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Sidney Brockenborough

Professor Campbell

UWRT 1103-H04

26 September 2019

Introduction

Throughout recent years, the development of social media usage has increased tremendously

among children and teenagers. With the rise of media and technology being immediately

accessible to young people, researchers wonder how minors are influenced through technological

experiences through social media. In 2009, Harold S. Koplewicz started the Child Mind Institute

to study the lives of children regarding mental health and learning disorders. Since its

establishment, researchers have monitored the behaviors and interactions of young people,

including school, trauma, mindfulness, and anxiety. As I looked through the Child Mind

Institute’s blogs concerning media and technology, I learned that a 2017 study conducted by

researchers at the Association for Psychological Science (APS) reveals that more than half of one

million children in grades eight through twelve have increased in the number of students

demonstrating higher levels of depressive symptoms increased by 33 percent from 2010 to 2015.

Child Mind Institute researcher Jean Twenge made a parallel with the APS study and a study

conducted by the Pew Research Center that found 92 percent of teens and adults owned
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smartphones by 2015. The Child Mind Institute found that the positive correlation between the

rise of smartphone accessibility and depressive symptoms in teenagers is not a coincidence. To

add to the initial positive correlation, the Center for Collegiate Mental Health’s 2015 Annual

Report through Penn State University found that the number of college students seeking help

through university counseling particularly for depression and anxiety increased by 30 percent.

The positive correlations for three specific events regarding young people, technology and

media, and mental health have led researchers to wonder how children and teens are being

adversely influenced by the tool of technology, and how parents and educators can go forward in

the regulation and advocacy of the damaging aspects of media on young people.

Initial Inquiry Questions

Knowing that most forms of depression and anxiety stem from insecurities and lack of

self-esteem, it makes me wonder how young individuals can avoid this rise in depression while

battling the challenge of growing up in a generation that is driven by the media and technology

they interact with. Technology has become prevalent in homes, classrooms, and in

communication with people from all over the planet, so how do adults protect children from the

negative impacts of media while still allowing children the benefits of growing up with

accessibility to the world and several of its people? Because technological and media

advancements are prevalent in western societies, children in the United States are at risk of being

affected by the incline of depression linked with social media. I would like to know how deep

exposure to the technology impacts the socialization of children and teens in western cultures,

how researchers determine technological influences on children in an objective manner, the

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extent of children being overly exposed to content found through modern technology and social

media, and the psychological impacts of children who display impersonations through social

media.

Your Interest in this Topic

Being a young college student, seeing the influences of social media on myself and my

peers is astonishing. Because social media is a present variable in the lives of many young

people, the issue of media influence is an idea that I discuss frequently with individuals in my

peer group and children and teens that are younger than I am. As a young person with social

media, I have chosen not to be naive concerning the subconscious ideas that are ingrained into

our culture. Since technology and social media has become easily obtainable for people of all

ages, it is pivotal that western societies have conversations about some of the detrimental aspects

of the media in the minds of children and teens. My objective is to understand why social media

is hurting the esteem of young people and how western societies can regulate the damage being

done to young people across the world. The discussion regarding media in the lives of children

and teens has only progressed since the introduction of smartphones in 2007 and with all of the

technological advancements that are scheduled to be presented into our culture, it is imperative

that a proper understanding of the media is gained by people of all ages. Though I concede that

social media has allowed individuals to connect with one another immediately, I still insist that

social media has increased the amount in constant promotions of comparisons among

individuals.
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Next Steps

Not only is media and technology influencing children and teens of today, but they will

continue to impact the lives of individuals in the years to come. It is important to remember that

children and teens of every generation had opportunities to experience adverse influences

through the media; however, social media and technology increases the opportunities for poor

mental images and makes the lives of other individuals more accessible to all children,

particularly in western civilizations. To understand how the media works against metal

development for children and teens, one must investigate different aspects of social media,

influencers, the constant promotion of comparison, and the modern case of the Imposter

Syndrome. After comprehending some of the influences of poor mental health regarding media

and technology, I want to identify steps that can be taken to not only educate individuals on ways

to utilize technology without causing severe mental damage but also to prepare generations that

will be immersed in a culture of technology and social media. Because the current generation of

teens consist of people born before the smartphone emerged, several children under 13 in

western cultures have had the opportunity to grow up with exposure to consistent forms of

technology in some capacity. For future generations, the trend of prevalence in technology is

likely to be standard for several western societies; therefore, it is essential to prepare future

generations for the uptake in technology and social media.