The effects of technology on humanity

Following the effects of globalization in the twenty-first century

It appears that the effects of technology on humanity are a societal issue that affects populations all over the world. For instance, in addition to her written and published work, Hanna Rosin has a reputation for being a very outspoken person about the negative effects of social media, particularly sexting, on the current generation of teens. Her live HuffPost article is titled “Why Kids Sext.” (Rosin 389). Given the prevalence of Instagram accounts, which allow teenagers to broadcast their nude videos to the world, the issue of technology and youth has gained even more attention. To this effect, Rosin writes, “I hoped to help figure out how parents and communities should respond,” in the Atlantic (Rosin 398).

Self-esteem is the internal being of young people, and by far it defines the moral standing of an individual in the society and beyond. Consequently, the mode of behaving, talking, socializing and other forms of basic interaction are limited to self-esteem. In fact, when it comes to matters sexting or affiliated information sharing between the adults and teenagers, ”Seeing a sext or a naked picture on a kids phone doesn’t give you all the information you need to know,” (Rosin 432). Moreover, Rosin is of the opinion that ”Sexting does not create sexual dynamics, it reveals sexual dynamics. It’s a chance for you to get more information. Sometimes you could find information that is worrisome” (Rosin 412).

Effects of Social Media on Self Esteem

Studies by Vogel et al. (2014) indicate that social media and related communication technologies are the cause of the decrease in personal confidence among teenagers in both the US and the UK (Vogel et al. 213). Barely one in every three students among girls is reported to have high self-esteem, as compared to three among seven boys. Consequently, only 33 percent of teenagers can be stated as confident of themselves and their lifestyle, as opposed to the massive 62 percent who do not confidently recognize what they stand for in the social arena as validity measurable (Vogel et al. 225). Among the many elements that affect the esteem of teenagers include the financial statuses of their respective families, meeting assignment datelines, as well as personal financial capabilities. Moreover, the peer pressure as well creates a new platform of influencing self-esteem, so that those who relate well with friends from better backgrounds financially feel more courageous to face issues in life, an opposed to teenagers that interact and share with their counterparts from the needy families ”53 percent of girls and boys aged 12 and 13 – and a third of girls aged 10 and 11 - said they wanted to lose weight“ (Rosin 456).

A literature review by seasoned researchers, including Gonzales and Hancock (2011) argue based on evidence data that most girls and boys have lost their self-esteem and confidence to exclusively social media related interactions (81). The images and nudity photos and videos quickly exchanged among teenagers on the internet are a significant factor that influences the behavior, character, and emotional stability of the adolescents negatively. Furthermore, the challenge of bullying has been a critical issue in the school setting. Nevertheless, unlike the former decades where technology was not a medium of communication, apparently, the internet plays a central role in fueling bullying (Gonzales and Hancock 82). It would be a typical experience for teenagers to leave the bad experiences of bullying and harassment once they get outside of their school gets, and while home they should experience the war and encouraging embrace of their families. Nevertheless, the access to the internet and hence social media communications has polarized the otherwise would be considered a comforting zone for the adolescents. In fact, bullies persist online, so that the teenagers who were called names like and demoralized, for instance, could still meet the perpetrators online while at home, and hence face the abuses right in the midst of their parents and siblings. Social media and modern technology thus remain to be an essential element of the discussions pertinent to low self-esteem among teenagers. Research by Gonzales and Hancock (2011) indicates that for every five teenagers between the age bracket of 13 and 18 years chatting online, one among them does not know whom they are conversing with, and one individual among eight of them has often found specific messages offending and demoralizing (79). The worst part of the experience, as Steinfield, Ellison, and Lampe (2008) maintains, is that three-thirds of the pupils among the many social media online groups have shared a pornographic literature or nude photos of themselves (438). Such exchange of information happens without an intention by the sender that it would go viral, and the next time a whole class or group of friends learn of the same, then the affected party develops extreme signs of low self-esteem, whose effects would worsen without guidance and counseling services.

How Sexting by Minors Should Be Treated and Why

Rosin defines sexting as the sending through the phone of the videos of photographs which as explicitly sexual, that belong to the sender or somebody else related to or known to the sender (Rosin 389). The trend has become a standard practice among teenagers, considering that parents and guardians are more attracted to the pros of enlightening their children about phone utilization, other than the many destructive cons that come with the offer. Teenagers have been confirmed by researchers as people who never give a second thought to the nature of information or data they share on social media (Rosin 432). Consequently, the aftermath of their actions only hurt them beyond extremes of moral uprightness after they have committed such crimes. Depending on variabilities like age, the content of information, the social bonding of friends in the group, and the nature of upbringing, between 34 and 78 percent of teenagers have experienced and been party to sexting and its extreme effects among their peers and other social groups (Vogel et al. 212). It has been realized out of research data from the Pew Research Center’s Internet, and American Life Project found that 50 percent of teenagers aged 12 to 17 years have sent videos and images of either themselves or their friends to social groups of chatting (Vogel et al. 221). Across a sample of 800 students examined in 2009, it was realized that 25 percent of them had either advertently or unintentionally received and shared pictures of their nudity from and to people they know.

Many localized policies and regulations have been strategized to be remedies to such social concerns of critical concerns (Gonzales and Hancock 79). There is a need to engage other stakeholders, including the guidance and co-counseling professionals, psychologists, as well as religious leaders, to contain the challenge. However, if sexting is left without intervention, it has been reported as one of the disadvantages of social media among teenagers mostly, and adults to limited range, that has attracted homicides, suicides, and many murder cases, both in the rural and urban settings.

Bullying and Trauma among Teens on Social Media

Conventional bullying in schools has had a detrimental effect on children and teenagers alike. However, the more form of bullying on social media has been described as extreme and adversely impacting on teenagers (Gonzales and Hancock 83). Psychologist concurs that cyberbullying is very detrimental, that it can ruin adolescents’ morale, lower their self-esteem and endanger their social stability in adulthood (Rosin 397). In most cases, the youth could often seek a sense of belonging, a platform which has been severely polarized by social media related bullying. Social media and internet consumption among teenagers is a real issue. However, most parents do not recognize the depth of this problem, and the better more and more guardians became responsible the better, otherwise destructive outcomes are escalating. By use of social media and tools like telephones, ill-motivated teenagers have since learned and specialized in the art of threatening, insulting, calling names, emotionally deconstructing others. Indeed, the psychological and emotional outcomes of cyberbullying are more adverse relative to physical harassment (Rosin 500). Fake profiles, threatening emails, shameful images, and intimidating videos are among the many instruments utilized by cyber bullies to achieve their demoralizing effects for their targets.

Annotated

Bibliography

Gonzales, Amy L., and Jeffrey T. Hancock. ”Mirror, Mirror on My Facebook Wall: Effects of Exposure to Facebook Self-Esteem.” Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 14.1–2 (2011): 79–83. Web.

This article explains how social media has affected ethics and eating habits among people as well as self-esteem. Due to the many options for social media engagement, including Instagram, Facebook, Whatsapp, tweeter, snapchat among others, the influences and pressures caused by social media are inevitable. Exercise regimes, eating habits, and balance dieting has become a common trend across social media, as people want to gain weight while others want to lose weight, based on media information and peer pressure. The perfect body shape cliché has left many people anxious and hurting, especially those who have disorders with specific meals.

Rosin, Hanna. ”Why Kids Sext. Atlantic Monthly. 14.4 (2014).

This source discusses effects of technology on sexuality across different generations. Apparently, it is scientifically proven that technology has significantly changed the manner in which people relate, and how they handle and address their respective sexuality issues. Rosin confirms that three in every four people who utilize the internet and social media have an interest in knowing what intimacy amidst technology feel like, how their sexual partners interact with the rest of the society, track aspects of their potential love and even keep the relationships they are in thrilling. Across all forms of social platforms, including workplace, classrooms, and dinner tables; social media has become a standard element that persists indispensably in the modern world. All partners have been affected, whether teenagers, adults, or children. Therefore, eating habits and healthy lifestyle has been compromised by social media not only among teenagers but also among the adult population. All the harmful effects of sexting result in low self-esteem and bad social developmental habits among the minors, hence the need to coming up with suitable remedying factors to counter the same. Ther should be severe and considerate legal consequences when it comes to sexting because the transfer of pornographic data and such nudities of minors is explicitly illegal. Nevertheless, when the videos of sexting get viral, the esteem of the affected teenagers is ruined in entirety among their peers. Furthermore, confirms that the social harm interferes with one’s self-esteem up to early adulthood and beyond. In the US for instance, many legal institutions have come up with operational tools in law, which serve to demystify the acute differences between child and adult sexting, as well as child pornography and its effects. By utilizing the code as a tool to bring to responsibility and monitor sexting, the teenagers who engage in such criminal offenses should be charged in a court of law, though their charges should be in the capacity of less serious criminal offenses. Hence this source is suitable for this assignment.

Steinfield, Charles, Nicole B. Ellison, and Cliff Lampe. ”Social Capital, Self-Esteem, and Use of Online Social Network Sites: A Longitudinal Analysis.” Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 29.6 (2008): 434–445. Web.

This source deals with the element of social media based bullying. The vice has been explained in detail by the author, and its correlation between the high school students and the educators in a school environment postulated based on research-based findings. Moreover, the mitigating factors to contain social media bullying has been outlined to help curb the vice. The author of this article embraced a critical methodology, in that 148 students were interviewed based on their focus groups, each for 45 minutes. Students` counselors of similar sex as the different focus groups had the responsibility to pause scripted questions to their peers, who had been divided by gender. The outcome of this study was that most high school students recognize social media bullying is a serial problem. Nevertheless, the stakeholders hardly consider the challenge, and hence the victims of cyberbullying end up desperate after remaining neglected. Moreover, even though cyberbullying outside of school is more prevalent than before, that which is orchestrated within the school precincts is intensifying. Students suggested ways of eliminating the problem of the removal of such websites. Therefore, despite this article being lengthy, it remains favorite for this assignment because the author addresses pertinent issues in details.

Vogel, Erin A. et al. ”Social Comparison, Social Media, and Self-Esteem.” Psychology of Popular Media Culture 3.4 (2014): 206–222. Web.

This article articulates that both the physical and mental safety of high school students is critical, and all vices that put the same status of wellbeing at stake ought to be mitigated, fast. Nevertheless, the author notes that with the sophistication of technology, embracing bullying at the expense of a healthy learning environment has become a new standard. The author, using research data, criticises suicidal behavior, school dropout, physical abuse, compromised social relationships and violence as all linked to cyberbullying either directly or indirectly; among the adolescents. The methodology entailed the collection of data from high school students from risky regions, in public school and with 67 percent of them being females. The findings were that social media bullying compromised sexual behavior, academic performance, self-esteem, and accentuated violence as well as suicidal habits. The many peers review articles the author referenced makes this source reliable.

Works Cited

Gonzales, Amy L., and Jeffrey T. Hancock. ”Mirror, Mirror on My Facebook Wall: Effects of Exposure to Facebook Self-Esteem.” Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 14.1–2 (2011): 79–83. Web.

Rosin, Hanna. “Why Kids Sext. Atlantic Monthly. 14.4 (2014).

Steinfield, Charles, Nicole B. Ellison, and Cliff Lampe. ”Social Capital, Self-Esteem, and Use of Online Social Network Sites: A Longitudinal Analysis.” Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 29.6 (2008): 434–445. Web.

Vogel, Erin A. et al. ”Social Comparison, Social Media, and Self-Esteem.” Psychology of Popular Media Culture 3.4 (2014): 206–222. Web.