How do social and other media influence preteens and teens?
Preteens and teens can be savvy consumers of media messages. They not only assimilate everything they see and hear insocial networksor in other media. You can help them develop the skills they need to deal with media influence.
The influence of the media on preadolescents and adolescents can bedeliberate and direct🇧🇷 For example, advertising is often targeted at children of all ages. This means that children, tweens and teens are becoming more aware of brands and images.
The influence of the media can also beindirect🇧🇷 For example, this could include sexualized images and content inInstagram,Snapchat,tik tokyYouTube🇧🇷 It may also include violent imagery and foul language in the media, documentaries, video games, and some song lyrics. This type of media influence can suggest to tweens and teens that certain forms of behavior and appearance are "normal."
Positive social networks and other media influences on preadolescents and adolescents
Social media and other media can be positive influences on the behavior and attitudes of preteens and teens.
Citizenship
Preteens and teens who are exposed to and interested in the media are more likely to be interested in important social and political issues, such as climate change. The media can encourage them to become more involved as citizens in their communities.
Health and lifestyle
Preteens and teens can also receive important health-promoting messages from social media and other media. This could include messages aimed at preventing youth depression and suicide, promoting positive and respectful relationships, or encouraging healthy eating and lifestyle habits.
Identity
Good quality stories on TV shows and movies can help tweens and teens explore aspects of identity such as sexuality, relationships, gender or ethics; for example, the treatment of sexuality in a film likeBohemian Rhapsodyor gender inride like a girl, or ethics on a television show likethe good place🇧🇷 Watching these shows with your child is a great opportunity to talk.
It is always worth remembering that the media, good and bad, is just one of many influences on the behavior and attitudes of tweens and teens. Other influences include family, friends and colleagues, cultural background and more. Often these influences can be more powerful than the media's influence.
The negative influences of social media and other media on preteens and teens
Media messages can have a negative or detrimental influence on the behavior and attitudes of preadolescents and adolescents in certain areas, including self-image, body image, health and citizenship.
Self-image and body image
your childrenself imageybody imageYou can be influenced by social media, other media and advertising. For example, if your child regularly sees staged and filtered images on social media, he may feel that he is not good enough. Or if your child sees unrealistically "thin" or "muscular" body types often enough, it could affect their body image and eating behavior. These images can be even more powerful when no one disagrees with messages like "thin is beautiful".
Health and lifestyle
Social and other media can influence the decisions teens and tweens make about their health and lifestyle. For example, messages and media content may make it seem "normal", cool or adult to eat junk food, smoke, vape,drinking alcohol and using other drugs.
Citizenship
To be responsible citizens, tweens and teens need reliable, quality information. But social media and other media are sometimes used negatively during elections and at other times. For example,fake newsodeep fakescan influence your child to believemisinformationabout a politician, public figure or celebrity. Or online forums may promote bigoted or hateful attitudes towards groups of people.
Experts disagree on whether violence invideogameleads to aggression or violence in preteens and teens in real life. But they agree that the best way to deal with the problem of video game violence is to talk to your child about it and share your own family values.
How celebrities and media influencers influence tweens and teens
celebrities andinfluent peoplethey can be powerful influences on tweens and teens.
In particular, tweens and teens may be attracted to lifestyles, products or behaviors that celebrities and influencers promote on social media. This can sometimes be a negative influence, for example YouTuber Logan Paul's risky behavior. But there are many celebrities whose lifestyles, values and behaviors provide positive role models, YouTuber Elise Ecklund for example.
Pre-teens and teens should be aware that influencers and some celebrities get paid to advertise the products they promote.
It can be hard to tell the difference between influencers and regular people, or even celebrities, who post videos and other content for fun. Influencers should say whether they've been paid by using hashtags like #ad or #sponsored or words like 'ad' or 'sponsored' in their posts. You and your child can watch for these signs.
Help preteens and teens deal with media influence
Exposure to media messages is part of modern life, but it can help your child figure out what's worth paying attention to.
Talking about media messages
The best way to help your child navigate the influence of social media and other media is to talk about media messages. For example, if your child likes to watch beauty channels on YouTube, you can talk about product advertising and sponsorship.
Or if your son likes a computer game like Grand Theft Auto, he might talk about violence, exploitation of women and criminal activities. You can also talk about how your child would handle these situations in real life.
