Why Anti-Social Media Inspires Anti-Social Behaviour
How many times do you walk down the street and see a teenager fixated on their phone? Social media has taken over the art of conversation and is now inspiring anti-social behaviour. Teenagers and younger children are more worried about getting likes and followers on platforms like Facebook and Instagram, and another favourite, TikTok, more than they are about actually going out and socialising. Wanting to be popular and to be liked, they will post photos or comments, engaging with people they may never think to do offline or in person.
A study was carried out and showed how children between 12 to 15, spending 3 hours of online social media time in one sitting and how it affected their mental health. Some of the effects of social media consumption have been found to include:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Aggressive behaviour
- Anti-social behaviour
All of the above can have a negative effect on their mental health, and the study showed that children who do not use social media are less likely to display any of these signs.
On top of these worrying symptoms of exposure to lengthy online periods, social media also presents another frightening channel as a breeding ground for predatory trolls. There are those who will seek out vulnerable young girls and boys to exploit, abuse and groom them, by getting them to do things that they wouldn’t usually do offline. The victims are often not aware of who they are connecting with, as far as they are concerned it is a peer, another girl or boy just like them, so they do not see the dangers.
But there are also those of their own social circle, where social media presents the opportunity to harass other children just because they don’t like them. Other children post hateful comments and pictures to hurt each other, often for social mileage and acceptance. The consequence of this can be devastating, especially when children take their own lives because they cannot handle what is being said, not knowing how to handle the shame and embarrassment they feel and do not feel that anyone would understand them if they spoke up.
In this video of Candace Owens, an American conservative author and talk show host, she shares how she believes that many children would be alive today if they were not allowed on social media and I agree with her.
Online bullying and abuse by predatory trolls is something that we at Lighthouse Global, and head mentor, Paul S. Waugh takes very seriously, for Paul has witnessed first hand the destruction of people’s characters. A very good friend of his lost his 11 year old daughter to suicide a few years ago because of the bullying she experienced online, and he himself has been the target of online abuse by family members of the team here at Lighthouse. The consequences of these online attacks terrified his children who didn’t feel safe in their own home, or walking down the street.
I am grateful that I grew up in a time when there was no internet and no social media platforms, for this meant that I had to actually have face to face conversations with others and not be stuck glued to a screen, and where I was encouraged to get out of the house into social interactions. However, I also see that when it came in years later, how easily I got hooked and fixated on social media, and all I wanted was likes on my posts to feel popular and liked. This is why we need the right support structure around us, in the form of community, in order to build healthy relationships based on reality and not avatars and fake profiles.
Here is the full clip of Candace Owens
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