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Anggia Daiva

Jennifer Rodrick

English 115

9/26/18

Technological Personalities

Elders are suppose to be superior role models for the adolescents, and teenagers are

supposed to be one for the younger generations. Do you think that we’re doing a great job of it?

Teens this generation are born into a non-complex century where everything are made simple.

Right away, we are provided with technology, whether it’s cell phone, laptop, Ipads, Ipod, Tablet

etc. Now, kids under the age of thirteen are already privileged with the same treatment. With

technology, you get access to the online world/virtual world/social media. These kids are already

heavily influenced by the virtual world, through video games, television etc, which cause their

brain to rewire. Overall, the media owns plenty of negative content that brainwashes you and

gets you into believing what’s not quite true. Often at times, you don’t realize that you spend

more time interacting/socializing on the media rather than in real life. Technology has shaped

identities in quite interesting ways because it changes the way we live as a human being, how we

act and how we view things in our perspectives.

Nowadays, the media can easily influence you and change the way we view our society

and surroundings. The more time teens spend on the media, the more confidence they lack;

which often leads to depression. Teens that are insecure will find it challenging to adapt to a new

lifestyle/environment, therefore, they choose to create an online platform where they can portray
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themselves according to their pleasure to be loved. Yes, it benefits you in a way, but is it

necessary? McAlister states that, “A teen’s social media profile becomes a second life they are

tasked with curating. This is their stage on which they can post their most attractive pictures,

herald their successes, and quantify the number of friends they have,” (41). It’s upsetting that all

girls has a slight feeling that they’re never ”good enough,” they feel this way because the media

portrays the “perfect” models that men usually prefers. The media becomes a huge part of your

life that you start to feel empty without it. This is a negative way of shaping a teenage girl’s

identity because you shouldn’t rely on likes/friend requests to feel like you’re worth it. It’s a

shame because that’s what our society has come to, it makes us think that that’s the only way to

fit in and be welcomed; by changing who you are as a person and excluding your true self. It’s

also quite sad that teens, specifically girls, feel the need to compare themselves to other girls who

may seem more attractive. It’s 2018, don’t stress, remember you’re blessed and know your worth

girl!

The amount of time we spent on the media can affect your looks/appearance, as well as

your mental health. The amount of energy that’s draining your body causes you weakness and

the way you behave starts to change, affecting your physical health. Teens who are gamers

usually spend hours playing in front of their television, computer, tablets; unaware of their

present surrounding. They are so focused on the virtual world that they forgot what it’s like to

live in the real world. With that, they tend to gain weight, become unhealthy. Soon, they realized

that they’re ashamed or embarrassed of how they look, they decide to create alter egos, which are

also called avatars. An avatar is an icon or figure representing a particular person in a video

game, you can make it look like you or a completely immortal, non-human character. Teens
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create alter egos to represent themselves in the virtual world environment. Chan states that, “My

feeling about it is you might create a character and enjoy the anonymity of it at first, but that

character then becomes a bigger part of your life,” (176). Addiction can occur with the amount of

time you spent online. Technology makes such a huge impact on our lives, it gives us the power

to create whatever we want using online platforms, such as instagram, snapchat and facebook.

Unfortunately, we take what we have for granted. We were given the power to do

whatever we desire on social media, that we tend to lose ourselves. It also depends on yourself

and how far you’re willing to risk for likes, friends, and popularity. You have to ask yourself, “Is

it really worth it?” Some teenagers go as far as “catfishing,” luring someone by means of a

fictional online persona. Le states that, “creating a fake persona can construct disbelief and cause

harm to the significant other.” He then proceeds to say, “... anyone can create a fake persona,

which can lead to catfishing, misguided information, and online predators.” The online media

platform is quite a dangerous world because you’ll never know if you’ve ever encountered an

online predator, you’re just on the other side of your computer screen/phone clueless. This is the

terrifying outcome about what the internet brings and introduces into your life. It doesn’t

necessarily have to be the technology itself, It’s about how we choose to use the technology.

As a result to having easy access to most things online, we come across plenty of content,

whether it’s positive or negative. With no realization, the online media has influenced our brain,

our way of thinking, and our point of view. The media provides you all the resources you need to

gain ideas/new learning experiences, however, it also exposes you to extreme negativity. The

brain of a younger person is more active, therefore, it can be tormented easily. Simple

informations can influence/brainwash the young mind and trick them into believing that
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everything they see on the online media is true. Moore states that, “Adolescent information

seeking ranges from social–emotional needs to physical and cognitive self needs. Most of their

information seeking behaviors, however, involve the use of the Internet, and most often some

form of social media.” As I’ve stated prior, teens who struggle to communicate in the real world

needs the social media as their home to make friends, and portray themselves in the way they

choose to. If they do not do so, I believe that they will become emotionally unstable and

mentally unhealthy, which leads to depression, ongoing to suicide.

Being a teenager in this generation is overwhelming. People look up to you, whether it’s

your younger siblings, cousins etc. You have to have vigorous morality, and knowledge in

common sense. With all the negativity that’s floating in the air of the online world, you have to

stay true to yourself and make sure you choose the right path. You were born into a real world

and not a fake one, why choose to create a fake one and focus on that life online? Yes, you can

be socially interactive and use your platform positively, but ignore the content you know isn’t

beneficial for you. Don’t let the media define you; who you are as a person/how you look like.

At the end of the day, it’s your life. No one can tell you how to live it, it’s up to you to make the

right choices and decisions that you believe is healthy for yourself.
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WORK CITED

1. McAlister, Andrea. “The ABC’s of Gen X, Y(P), Z: Teen Girls: The Pressure Of

Perfection.” American Music Teacher, Aug/Sept 2018, Vol. 68 Issue 1, p 40-42. 3p.

0003-0112. 130945754.

2. Yalda T. Uhls, PhD,a,b,c Nicole B. Ellison, PhD,d Kaveri Subrahmanyam, PhD.

“Benefits and Costs of Social Media in Adolescence.” Pediatrics Volume 140, number

s2, November 2017:e20161758. ​DOI: ​https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-1758E​.

3. Chan, Michelle Jana, “Identity In A Virtual World.” CNN.com, June 14th, 2007.

4. Moore, Cherrie L. “A Study of Social Media and its Influence on Teen Information

Seeking Behaviors.” Serials Librarian, Aug/Sept 2016, Vol. 71 Issue 2, p 138-145. 8p. 1

chart. Doi 10.1080/0361526X.2016.1209452.