Free Essay on Child Development: The Beast of Social Media

Introduction

Social media has made accessing information easier. The number of adolescents using social media sites has expanded. Social media can be good or bad to adolescents depending on what they use it for. Some of the adolescents use social media to create new friendship, while others use it to post illegal things that can make them end up prosecuted (Bryant, 2018). The paper discusses social media and adolescence.

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Social Media Impact on Concepts

Imaginary audience is a thought that other individuals are thinking and looking at you frequently. Therefore, social media sites like Instagram and Facebook are used by adolescents to boost their sense of identity. It is at these social media sites that it lead adolescents to react to and towards their perceived imaginary audience (Bryant, 2018). The social media exacerbates the feeling of being unique and special (personal fable) to an extent that the adolescents feel that nothing bad can happen because others are fascinated by him or her (adolescent egocentrism) (Cingel, & Krcmar, 2014). These can result in adolescents engaging in risk-taking practices such as the use of alcohol or driving reckless. Besides, the boost in the personal fable, egocentrism, invincibility fable, and imagery audience ideation can make adolescents believe that they have capabilities and power missing in others thus enhancing their self-worth (Cingel, & Krcmar, 2014).

Benefits to Social Media and How It Hinders Development

The social media has various benefits. The individuals access the information easily from a large audience. That provides an opportunity for interaction and making of new friends. Through the use of social media, one can uncover valuable insight. Besides, social media provide an opportunity for an individual to learn and develop new skills from the content posted by others (Bryant, 2018). The use of social media and technology can hinder development at the stage of an adolescent. In some cases, adolescents experience embarrassment, and that can affect their self -esteem and development. The influence from social media may lead to adolescents developing issues with their body image and appearance, thus their physical development is affected. The use of social media can impact negatively the learning and academic achievements. Therefore, social media can be good or bad on the adolescence stage.

References

Bryant, A. (2018). The effect of social media on the physical, social-emotional, and cognitive development of adolescents. Honors Senior Capstone projects. 37. https://scholarworks.merrimack.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1036&context=honors_capstones

Cingel, D. P., & Krcmar, M. (2014). Understanding the experience of the imaginary audience in a social media environment. Journal of Media Psychology. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/275642096_Understanding_the_Experience_of_Imaginary_Audience_in_a_Social_Media_Environment