goes away on a trip to visit a friend or family. They can be hundreds of miles away but still talk to their parents as if they weren’t. Another example is a person who is shy and has a hard time making friends face-to-face, social media sites are a great way to meet people and build relationships.

“A national survey in the US found that children aged 8 to 18 years had an average media usage time of 7 hours and 38 minutes every day” (Agarwal). Entertainment media can be accessed through film, print, radio, television and in today’s digital age, everyone has access to information through the most powerful source, the internet. Because technology is becoming a major element of American culture when is the appropriate age for children to be exposed to the media? Tech gadgets like cell phones, video game consoles, and television keep people connected and entertained. However, there should be an age limit to when children are given access to the internet and pop news to prevent bad behavior and damaging habits when they get older. Access to the media is negatively impacting young people and should be reduced by putting limits on children’s access to electronic devices.