Risks Of Misuse Of Social Networks Among Adolescents
Adolescence is a moment of development characterized by the construction of a sense of self-identity, and adolescents of the 21st century configure their identity through and for the Internet. It is expected that young people will want, during this period, to find their place in the world in relation to their peers, with increasing autonomy from their parents. This means being part of social groups with specific interests, determining their own values, standing up for their ideas, and discovering themselves in this stage of profound changes.
With the advent of mass Internet access, the vast majority of adolescents have access to a mobile phone from an early age It is logical that, therefore, social networks and virtual reality are their favorite ways to configure their identity. This can be seen in the creation of profiles, of avatars that emulate their real appearance—or differ from it—as well as in the adoption of different aliases to call themselves whatever they wish on the digital level, in which they meet with other adolescents. . This does not have to be seen as a negative thing. Just as times change, so does the way we communicate with others and the way we understand ourselves.
Risks of inappropriate use of social networks in adolescence
The recurrent use of new technologies, which are the order of the day in the digital age, provide adults, adolescents and children with facilities that in other moments in history not too distant would have been unthinkable. For example, with just a couple of buttons or clicks we can find information that a few decades ago would have required us to delve into a labyrinthine library, or we can exchange messages instantly with any friend, even if they are in the other corner of the world.
Despite this, the internet and the use of social networks has, in adolescents, an undeniable counterpart. Social networks in adolescents are a key tool for the development of their generational identity; but, simultaneously, carries a series of risks that are beyond adult control Adolescents become digitally emancipated at an early age, before the age of ten, and develop much greater skill than adults when it comes to using technology.
Parents cannot rest assured that their children are safe in the digital world. In this context, it is expected that many of them are concerned about the misuse that their children could give to social networks and other forms of communication. Next, we will delve into the main risks of problematic use of social networks in adolescents.
1. Cyberbullying
Harassment and violence have always been present among young people. However, the ways in which these practices materialize has changed with the massive access that adolescents have to social networks. Bullying is a problem that many teenagers unfortunately have to face, generating serious future consequences such as increased feelings of loneliness, greater anxiety and depression, alterations in appetite, sleep, etc. When a person is attacked by their peers, in general, they are being attacked for a quality or characteristic of theirs—whether physical, cognitive, socio-emotional or behavioral—leading the adolescent to develop maladaptive feelings and beliefs about himself/herself. .
Bullying has shifted towards the digital world, which, as we introduced previously, is a much freer and unrestricted plane than the real world. On social networks there is no teacher, professor or parent capable of putting a stop to the inappropriate behavior of adolescents. The rules are determined among the peers themselves and, on many occasions, they are not able to put a stop to it when harm is being done to others. The misuse of social networks leads many adolescents to disseminate information and images of other young people and authority figures without their consent. The risk of doing so is that, on several occasions, the content shared on social networks may be false, degrading to the other person, refer to an event that they would prefer to have kept private, or even have sexual content, which could have legal consequences. and seriously reducing the victim’s self-esteem.
Another of the most notable risks of misuse of social networks is dependence on the smartphone. Social networks detect through algorithms which content we are most interested in to teach us more and more about it. This ultimately aims to increase our chances of consuming a product and staying in front of the screen. Besides, many platforms are full of ephemeral videos, no more than fifteen seconds, that keep us going scrolling more time than we would like
Adolescents run the risk of failing to fulfill their obligations – increasingly greater, in contrast to childhood – by spending too much time on their mobile phones. For example, despite having the intention of finishing their homework, they might put off completing the task by spending hours watching videos. But dependency is not risky simply because of the fulfillment of tasks, but rather because they lose the possibility of deciding how to invest their time. Perhaps they would prefer to be doing other activities that could be much more cognitively, emotionally or creatively stimulating, such as playing a sport or hobby. There is no problem with teenagers “killing time” in front of their smartphones (just like them, adults do it too), but it is problematic that they do not have the ability to decide how long they want to stay on the screen.
Furthermore, it should be noted that Adolescents have not yet developed their prefrontal lobe definitively, which means that they are not yet able to exercise their executive functions in the same way as an adult would Some of the executive functions are the possibility of planning and making decisions in the long term, or the ability to have good inhibitory control. Compared to an adult, a teenager is less skilled at deciding when he wants to put down the phone or not, which means that the dependence on social networks could be even greater.
Hand in hand with dependence on mobile devices, social isolation is a risk that adolescents run when misusing social networks. On the one hand, it is paradoxical that, despite the hyperconnection that characterizes our time, all the research carried out on this topic systematically shows that Social isolation in adolescents is increasing as their time spent on the internet increases Although social networks help an adolescent display their identity as an individual and in relation to a group, their excessive use or as a replacement for face-to-face ties can lead to social isolation.
4. Grooming
Harassment for sexual purposes by an adult of a minor over the Internet is known as grooming Social networks make it possible to create false profiles through which you can subtly approach a teenager or child without them knowing that there is an adult on the other side of the screen. A possible preventive measure is to encourage the adolescent to make responsible use of her social networks. For example, you could reduce the number of people she associates with online, sticking to adding only those people whose true identity she knows to her friends or followers.
Strategies to deal with the problem
These are the most effective measures to combat the misuse of social networks in adolescents:
