Social media can get a bad reputation. From parents, to the media, to anyone who wants to feel smug for not using social media; there’s no shortage of people who want to act like TikTok and Instagram are harbingers of the end of the world. If you’re wondering why social media is good for teens, you’re in the right place. Having said that, there are absolutely downsides to social media, too, but right now we’re going to focus on the advantages.
Self-expression
Social media is an easy way, for people who aren’t necessarily super outgoing, or aren’t artistic, to share a piece of themselves with the world. Social media makes it easy to express yourself.
Here’s what teenagers are posting about on social media: Nearly half of teenagers have posted about their accomplishes. This demonstrates that social media is a way to show off, or just to share things you’re proud of with your friends and family. 44% of teenagers have posted about their families, which shows that most of them prefer to keep that private or just haven’t shared it on social media before. Just over one third of teenagers have posted about their emotions and feelings, between 20-25% have posted about their dating lives, 13% have posted about personal problems they’re having, 1.1 out of every 10 have posted about their political beliefs, and 28 out of every 100 teens have not posted about any of the aforementioned topics.
Socialization
Social media can help teenagers (ones who are old enough and responsible enough to use it to talk to new people) meet new friends online, or to better connect to acquaintances and to grow a level of familiarity with more people in their lives.
Connecting with friends and family
More teens cite social media as a positive in their lives than those who would say it is negative, but the majority say it’s neither positive nor negative. One of the prime reasons that teens who view social media as a positive feel this way is because they’re able to use it to connect with friends and family – and that’s valuable!
Staying informed
16% of teenagers that view social media as a positive cite their main reason for this as being a way to find news and to stay informed. It’s the 2nd most common response after using it for keeping in touch with family members and friends.
Getting support
Some teens say that they like using social media because it allows them to reach out when they need help or support. This is very improtant for teens, especially those who feel like they don’t have other sources of support or guidance. Even thought it’s not an overwhelming number of teens who cite this as a benefit for using social media, it’s certainly one of the most important positive effects of social media on teens.
Studies about the positive effects of social media on teenagers
Here are some articles that discuss the positive (and negative) realities about teenagers posting on, and using, social media platforms.
