Op-Ed | Teen Ink

Op-Ed

May 3, 2016
By maddiebodine BRONZE, Lexington, Kentucky
maddiebodine BRONZE, Lexington, Kentucky
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

Have you ever wondered how many people have active social media accounts?


Nearly 1.7 billion people are active on social media. Social media has many different forms: Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and VSCO. Having so many social media  has made us “addicted”. In the conclusion of that, Social media has a negative effect on our society and the way we communicate by impacting society in a destructive manner, affecting our grammar and writing, and by giving people a platform to say stuff they would never say to a person's face.


Social media has impacted society in a destructive manner. We often spend more time communicating through social media and technology than through face to face interaction. Stats prove “11% of people still prefer to stay at home and communicate on their device”.  Instead of going out and having fun with their friends, people choose to stay inside and be on screen. Many of the people around me often spend more time worrying about the number of likes on their Instagram photo then about their grades.


Social media is negatively affecting our grammar and writing. In the article, “Why can’t Johnny write? Don’t blame social media” it says social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are sending essay skills “down the plug hole”. Our writing and essay skills should be learned in school. Teens are taking the way we text and interact on social media to the way we write at school by using text slang in homework,classwork, and papers.
Social media often gives people the platform to say things that they wouldn’t normally say.  Hiding behind a screen makes people brave. “1 and 4 teen is a victim of cyberbullying” (calera).  Teens have been bullied about their looks and who they like. Because of stuff being on social media and the number of people that see things lead kids to feel bad about themselves. Kids have committed suicide over social media bullying.


Social media can also have a positive effect on society. Staying connected with your friends and family can easily be done through social media. For example, my grandparents go a cruise every year for two weeks. We stay in touch with them through Facebook. My mom’s cousin lives in France. She also keeps in contact through Facebook. However social media has more negative effects on society, especially teenagers and young adults, than positive effects. While social media keeps us connected to friends and family it has also taken the place of face to face conversation and interaction which has made our communication skills worse.



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