Social media have exploded in popularity, becoming a ubiquitous part of modern life, especially for young people. A 2018 study found that 88 per cent of teenagers have access to a smartphone, with 72 per cent using Instagram, 69 per cent Snapchat, 51 per cent Facebook, and 32 per cent Twitter. While platforms like these offer many benefits, they also pose significant risks that parents, educators, and society must proactively address.
The potential benefits of social media for youth are numerous and compelling. These technologies allow young people to stay connected with family over long distances, access a continual stream of information on any topic, broaden social networks, make new friends globally, develop valuable skills like communication and self-expression, and pursue entrepreneurial opportunities for self-promotion and business. Social media can be leveraged as an educational tool, enhancing the learning process in innovative ways.
However, the negative impacts and downsides revealed in the research are causes for serious concern. Excessive social media use can displace in-person social interaction, eroding youths' ability to engage in face-to-face communication and build real-world relationships. It can cultivate narcissistic tendencies of self-absorption and neglect of one's surroundings. The informal language prevalent on social media may degrade formal language skills, and time spent endlessly scrolling through feeds directly reduces productivity at school or work.
Perhaps most alarmingly, the online world opens the door to a range of cybercrimes like hacking, identity theft, and the widespread availability of pornography and explicit content, antithetical to healthy youth development.
Social media are a double-edged sword-a powerful tool that can be leveraged for growth and learning if properly understood and regulated, but also a potential hazard that can derail development and twist young minds if abused. Striking the right balance, therefore, is of utmost importance.
Parents and society must take a proactive approach to mitigate the risks while allowing youth to harness social media's positives. From an early age, children need guidance on the pros and cons of these technologies and how to navigate them responsibly and ethically. Setting appropriate privacy controls, exercising prudence with online relationships and links, maintaining separate email accounts for each platform, and using strong unique passwords are crucial preventative measures.
Niemur Rahman Emon
Student
Department of Mass Communication and Journalism
Dhaka University
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