Social media has affected us, teens, in so many ways. As social media grows, the amount of teenagers and kids getting attached to it has increased. The percentage of teens using social media from 2014 through 2022 has increased from 24% to 46%.  As more kids get attached to social media, it is causing a lack of communication among children and that causes children to not develop how they are supposed to. 

Many social media platforms have grown over the years while some have slowly gone down. Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok have grown tremendously since 2014 and Facebook usage has gone down. Teenagers ages 13 to 17 have used TikTok the most over the years and that makes TikTok one of the top social media platforms for teens.

There is a variation between gender and in which social media sites are used. Teen boys are more likely to use social media sites like Youtube, Twitch, and Reddit while teen girls are most likely to use TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat.

As a teenager in this generation, I can see how social media has affected us in so many ways. Social media and technology have affected communication, social interactions, and growth throughout education. Most of all social media has caused worse to society. 

The more time that children spend on social media, the more children are led to cyber bullying, depression, social anxiety, and content that is not meant for children. Children are being exposed to content that is not meant for them which is causing confusion about what they are supposed to learn.

As of 2022, on average, preteens ages 8 to 12 spend 4 to 5 hours on social media and teens ages 13 to 18 spend around 7 to 8 hours on social media on a daily basis. All this time on social media can cause a lot of damage to the human body. When you spend so much time on social media, especially at night, it can cause insomnia and that is not good for you at all. Insomnia can cause you to have lower performance levels at school which will lead your education in the wrong direction.

Having your education go downhill is the worst turning point in your life. Mainly because your education is everything and without education, you most likely won’t be able to achieve anything. All of your goals and dreams will just go down the drain and you will regret not being able to get off of social media late at night.

I would suggest that more kids around the world spend less time on social media and technology, especially at night. This will help preteens and teens focus more on their education rather than what is going on, on social media. Less time on social media can also help social interactions and communication skills among children who have distanced and separated themselves to stay on social media rather than talk to new people and have new experiences.