THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF FACEBOOK ON TEENAGERS Essay Example

THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF FACEBOOK ON TEENAGERS Essay THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF FACEBOOK ON TEENAGERS Advances in technology enhance our lives in healthy, positive ways. These days, shopping, education, communication and entertainment are only a few clicks away. Social networking, especially Facebook- the most popular social network site currently, enriches our lives by helping us to connect and share with colleagues, clients, family and friends in ways that wouldnt otherwise be possible. Spending too much time on this site, however, can have negative impacts, especially in the lives of eens. Everyone from the young to the old is using Facebook as an efficient way of communicating and finding old friends. Apart from Facebook being a new and interesting way to interact with friends and family, there is a lot more things to do while logging on to the site. Users could play games, use other fun applications such as horoscopes, love tallies and typing challenges, find new friends and hunt crushes. For all its ease and intent of providing a means of keeping people connected, ntertaining user, Facebook could not have imaged that its conception would emerge one of the biggest worldwide phenomenons that has ever seen. There is a lot to be said in support of this, but there are some sad truths involved too. According to the American Psychological Association, too much Facebook time can negatively impact teens mental health. Excessive use of Facebook has been associated with greater narcissism in teens, as well as other psychological disorders such as mania. We will write a custom essay sample on THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF FACEBOOK ON TEENAGERS specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF FACEBOOK ON TEENAGERS specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF FACEBOOK ON TEENAGERS specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In addition, too much time spent on Facebook can cause anxiety and depression in eens. Excessive Facebook time can also increase a teens likelihood of experiencing cyberbullying, which can lead to depression, anxiety and even suicide. There is also a very high chance that excessive use of Facebook leads to the users becoming obese as they would be sitting most of the time in front of the computer, eating snacks and without any physical activities. Poor academic performance is another problem associated with too much Facebook time, according to the American Psychological Association. A recent study referenced by the association showed that students in all grade levels who checked their Facebook accounts at least once during a 15-minute study period exhibited lower academic grades than those who did not check their Facebook accounts over the same period of time. Researchers believe this is due to distractions caused by constant Facebook use. Obviously, Facebook has become the biggest distraction for students when trying to get homework done. Paul Kirschner, author and professor at the Center for Learning Sciences and Technologies at the Open University of the Netherlands said that The problem is that most people have Facebook or other social networking sites, their e-mails and maybe instant messaging constantly running in the background while they are carrying other tasks. Overall teenage behavior is also negatively impacted by too much time spent on Facebook. According to Larry D. Rosen, Ph. D. , Professor of Psychology at California State University, too much Facebook time is associated with antisocial and aggressive behavior in teens. In addition, teens who overuse Facebook on a daily basis are more likely to engage in risky behaviors such as smoking, drug use, drinking and promiscuity. Too much Facebook time has also been correlated with poor spending habits among teens, who are often unaware of how they are targeted by advertisers while on Facebook. Facebook is a double-S blate, a smartly-used person would certainly know how to make the most of Facebooks convenience. Whether being addicted to Facebook or not depends mostly on the ability to restrict the amount of time using it