|
Press "Play" to listen to article
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
By Nadia Nimako
In a world where social media bridges the gap between connection and chaos, follow the cautionary tales of our youth. As psychologists, educators, and a young generation share their insights, gain a nuanced understanding of the influence social media wields on adolescent attitudes, behaviours’, and well-being.
According to World Health Organisation, adolescence is the cycle of life between 10 and 19 years. This is the stage when we attempt to find our real self, shaping personal values, and identifying our vocational and social direction. Psychologists say it is a crucial period for youth in preparation for the values of adulthood.
In a world where everything – ranging from food, technology, learning – is moving at a supersonic pace, social media seems to be conveniently enabling them to feel closer to the world.
Many psychologists agree that social media has a significant influence, especially on today’s teenagers. They say it can shape attitudes, behaviours, and perceptions in several ways.
To understand how teenagers are responding to this relatively new phenomenon of social media, the case of a young girl’s experience as shared by Pulse.com.gh in September 2020 may shed some light.
The story was about the experiences of 14-year-old Ama Mansah (not her real name) on various social media platforms over a period of three years. Both parents (mother, a banker and a student, and dad, a sales executive with a highly rated company in Accra) were always occupied with work and returned home late from work daily. In other words, they hardly spent any time together as a family.
At 11, Ama’s dad bought her a laptop and a smartphone, and also made unlimited WiFi available to help with assignments and to aid their communication.
However, out of curiosity, she became exposed to the dark side of the world via social media, principally Facebook and Instagram.
“Time spent on these apps mostly fills in the lonely gap of my parents’ absence within the week,” she told the online portal.
Like Ama, a number of teenagers, consume content on social media to fill a void in their lives, exposing them to a myriad of options – a few positive, and mostly negative.
With Ama’s condition she went as far as exploiting inappropriate materials online such as adult erotic pages. According to Ama, she became addicted to the point of taking her phone to school against the school’s rules to view those sites.
“At home, I’m unable to learn like before and alot of the time I have to take my homework back to school to get it done, one time I was caught by my Science teacher and punished but that didn’t stop me from that habit”.
In sub-Saharan Africa, overall internet penetration has grown over 2500 per cent the last decade. In South Africa in a study of 934 adolescents aged 13-17 in urban areas, 52 percent reported accessing the internet at home. In Ghana, 14 per cent of children indicated they had used the internet for pornography.
As the use of internet grows, so does the danger. Many youth have been a victim of indifference. Around 50,000 people in the UK downloaded or shared online images of child sexual abuse in 2012, in Japan 99 per cent of children aged 10-14 and 90 per cent aged 15-to 19 in 2006 and in 2009 Russia nearly all school children aged 14 to 17 from regions had access to the internet and over 59 per cent spend several hours on the internet.
Social media has its positive side. Youth can access a vast amount of information, news, and educational content through social media, which can be both beneficial and overwhelming.
Ama, 14, shared that even though she encountered some challenges using social media, it also helped her to participate in some online tutorials and that helped her understand further some topics that she had little understanding in.
Social media platforms provide a means for young people to connect with friends, family, and peers, fostering communication and social bonds, and platforms like Instagram and TikTok allow for creative self-expression, enabling young individuals to showcase their talents and interests.
But there are too many negatives that unsupervised exposure to this new technology can expose impressionable young minds to. Issues like anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem due to comparisons and cyberbullying stems up from excessive exposure to social media.
In the case of Abena, a friend of Ama’s, she was defrauded online, when she paid for an order that was never delivered. When we scanned the site, the comment section proved it was a scam
Content Writer Wilson Zilevu cautions:
“Be careful of the content of messages you share about yourself or others, especially personal details.”
Teenagers must be educated about online safety to avoid being vulnerable to privacy breaches and cyber threats.
“Don’t assume everyone you meet online is who they appear to be. Anyone can create a user profile pretending be anyone else therefore teenagers should be extremely guided while on social media,” advised Alex Sackey, IT lecturer at Bright Future Academy.
Psychologists also say excessive use of social media can lead to addiction which affects productivity and well-being.
Social media may have some positive benefits for teenage users, but it’s important for them to use these platforms responsibly and for parents, educators, and society to provide guidance and support.
Abena further shared that along the line her parent had to take her to therapy.
“I am the only child of my parents, so when they realised I had become too glued to my phone – and on several occasions unleashed some strange behaviours – as well us finding sex toys in my room, they quickly spoke to me…They booked a therapy session for me for three months, which has helped ease the pressure of being on social media.”