Essay Sample: Is Social Media Safe For The Young Generation?

The app store has tons of options to download from music to games to news. Apps like Snapchat and Instagram allow users to interact with friends or even random people. But the most important app right now is TikTok. It has dancing, cooking, sports and so much more. However, TikTok be very persuasive with fake news and ads for products. Kids using this form of social media try to copy the trends that are started on here. They look up to the famous people on TikTok and the words they say and actions they do can affect them a lot. So, is social media a good influence for young users?

Social media has perks but it also has it negatives. People can get information for projects or just research problems in the world. Users can talk and meet other people through apps; however, some people use this to their advantage. People try to lure out people to kidnap them or even kill them. “According to the sheriff's office, the incident happened Monday at a park on Quina Way. Two juveniles told deputies they were approached by a suspicious man in a "newer model black sports car." He told them if they got inside the vehicle, they would receive money. "The juveniles declined the offer and ran away from the park." a release state. Deputies say the individual was described as a black male with a short haircut and no facial hair. He was wearing an orange shirt. "Deputies searched the area but were unable to locate the individual or his vehicle," the release states” (Deputies). People are cruel and thankfully these kids got away from the man before they got kidnapped. Leaking information has been a big problem as well. “Hackers have so far leaked data that includes source code for the company’s streaming service, an unreleased Steam competitor from Amazon Game Studios, and details of creator payouts. An anonymous poster on the 4chan messaging board released a 125GB torrent earlier today, which they claim includes the entirety of Twitch and its commit history” (Warren, Tom). This happened to Twitch a streaming service where the people on there can make money. Twitch was hacked on October 6th, 2021. That’s not even a month ago and lucky the only thing the hackers wanted was some source code for Twitch’s competitors and not money from the streamers.

Kids making videos and try post are trying to blow up like the TikTokers they see on their phones and there is no problem with that.  According to Deveraux “Social media can help teens express themselves creatively. We are living in one of the most innovative and creative times in human history. Social media provides amazing platforms for collaborating on and sharing creativity”. Kids don’t understand what they are getting into when they decide to post something though. People might leave hurtful comments and can make them insecure. Others that want to see them fail will make fun of them. “Women seem to be particularly prone - a survey conducted by cosmetics firm Dove and Twitter found that in 2014 over five million negative tweets were posted about beauty and body image - and four out of five of them appeared to come from women.” (Wakefield). This is just women being mean to other women. Just think of what the guys were saying on these post. Kids can get emotional and insecure quickly and the words we say can affect them in a powerful way. 

Kids are creative and curious, and the internet gives them access to whatever they want to do. “Poetry, photography, music, film, blogging, you name it. Anybody can produce content quickly and easily with the tools available to us in the 21st century. Just as easily we can share content with the world on social media.” (Stade, Linda). Kids can do and ask anything when they have the internet in the palm of there hands.