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Social media leading youth on downhill spiral

I feel society is in a downward spiral, and if someone does not address this topic, the world will remain oblivious, and it could cause more chaos.

I have high hopes to change minds and actions of a few people and, hopefully, create a domino effect.

One of the main causes is social media.

I am a 14-year-old girl, and it’s contradicting and hypocritical of me to pessimistically address social media this way because I spend at least 10 hours a day on it.

However, I am not as oblivious as most kids my age. I see the trouble in using social media, and now I spend less than 10 hours on social media in a week.

I have disconnected from peers, family and the world.

I communicate with the same people, just without technology. I feel as though everyone should take this step.

Social media has suffocated morals. Teens have lost all thought of right or wrong. Teens are our next generation, and a generation without morals is terrifying.

Teens who use social media are growing up with an alarming increase rate of low self-esteem and anxiety. This could lead to depression, psychopathy and suicide.

Posting a picture on Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter allow positive and praising comments, but it also allows negative and hurtful comments. Getting those worshiping comments feel great, but one negative comment could completely outweigh 50 nice and praising comments.

This could ultimately destroy a teen’s self-esteem. Teenagers and kids are not mentally prepared to be put down this young. They aren’t ready to worry about others’ negative thoughts and opinions about them.

Music is one of the best ways to clear your mind and block out the outside world.

However, it’s no longer the good thing it used to be. Popular music has influenced kids to do outrageous things. Studies show that an average teen spends 2.5 hours listening to music every day.

One in three popular songs contains explicit references to drug or alcohol use, according to a new study in The Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

There was once an incident where a 13-year-old murdered four people and stated that “the song told him to.”

Subliminal messages have the ability to completely take over an individual’s mind. All of these can impact teens to shut down and rewire to a more evil and less humane mindset.

Scary, isn’t it?

I don’t have expectations to change the world with this article, but as I stated in the introduction, I intend to change a few people and create some sort of domino effect.

Just remember, kids: We are the next generation, so why not make it a remarkable one?

Mychenze Alberts

Altoona

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