Encourage a questioning attitude
When you talk about the media with your child, you can encourage them to ask questions as well. This can help your child separate facts from opinions, identify false advertising and news, understand biases, and be aware of the misuse of statistics.
For example, you can choose one ofYouTube channels or Instagram accountsyour son follows. Ask your child:
- Who's behind?
- What is your motivation?
- What do they want from you?
- How does this make you feel?
- Do they want you to feel this way? Because?
You can do the same forcelebrities and influencers🇧🇷 Encourage your child to ask:
- Why do I like these people?
- Are they presented realistically?
- Are they like that in real life?
- What values does this person represent?
- How does this person make me feel about myself?
- Why is this person telling me about this product or activity?
- Is there any indication that this person is an influencer?
During an election campaign, you and your child can watchpolitical news and memestogether. Encourage your child to ask:
- What ideas are promoted in this news story or meme?
- Who wrote this story or made this meme and why?
- How might this meme influence voters during elections?
- That makesABC fact checkoRMIT University Data Labsay about this information?
understand advertising
You can help limit the influence ofpublicityon her son talking about how advertising sells both ideas and products. For example, you might encourage your child to ask:
- Does this ad link the product to a certain type of lifestyle?
- How does that make you feel about the product?
- What messages does this ad convey about how people should dress, dress, do, eat, and drink?
Join online forums.
If your child spends a lot of time on online forums, it's okay to think of questions like these:
- What are people talking about on the forum?
- What are the forum's attitudes toward race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality? Are any of these attitudes biased or even hateful?
- Does the forum make you feel safe and happy or uncomfortable?
Children and teenagers sometimes needhelp get out of negative forumsand find forums that match your values. For example, if the negative forum is on a game, you might suggest that your child take a break from the game while you help them find a different game to play. Or you can suggest that your child play the game at a time when they can meet other people on the game's forum.
Help teens balance the influence of social media and other media
When your child balances media use with other activities, such as physical and creative activities and face-to-face socializing, he or she comes into contact with a wide range of influences. This includes peers, community and family mentors, as well as the media.
You can also introduce your child to positive role models from real life. Ways to do this could be joining local community groups, sports clubs or mentoring programs.
You're stillYour child's most important role model🇧🇷 By being an informed and inquisitive consumer, you show your child how to deal with the powerful influences of the media. Part of that might be ignoring ads for the latest and greatest new device, or talking to your child about why they follow certain people on Twitter or Instagram.
FAQs
What is the biggest influence of social media to the youth? ›
In particular, social media and teen depression are closely linked. Furthermore, overuse of the apps exposes teens to cyberbullying, body image issues, and tech addiction, and results in less time spent doing healthy, real-world activities.
What are the influence of social media? ›Due to this, social media impacts society in the following ways: Generating visibility around social, ethical, environmental and political views or issues. Spreading educational material quickly and efficiently. Providing companies with new marketing opportunities.
What are the different forms of media that greatly influence youth nowadays? ›The presence and intensity of media influences—television, radio, music, computers, films, videos, and the Internet—are increasingly recognized as an important part of the social ecology of children and youth, and these influences have become more visible and volatile in recent decades.
What are the positive and negative impact of social media on youth? ›Social media use may expose teens to peer pressure, cyberbullying, and increased mental health risk. But, social media can also connect isolated teens and help them find supportive networks. Parents can set limitations and communicate openly with teens about healthy social media use.
How does social media affect youth identity? ›This can lead to misunderstandings and hurt feelings. It can also make talking in person feel more intimidating. It is also common for kids to feel bad about themselves when they see everyone online looking perfect. Teens often try to compensate by sharing pictures that make them look perfect, too.
What are the 5 benefits of social media? ›- You reach large audiences.
- You have a direct connection with your audience.
- You can create organic content.
- You have access to paid advertising services.
- You build your brand.
- You drive traffic to your website.
- You can evaluate your performance.
| Characteristic | Fall 2012 | Fall 2019 |
|---|---|---|
| Snapchat | - | 44% |
| TikTok | - | 4% |
| 12% | 35% | |
| 27% | 3% |
- Not enough sleep. Media use can interfere with sleep. ...
- Obesity. ...
