Social Networking Sites Have Negative Impact on Young People

Name: Professor’s Name: Course: Date: Social Networking Sites Have Negative Impact on Young People Long ago, well not during the time of our ancestors, but long before people were hyped about social networking sites, people used to meet and have barbecues, go camping or just do things that helped to strengthen their bonds. The young people would go surfing and plan for road trips which they would heavily invest in. People seemed closer to each other and friendships were growing. However, things took a different turn when social networking sites came. For example, the young people who loved to go on road trips, have parties, and even meet to play video game started spending a lot of time on social media. Status updates for the young people started to have a deeper meaning and many of them would invest a lot of their time and energy just to find the ‘right one.’ Today, it seems like one cannot separate the young people from their phones which they use to access their social media accounts. Currently, real friendships does not mean much to them because they all believe in the fifty or one-hundred friends they have on Facebook or Instagram. Well, not all things about social media and its effects on young people are negative. However, while there are some positive effects the negative effects seem to eclipse them with suicide cases, cyberbullying, as well as the obsession with likes and comments currently dominating the conversation. Cyberbullying began long before social networking sites came but its growth since the social media era has been massive. Today, cases of young people getting bullied online have continued to rise and so has the suicidal thoughts and cases. Lacking the proper means and ways to fight cyberbullying could make one an easy target and a majority of the young people are not informed about the effects of cyberbullying. Brandy Vela’s story is one that many are familiar with. In November 2016, Brandy shot herself in front of her family and while quoting her sister, Keating writes that “Brandy Vela’s sister can’t remember a time when she wasn’t bullied” CITATION Cai16 \l 1033 (Caitlin). Later after her death, the police opened a criminal investigation to try and establish if she was indeed a victim of cyberbullying. Apparently, Brandy’s ex-boyfriend was a part of the group that bullied her online. After her death, he was arrested after it was established that he shared nude photos of her CITATION Bre17 \l 1033 (Brennan). Cases of cyberbullying have continued to take center stage even after Brandy’s death with another girl by the name of Mallory Grossman. The harassment of these young people is unjustified and should not be allowed to reach the point where they ...