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Michelle Alvarez
Professor Jackie
English 113A
14 November 2015

The Negative Impact of Social Media

Im on a diet, I dont want to be fat anymore. This is what my 10 year old sister said
after spending hours and days on the internet comparing herself to the people in the images of
her Instagram page. There is no reason for a child so young to be self-conscious about his or her
looks. Kids and teens these days are so caught up into social media and desire to look just like
the people in the pictures that they see on social media. Negative impacts coming from the
internet include the Kylie Jenner Challenge, cyberbullying, and influence from celebrities or
peers. All these things are affecting childrens health and behavior. Although, social media is a
great way to connect people, it can be a harmful to the youth because it makes them believe that
they must look a certain way to feel accepted and happy.
The Kylie Jenner Challenge was hash tagged over 65,000 times on Instagram and some
teenagers were harmed when actually doing this challenge. Kylie Jenner is the ideal role model
that young children and teenagers look up to frequently. After getting her lips done, all the girls
that looked up to her began the Kylie Jenner Challenge, in order to look just like her. This
challenge is done by placing a shot glass over the lips and sucking for a long period of time until
your lips are as big as Jenners. Although it gave the results that the teens wanted for a short
amount of time, it caused serious injuries to others that lasted a lifetime. Many people tweeted
that it didn't work but did leave their mouths disfigured. (10 News Staff, "Teens Injured by

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'Kylie Jenner Challenge'" ). This proves that teenagers and young children are not in the
condition to have social media in their hands. They are at the age where their brains are not fully
developed to make the right decisions. They see pictures of Victoria Secret Models, Selena
Gomez, and many other ideals that they look up to 24/7 and then get the desire to be just like
them and have lives just like them. The reason behind this is because the youth want to be just as
happy as the person in the picture. They see that these celebrities have everything they want and
are accepted by society, so they think that if they are just like them that they can also be this way.
Once the teen or child sees that they are not able to meet with the image that they see, they start
to do harmful acts. The harmful acts include: starting an eating disorder, cutting, having suicidal
thoughts, and many other problems. The ones who are mostly affected by social media these
days are those who are going through puberty.
During the ages of puberty, one becomes very sensitive and more conscious about how
one self looks. It is the period when menstrual cycle begins, and females start forming hormone
estrogen. (Peri, "Puberty: Your Changing Body") This makes the young females more self-aware
about the way that they look, and how others think about them. They do anything to get peoples
attention and to have a look that is accepted into society. They will begin to starve themselves, or
do what the media tells them to do. The Kylie Jenner Challenge is an example of this. Its things
that can be harmful even though they dont think it is. It is impossible for young teens to be
secure with themselves when the media is constantly throwing ideas of role models and what
people should do to have a better appearance. 40% of 9-10 year olds in a study showed that they
were trying to lose weight (Peri, "Puberty: Your Changing Body"). Children are beginning to be
more aware about their looks at a very young age which can create more problems than there
was before the internet existed. It is causing young children to grow up faster because they are

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getting into the mentality of trying to look good for others and doing anything to fit in with the
crowd. Although images of celebrities and peers are affecting the way that children and teens
think of themselves, there are other aspects to why they are suffering from low self-esteem.
Another bad impact that the internet is having on the children and teens is cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying is another form of bullying which is taken place online on social media sites. This
can hurt the self-esteem of young girls and boys, making them feel worthless and unaccepted to
the world. Leary and Downs from a study state that self-esteem is an internal representation of
social acceptance and rejection. Sameer and Justin from another similar study got some
information on bullies and victims who have been involved or have suffered from cyberbullying.
The research concluded that around 30% of the kids in the middle school were victims of one of
nine forms of cyberbullying. 20% of the students admitted to being a part of cyberbullying in the
past thirty days. Those who were victimized by the bullies online were said to have lower selfesteem than those who were never bullied. Those who have lower self-esteems can actually
become cyberbullies themselves in order to feel powerful about themselves. Cyberbullying is
something that happens every day online and must be stopped. It is not something that people
should look at and then conclude that nothing can be done. It is a serious manner in which must
be taken into consideration and take action upon. Schools should give lectures about what to do
once one has experienced any form of cyberbullying. Parents should sit down and explain the
consequences of cyberbullying and what it does to others. Cyberbullying can not only cause low
self-esteem, but can lead to depression, feeling alone, feeling of not being accepted, loss in
interest in school and activities, a change in sleeping and eating patterns, use in alcohol and
drugs, and suicidal thoughts. This is why we must bring an end to this serious manner.

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The new generation is so caught up with social media that it is becoming disastrous.
Children as young as 9 years old are deciding to go on diets in order to lose weight and it is
giving children and teens easier access to bullying which is causing other problems such as:
eating disorders, suicidal thoughts, feeling of loneliness, feeling of not being accepted, change in
sleeping and eating patterns, or use in alcohol and drugs. This can affect the childrens school
attendance and effort put into school or other activities. There are many things that can be done
by parents and others who work with children. Parents can limit the amount of time that their
child is on social media and teach them that the people in the images they see are not how they
seem to look. The celebrity in the picture has been smothered with makeup and edited on
Photoshop. Parents can also teach their children the importance of a well-balanced diet and
exercising. To prevent cyberbullying, parents should also sit down with their children and talk
about how serious bullying is and how it can hurt others. Elementary, middle, and high schools
should lecture their students about cyberbullying and how they can prevent it or report it. Instead
of letting children doing the wrong things on the internet, people should teach the positive ways
that internet can be used. There are many things that can be done to turn things around, and must
be done. Children should be able to enjoy their childhood in a peaceful manner without the idea
of judgement and cruelty in their heads. It is too early of an age to be worrying about what others
think of them. Lets begin being good teachers and show the new generation the importance of
accepting each other despite judgement.

Works Cited

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Peri, Camille. "Puberty: Your Changing Body." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
"Let's Talk Teens, Sexuality and Media." Let's Talk Teens, Sexuality and Media. N.p., n.d. Web.
15 Nov. 2015.
Hinduja, Patchin, Sameer, Justin. "Appendix: Cyberbullying Research." What Counselors Need
to Know Cyberbullying (2015): 157-71. Cyberbullying and Self-esteem. Journal of School and
Health, 2010. Web. 14 Nov. 2015.