About 68 percent of American teenagers own a smartphone, according to a survey conducted by the Nielsen Company. An even bigger percentage of these young individuals have a profile on a social network site.
In today’s world where we have such easy access to sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Vine and Tumblr how could you resist signing up for one? There are so many opportunities to become a social butterfly and make new friends, but does our generation know how much social networking is enough?
When asking individuals ages of 15 to 19 what their favorite past time is or what they do to entertain themselves, I’m pretty sure most of them would likely reply with something along the lines of, “Just chilling on my phone, probably on Instagram or Twitter.”
Although being connected through social media keeps us in good spirits, too much of it can serve as a potential threat to our everyday lives.
One widely recognized issue is the distraction social networking can be when it comes to education. I mean, if biology class is a total drag you are going to want to find something to entertain yourself with for the time being, right?
While I agree that a boring class is not the best thing in the world, the information being taught is much more important than what’s being posted on your Instagram or Twitter feed.
According to a post on NBC News’ website regarding research on the connection between the average American teen’s attention span with common distractions such as cell phones, text messaging and social networks, and how it affects grades, approximately 47 percent of American high school or college students have either failed one or more classes due to distractions, furthering my point that too much online social activity can be a harmful distraction.
Social network overuse can not only affect your academic life, but also your personal life as well.
From my own experience, just about anyone getting too comfortable on social networks can definitely serve as a threat to his or her personal well-being. I’ve witnessed many arguments and disagreements on social media leading to physical altercations between classmates.
With so many different mindsets and opinions floating around, it is almost impossible to post something without at least one person disagreeing or even being personally offended over something said on social media.
Honestly, how distracting is an online feud that could lead to possible altercations with another person or even a group of people? Nevertheless, my message to fellow students is not to belittle social networking, but to simply inform others that it’s not that serious. Live your life, but not based on a Facebook or Instagram page. Don’t get distracted from what is important.
After all, if you don’t care about your well-being and how you’ll progress through life, who will?
