In the early 2000s, social media made its claim to fame with sites such as MySpace and Facebook hitting over 1 million active users, according to ourworldindata.org. Since then, the social scene has changed drastically, with about 4.8 billion current social media users worldwide, according to the University of Maine.
In a survey of 86 CESJDS high school students by The Lions Tale, roughly 87% reported being on social media platforms, showing its prominence among teens today. Platforms like TikTok and Instagram have become the place for students to connect and build relationships in the digital age.
With these social platforms now playing a significant role in the lives of younger generations, there is uncertainty about their true impact. These apps present both opportunities and challenges, so there are many benefits and disadvantages to consider when evaluating social media usage.
Benefits of social media
With the rise of social media, the nature of online communication has shifted. Today’s social media platforms, unlike earlier forms of digital communication, allow users to connect with a larger network of people. This changes the way relationships are formed and maintained on social media.
As social media has grown in popularity, it’s often used to reinforce long-distance relationships. Rather than having to share contact information to get in touch online, users can now connect with people all over the world with a simple search of their name.
“I think the fact that you [students] have it in your hands is huge,” High School Assistant Principal Aileen Goldstein said. “That also allows you to maintain relationships that in previous times would have been much harder to maintain.”
Consequently, teens also use social media to form new connections with others. According to the Pew Research Center, 64% of teens who have met at a new friend online report meeting at least one of them through social media.
Through features that connect users with mutual friends, social media has made forming new friendships simple. Having the reassurance that the person added has a mutual friend gives users peace of mind when building relationships online, even if two people have never met.
“Being able to use social media to make friends has become so simple because of things like mutual friends,” junior Liem Elgrably said. “I really like being able to meet new people using features that help connect me with others that I wouldn’t have been able to without it.”
Mutual friends are not the only way to connect with new people on social media, though; the internet is a place where communities are formed too. People with shared interests can come together in group boards, chats and apps to discuss their similarities and support one another.
Particularly for minority groups who find it difficult to meet people they relate to in their day-to-day lives, social media acts as a place for them to meet people with whom they have shared experiences and values. High school Jewish Text Department Chair and psychology teacher Grace McMillan sees this is an advantage of social media usage.
“I think there are a lot of benefits to social media in positive relationship-building ways and in positive ways, especially for kids who feel isolated in the environment that they’re in,” McMillan said. “So for LGBTQ+ kids who feel like no one around them understands them and no one around them understands their experience, finding communities online that are supportive and understanding, I think, is incredibly important and very valuable.”
Some people don’t use social media as a way to connect with others, though. It can also act as a form of entertainment and education, as users can learn more about topics they otherwise may not have or find things that spark their interest.
Social media also acts as an outlet for expression and creativity; with the wide variety of users globally, there exists endless opportunities on these platforms, making it appealing to various communities.
“I’ve definitely learned a lot through social media, just things that I use in my daily life, little facts here and there,” freshman Eden Kotok said. “I have learned that there are people out there who have the same niche thoughts about weird things that I do. And I’ve been introduced to music and poetry and things like that from social media, and I think it is a very good tool.”
Harms of social media
Humans are wired to connect with one another. According to Stanford Medicine, when people make these connections the brain releases dopamine stimulating people to reinforce these behaviors. Social media apps, where people are frequently making connections with others artificially boost dopamine release, making interactions feel more rewarding. This can ultimately lead to compulsive use.
The Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms in these apps are designed to show people content based on their preferences and the material they have engaged with in the past. In doing so, they keep the users engaged and trigger more dopamine release. When people stop using social media, the brain experiences a drop in dopamine, making the user feel worse and inclined to go back to the app to trigger the dopamine release again.
“Technology is addictive. Texts are addictive,” McMillian said. “[You wonder] ‘Who’s texting me?’ ‘What message is popping up?’ It is literally banging in your head and reshaping your neural networks to both be expecting and hyper-reacting to every little signal that comes at you.”
These apps employ manipulative features, such as daily message streaks and constant notifications, to keep users engaged, ultimately becoming a major distraction. According to a book called “The Distraction Addiction” by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, Americans spend an average of one hour each day dealing with distractions, many of which stem from social media.
Between the ages of 10-19, the brain is going through a developmentally critical and sensitive
phase. Changes in the brain can be caused by regular social media use, impacting emotional regulation, according to Yale Medicine.
Teenagers’ perceptions of themselves are also developing during this time. Social media often presents a curated version of people’s lives, with people only posting the seemingly perfect moments. This can lead to lower self esteem, as people compare themselves to idealized images they see online. According to Kotok, many teenagers fall into this trap during this period of development.
“When we see someone who has the body that we want or the lifestyle that we want, because we’re jealous of that, we just want to know more about it, and we want to keep looking for it and keep searching for it,” Kotok said.
This desire to have these idealized yet unrealistic bodies can lead to disordered eating in all genders. According to News Medical Life Sciences, girls with Snapchat and Tumblr accounts and boys with Snapchat, Facebook and Instagram have been found to be particularly prone to developing excessive concern over body weight and shape.
