The Issue
Even though teens know that pictures that they see on social media are manipulated, they feel extremely insecure about their body and their appearance. This causes the child to constantly be concerned of their appearance which leads to anxiety and depression. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram help us post highlights of our lives. When teenagers look at other people having more than them they feel the FOMO(fear of missing out). FOMO causing the child to look at each and very update or notification even if they are involved in some other action. This causes their real world interaction to be taken over by social media interactions. A study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania revealed that increased usage of social media through different social media platforms can cause an increase in the feeling of loneliness and can make one feel isolated. More than a third of children who use social media in 30 countries have been reported that they are being bullying through social media.Twitter and Instagram can be platforms where many hurtful comments can be posted. This could be even more hurtful when they spread through one’s community and these comments can leave heavy emotional scars. All of this can further cause the student to anxiety and depression.
Even though teens know that pictures that they see on social media are manipulated, they feel extremely insecure about their body and their appearance. This causes the child to constantly be concerned of their appearance which leads to anxiety and depression. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram help us post highlights of our lives. When teenagers look at other people having more than them they feel the FOMO(fear of missing out). FOMO causing the child to look at each and very update or notification even if they are involved in some other action. This causes their real world interaction to be taken over by social media interactions. A study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania revealed that increased usage of social media through different social media platforms can cause an increase in the feeling of loneliness and can make one feel isolated. More than a third of children who use social media in 30 countries have been reported that they are being bullying through social media.Twitter and Instagram can be platforms where many hurtful comments can be posted. This could be even more hurtful when they spread through one’s community and these comments can leave heavy emotional scars. All of this can further cause the student to anxiety and depression.
The exigence
The constants depression and social pressure causes the student to engage in drugs and alcohol. The student will start skipping school or stop using social media all together. Further, this will lead to the student having suicidal thoughts and may lead to engaging in self harm. One very good is example of this is the case of Megan Meier. She was a 13 year old girl who took a her own life. A classmate of Megan pretended to be a boy on social media and got close to Megan. Then leaked all of their private chats in school causing Megan to get depressed and take her own life.
The constants depression and social pressure causes the student to engage in drugs and alcohol. The student will start skipping school or stop using social media all together. Further, this will lead to the student having suicidal thoughts and may lead to engaging in self harm. One very good is example of this is the case of Megan Meier. She was a 13 year old girl who took a her own life. A classmate of Megan pretended to be a boy on social media and got close to Megan. Then leaked all of their private chats in school causing Megan to get depressed and take her own life.
Due to COVID-19, online education has become extreme essential. Due to this the amount of cyberbullying has and will slowly rise. This has become a very essential issue that needs to be handled by parents/ guardian, teachers/schools and other larger services to prevent cyberbullying and help the students
Image Citation
- Header: https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/cyber-bullying-harassment-teen-girl-crying-pc_7588818.htm#page=1&query=cyberbullying&position=27
- https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/cyber-bullying-illustration-style_8918589.htm#page=1&query=cyberbullying&position=0
- https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/mother-of-megan-meier-warns-words-hurt-to-the-core/article_37dff978-aa5c-11e1-8307-0019bb30f31a.html