- Delays in learning & social skills. ...
- Negative effect on school performance. ...
- Behavior problems. ...
- Problematic internet use. ...
- Risky behaviors. ...
- Sexting, loss of privacy & predators.
The influence of mass media or 'The media effect' affects many aspects of human life, which can include voting a certain way, individual views and beliefs, or skewing a person's knowledge of a specific topic due to being provided false information.
What is the influence of media on today's society examples? ›The negative effects of mass media on society can lead people towards poverty, crime, nudity, violence, bad mental and physical health disorders and others as such severe outcomes. For example, mob hitting innocents by getting carried away from the rumors spread on the internet has been common.
What are the three types of media influence? ›
- Cultivation. The view that exposure to the mass media makes people think that what they see there represents the mainstream of what happens in our culture.
- Agenda setting. The idea that the media define what is important and what is not by which stories they cover.
- Social learning.
These six are cognition, belief, attitude, affect, physiology, and behavior. All individual-level media effects studies examine how the media exert an influence on one or more of these six types.
Has social media been a positive or negative influence on society? ›The truth is that social media can also be beneficial for society. It can help individuals connect and deepen their relationships. Social media also encourages students to learn and grow. And it can empower businesses to build their audiences and boost their bottom line.
What is the most influential form of media today? ›Today, the Internet is the most relevant form of mass media and has become a major tool for news outlets.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using social media? ›| Pros of Social Media | Cons of Social Media |
|---|---|
| Social Media Can Reach Large Audiences | Social Media Causes Sleep Issues |
| Government Benefits from Social Media | Social Media Cause Depression and Loneliness |
| Entertainment with Social Media | Social Media Causes Distraction |
Social Media Is a Source of Authentic Support
Today, teens can connect with others that share similar interests, desires, and concerns. This connection helps them feel validated and secure in who they are. Another way teens are finding support is through online communities.
Positive inspiration: Social networks can have a positive impact by creating peer motivation—inspiring young people to develop healthy habits, learn new skills, follow their dreams, and speak up about things that matter to them. Teens can also find positive role models online.
What are the challenges of social media on youth? ›Social media is a big part of social and creative life for many pre-teens and teenagers. Social media benefits include connection, learning and creativity. Risks include exposure to inappropriate content, cyberbullying, and privacy and data breaches.
What is the impact of social media on students? ›It is easy to become addicted, and research shows that students who spend too much time on social media can suffer from poor sleep, eye fatigue, negative body image, depression, anxiety, cyberbullying, and more.
What factors influence students use of social media? ›Students' use of social networks is influenced by many factors, including key factors such as “cognition, attitudes and psychological age,” which play a decisive role and other relevant factors such as living circumstances, technical facilities, etc. plays an important role.
What is the main importance of social media? ›
What are the benefits of using social media? Billions of people around the world use social media to share information and make connections. On a personal level, social media allows you to communicate with friends and family, learn new things, develop your interests, and be entertained.
What is media advantages and disadvantages? ›| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Media allows cultural diffusion among people from different parts of the world. | Creating fake profiles and sending threats or bullying or such acts can ruin the mental health and reputation of targetted individuals. |
The positive aspects of social media
Social media enables you to: Communicate and stay up to date with family and friends around the world. Find new friends and communities; network with other people who share similar interests or ambitions. Join or promote worthwhile causes; raise awareness on important issues.
Kids who use media in their bedrooms often don't get enough sleep at night. Media use also can expose kids to cyberbullying, which has been linked to depression and suicide. And media use can distract kids from important tasks, interfere with homework time, and hurt school performance.
What are 5 negative of social media? ›The more time spent on social media can lead to cyberbullying, social anxiety, depression, and exposure to content that is not age appropriate. Social Media is addicting. When you're playing a game or accomplishing a task, you seek to do it as well as you can.
How media is affecting the behaviour of growing child? ›High media usage in children is related to poorer cognition, language, and social–emotional skills. More frequent parent–child interactions are associated with better body motor, cognition, language, and social–emotional skills in children.
Is media a positive or negative influence? ›While it can provide a platform for your teenagers to express themselves, develop social skills, etc., it can also have some negative effects–instilling false messages, false beliefs, violent behavior, spending too much time in front of a screen may cause health and development issues.