On the emotional side, this comparison can lead to depression, social anxiety, feeling self-conscious and fearing judgment in real-life social situations, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
“I think for a lot of people, social media just creates such profound anxiety: ‘What are people thinking about me?’ ‘What am I projecting?’ ‘What are people saying?’” McMillan said.
Loss of social skills
As social media has grown in prominence, younger generations are dealing with the downstream effects of being raised in the digital age. With the establishment of the iPhone in 2007, Gen Z is the first generation to grow up with technology ingrained in their lives from birth. According to New York Behavioral Health, the increased time online has led to a decrease in social skills.
The New York Behavioral Health, writes that when developing social skills, children must learn from cues such as pointing and gesturing to have positive social interactions and to learn about the world around them. Reading facial emotions also ensures that children understand the social nuances imperative to succeed with in-person relations.
Through social media, there is no way to signal proper gestures and facial expressions seen in person because connection is largely done through chatting online.
“If you’re removed because you’re not in the same room, or you’re looking at a screen, or you don’t get to see their reaction, then you lose that feedback loop of learning how your actions have affected someone emotionally, which, in turn, affects you emotionally,” Sara Dauber, parent of senior Boaz Dauber and sophomore Jordana Dauber said. “Humans seem to be wired to react to each other. The way we react to the other person’s emotions is part of how psychologically healthy humans interact with each other.”
Social media use also has an impact on attention span. According to the Center for Humane Technology, constant content updates and frequent interruptions diminish adolescents’ ability to focus, leading teens to become accustomed to quick snippets and brief videos. A recent survey showed that the optimal length for a TikTok video is 21 to 34 seconds, with users finding videos longer than 34 seconds to be overwhelming, according to The Center for Humane Technology.
According to The Social Skills Center, a shorter attention span due to social media has minimized peoples’ ability to perform tasks that don’t give instant gratification, such as reading, completing school assignments or interacting with peers.
Senior Gus Bookbinder decided to replace his iPhone his junior year, instead buying a flip phone to prevent misuse of social media. Bookbinder says that he has seen many positive benefits since making this change.
“I think my attention span went way up, and I have a lot more time because I was definitely spending a lot of hours just scrolling. And I think a lot of my friends are too,” Bookbinder said. “I know people with screen times that go into seven, eight more hours a day, and that’s a lot of time you could be using for a lot of other things.”
Social skills are critically important for society, as building relationships are centered around communication, according to freshmen and sophomore counselor Marnie Lang. The ability to read other people’s social cues and convey messages to a certain audience is a necessary skill to learn at a young age.
“Social skills aren’t necessarily the same as what they used to be, or could be, because there has been so much back and forth with email, texting, whatever it is, that there isn’t the same knowledge of how to, read facial expressions and read body language,” Lang said.
The change in these skills, as emphasized by Lang, reflects the harm of social media on children and shows the ramifications the digital age has had on the youth.
“When people are on their phones while trying to make connections, it just shows depression and how confused our generation is that you’re on your phone to create relationships, but here you are surrounded by your friends and you can talk and socialize,” junior Hadriel Dayanim said.
Ways to improve contact
Despite teens’ complicated relationship with social media, it is not going away anytime soon. In order to create a more healthy digital environment, certain measures can be taken.
Beyond deleting social media, the National Public Radio (NPR) suggests that taking breaks from social media is healthy and a way to enhance one’s relationship with it. For some in the JDS community, this time could be Shabbat, a day when people who are observant take a break from technology and spend time with their friends and family.
“One thing that’s really helpful [to me] is keeping Shabbat, because I started doing that before I got rid of my smartphone,” Bookbinder said. “Having this dedicated time where not only can you not use your phone, but also, if you go to shul you go and spend time with friends on Shabbat, not only are you not using your phone, but no one’s using their phone, you can really experience what it’s like to have relationships and conversations where no one is sort of half there and half somewhere else.”
With so many people on social media, it can be difficult for students to detach themselves from these platforms. So rather than attempting to convince students to delete these forms of communication entirely, Dauber and Lang believe that there are ways to encourage beneficial use of them.
Dauber believes that the use of technology in moderation is a good practice and in her own household places boundaries and restrictions on phone and social media usage, by getting her children their first phone after eighth grade. She also believes that it is important to have open conversations with teenagers about the impacts of technology and be flexible so as not to make teenagers believe they are being punished for technological overuse.
According to Lang, monitoring one’s usage of social media can ensure that users are reaping the benefits of these apps while avoiding misuse of them.
“I think really keeping an eye and being focused on who you’re following and why you’re following them and I think if they ever move to a place where you don’t agree with what they’re saying, and you see the harmfulness of what they’re saying or how they’re saying it, remove them,” Lang said. “Do whatever you need to do so that you’re protecting your own mental health.”
