“The more social media we have, the more we think we are connecting, yet we are really disconnecting from each other.” JR, an anonymous author, demonstrates in the first part of this quote how most people think of connections with others when they think of social media. Social media is often thought of as something that is keeping everyone together. It allows everyone to communicate with anyone else worldwide, but many parents have begun to wonder if social media is all it is made out to be. In my opinion, teens should not have access to social media. Being involved in an internet community can negatively affect anyone, not just teens, but social media companies make their platforms with the intent to easily influence people including teens. There are countless reasons that social media can be harmful including the following: changing behavior, lack of self-confidence, ruining friendships, invasion of privacy, and hurting their future career.

First, changing behavior. American Behavioral Clinics, in an article published on their website, titled “The Effects of Social Media on Teens Mental Health,” published on March 27, 2023, amplifies the fact that the negative pressure that teens have to post and like others' posts can cause a buildup of anger and make them feel overwhelmed and pressured. This desire to post can also cause anxiety and depression. In an article from Harvard Graduate School of Education titled “Social Media and Teen Anxiety,” published on December 17, 2017, a graduate student, Leah Shafer details how social media and mental health are directly linked. She explains how many pressures come from the internet that leave teens anxious and in some of the worst cases having suicidal thoughts. She describes how “social media makes it harder for teens to feel happy when they are constantly in the public eye and comparing themselves to others.” All of these behavioral changes from a mental health aspect are hard for teens. These changes can contribute to a loss of self-confidence.

Second, low self-confidence. Social media and all the pressures involved, such as the pressure to post and change themselves according to what they see on social media apps, can also significantly lower self-esteem. Teens constantly compare themselves to each other. Body image issues lead to low self-confidence and can be hard on people in many ways. Teenagers see TikTokers or Instagram posts of people who  look “good.” They start comparing themselves to those people and trying to look like them. They are also very impacted by influencers on social media platforms that they enjoy watching and start feeling like they need to be the same as them. Furthermore, most are pressured to post because they feel that if they don’t, people will stop liking them. Social media largely impacts self-confidence and can also cause friendships to weaken.

Third, friendships. Social media impacts friendships and other relationships in many ways. For example, being a part of this online community can make people feel distant. They can get so caught up in what is happening online and try to be like someone else that they seem far away. Teens can also experience FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). In an article published on their website titled “Social Media is Killing Your Friendships,” Healthline describes how “FOMO may cause you to “live” relationships on social media”. This can cause them to be so caught up in relationships online that they no longer have time for their family and in-person friends because they would rather be on screens. In 2022, in an article published on their website, the Pew Research Center found that “36% of teens feel like they spend too much time on social media every day.” This is time that could be spent with their family and friends  Finally, teens may feel like they don’t have any friends in person and may turn solely to online friends. Online friendships are good sometimes but can also be very dangerous. People who seem nice may only be trying to be friends online because they want to get information about that person. Social media impacts friendships, but privacy is something that can be also majorly influenced.

Fourth, privacy issues. Social media can endanger teens' privacy in many ways. One way is that everyone in the world can see every post that anyone makes. For example, that means that a post made in the US could be seen and shared with people across the world. Anything can be posted and no post can ever deleted fully. This can especially go into effect when teens get peer pressured into posting something, and it backfires. What goes online stays online. They can never prevent others from seeing their post which can be very harmful to them throughout life. Another reason is that posts are never fully deleted. The posts that are made on social media, when deleted go into one huge file. The companies that teens post on, comment on, and many more save everything on their sites. This invasion of privacy can also play a role in hurting a teen's future career.

Fifth, future careers could be impacted.  Teens often make posts on social media without thinking about the impact in the future. According to The Manifest, a Business Service Provider platform, in an article written by Kelsey Mceon in April 2020, quotes that “98% of employers look at social media to look at potential new hires.” This includes posts, websites, and even comments. Potential employers may find comments and posts from their teen years that they find inappropriate or offensive. These posts may ruin the probability of getting hired. These posts can also be a first impression for the employer. When going to an interview with an employer that has looked at the interviewee's social media. Surprisingly, they may even share them with other possible employers that they know. Future careers are another thing that is impacted by social media, and there are many more reasons that the internet community can negatively affect teenagers.

Lastly, social media can negatively impact teens in many ways including changing behavior, self-confidence problems, ruining friendships, invasion of privacy, and hurting future careers. There are many reasons why teens should not have access to social media. The quote from JR demonstrates that while we think that these internet sites for posting and sharing may be good for us and may connect us more, it is just driving us apart. In my opinion, teens should not have access to social media. While social media may feel like the only thing that is keeping the world together, it has many bad side effects. Let's try to have less of a connection on our devices and more real-life relationships because real relationships are way better than any relationship online.