How social media affects our social life? ›Social Media is relatively a newer technology, hence, it is a little difficult to establish its long-term good and bad consequences. However, multiple researchers have concluded a strong relationship between heavy use of social media platforms with an increase in risk of depression, self-harm, anxiety, and loneliness.
What type of influence does the media have? ›Prior research suggests that media influences through two effects: the individual or direct effect (private) or the social or indirect effect (public). In the individual effect, media information about new norms may persuade individuals to accept them.
What are the four factors affecting media content? ›- Time and Date. ...
- Personality. ...
- Call to Action. ...
- Post Type.
What are 3 effects of social media? ›
However, social media use can also negatively affect teens, distracting them, disrupting their sleep, and exposing them to bullying, rumor spreading, unrealistic views of other people's lives and peer pressure.
What are the 7 types of media? ›Modern media comes in many different formats, including print media (books, magazines, newspapers), television, movies, video games, music, cell phones, various kinds of software, and the Internet.
What are the negative effects brought by media? ›However, there are significant negative effects as well. Negative effects include: Depression or anxiety over body image. Normalizing violence.
Which social media has the most impact? ›Facebook has been shaping the social media landscape since its launch and is continually evolving to meet its user's needs. With over 2.94 billion monthly active users, Facebook remains the most widely used social media platform (DataReportal, 2022). Active users are those that log into Facebook at least once a month.
Which media is most important? ›With an unparalleled ease of use and familiarity among all ages, it is no surprise that television is the most widely used form of mass media.
Which media is most effective? ›Trust and impact: TV is the most trusted form of advertising and remains most likely to make consumers laugh, move them to tears or trigger emotions.
Who has the biggest influence on social media? ›The more time spent on social media can lead to cyberbullying, social anxiety, depression, and exposure to content that is not age appropriate. Social Media is addicting. When you're playing a game or accomplishing a task, you seek to do it as well as you can.
What is the biggest contribution of social media? ›1. Building Relationships and Staying Connected. Social media can make it easy to find groups of like-minded people or make new friends. Finding a close-knit community can help us feel valued and accepted.
What is the main purpose for the youth on social media? ›Social media is a big part of social and creative life for pre-teens and teenagers. Pre-teens and teenagers use social media to have fun, make and maintain friendships, share and learn interests, explore identities and develop relationships with family. It's an extension of their offline and face-to-face interactions.
What is the influence of media on today's society? ›
The influence of mass media or 'The media effect' affects many aspects of human life, which can include voting a certain way, individual views and beliefs, or skewing a person's knowledge of a specific topic due to being provided false information.
What age group is most influenced by media? ›In a large UK sample of over 17,000 young people aged 10 to 21, researchers found the detrimental effects of high levels of social media use may be especially pronounced at ages 14–15 and 19 for boys, and 11–13 and 19 for girls.
What are the positive and negative effects of media? ›While it can provide a platform for your teenagers to express themselves, develop social skills, etc., it can also have some negative effects–instilling false messages, false beliefs, violent behavior, spending too much time in front of a screen may cause health and development issues.
What are the negative effects of media? ›- Not enough sleep. Media use can interfere with sleep. ...
- Obesity. ...
- Delays in learning & social skills. ...
- Negative effect on school performance. ...
- Behavior problems. ...
- Problematic internet use. ...
- Risky behaviors. ...
- Sexting, loss of privacy & predators.
“It is a powerful tool for social change”
The influence of social media increases every day. Over the last two decades, social media has developed into the main source of information for a huge percentage of the world's population, influencing their opinions, choices and beliefs on every topic imaginable.
The availability of social media can bring positive effects to teenagers, such as allowing them to communicate and form positive interactions with people who live far away. They can also form new friendships and possibly find support amongst other teens when they are in need of it.
What is the impact of media on the youth of the country? ›Media messages can have a negative or unhealthy influence on pre-teen and teenage behaviour and attitudes in certain areas, including self-image, body image, health and citizenship. Your child's self-image and body image can be influenced by social media, other media and advertising.
What are 3 reasons why social media is good? ›- Instant online discussions. Social media is the go to medium for people to interact. ...
- Relationships. ...
- Knowledge Sharing. ...
- Low cost. ...
- Connect at any time. ...
- Branding. ...
- Social media content is now integrated with search results.