How young people use social media

How we young people use social media

Most young people use social media the most to communicate with others, stay up to date and be entertained.

Through social media, young people can maintain better contact with friends and strengthen friendships and make new friends with similar interests. Many young people are also updated on news from around the world through social media, such as Snapchat and Instagram.

During a week, several young people use social media for up to 30-40 hours, ie 4-5 hours every day. Many young people spend so much time on social media that it interferes with their sleep. I think the time spent on social media comes from is the fear of missing something. One will always stay up to date and white what is going on online and not miss a trend or a viral clip.

The social media we young people use is our online meeting place, and there it is in a way a kind of community. Online, many young people may feel that they are part of something. It is common to just sit and press the phone while doing other things such as watching TV or eating. Social media is good for distraction. If you have something painful to think about, it is common to take out the phone and use it as a distraction and push your thoughts away, although it is not always so wise.

Snapchat and tiktok

I have asked a number of young people my own age which social media they use the most and what most people use is Snapchat and tiktok.   I personally believe that Snapchat is used to communicate with friends and tiktok is used for entertainment. 

The reason we use just tiktok and Snapchat so much is probably because everyone else uses it the most, that’s where everyone is. Young people use social media to communicate with others, so then you have to be where others are. Young people are also very easily influenced, so if “everyone else” uses tiktok, it is natural that you also want to use it. 

Tiktok is a pastime so it is easy to sit for three hours without you even being aware of it. It’s easy to spend my time on tiktok because it’s endless, with tiktok you can sit and scroll forever, there’s always a new video. 

On Snapchat, you can keep in touch with friends at the touch of a button, and snapping back and forth does not necessarily end, and if the conversation with friends ends, you can scroll endlessly on Snapchat as well and look at stories. So I think many people also use Snapchat and tick because it does not end, it is not like a game where you have to clear a path to get ahead, here you can just sit and be entertained for hours and all you have to do is lift a finger. 

The worst thing about social media

Social media is not just communication and entertainment, many are bullied, harassed and excluded. Online, many people think that they can say what they want without consequences because they are behind a screen. Cyberbullying quickly goes beyond one’s mental health. 

Girls and boys are affected by social media differently. It is reported that girls feel more about poor self-esteem, anxiety and depression, but boys feel more about behavioral problems and aggression. Mental health problems have increased a lot in recent years at the same time as the use of social media. The amount of use of social media also affects the amount of sleep, sleep quality and sleep of adolescents. As slow as possible, the fear of missing something is high, so it can be difficult to put down the phone when going to bed.

Summary

Social media can be a great resource for keeping in touch with friends or making new friendships with people with similar interests, but you should be a little careful about how much time you spend on it. Social media is very addictive and takes your time without you even being aware of it. It is easy and sudden to have sat up until late at night. It has been researched that the more time you spend on social media, the more your mental health is affected.