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Social Media: Beneficial for Teenagers

“More people own a cell phone than a toothbrush. ​There are over 7 billion people

in the world. An estimated 3.7 billion of them own mobile phones, but only around 3.5

billion own toothbrushes” (Frankenberry). Facebook is a social media app created by

Mark Zuckerberg in February 2004 in Cambridge Massachusetts. There are more than

one billion people used facebook. The reason why facebook is invented is because, it’s

to make the world more open and connected. People used facebook to stay connected

to their friends and families. ​For example, a student at Garinger High School likes to

post pics, videos, and memes on Facebook to share with friends. She posted a pic of

herself with families, sometimes with food and stuffs that makes people like her picture

and they will put comments saying goods stuff. Her friends make comments like about

saying they like her post or, wishing they could be there so they could could eat with

her, or something like “HI” and all that some will just make fun by teasing or joking.

Teens benefit from social media because it helps them to bond with their families,

to become involved with community service, and improve their relationships.

Families can use social media to bond with their families.​ In the article using

social media to strengthen Family bonds. The author suggests that parents and children

can be closer when they play games together on social media. For example, parents

and children can play Ludo together on the Facebook app. In this game, family

members compete to move six game pieces home before the other players. “​The

benefit seems to lie in doing something together, even if the activity itself seems

somewhat pointless to us as parents. Playing together creates opportunities for positive

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family experiences.” (Howell). Playing a game together on social media brings a family

closer together because the game is a shared experience. When playing games, the

family shares the emotions of competition including anger, excitement, and jubilation.

Instead of isolating family members each other, social media can create a family bond

when it offers a shared experience like the competition and teamwork of playing an

online game.

A student at Garinger High School reports that social media helps her to stay in

touch with her family and friends in her home country. Lyna who is from the Micronesia

moved to the U.S. in May 30th of 2016. She uses social media apps to stay in touch

with her family and friends. She is more uses Facebook to communicate with her

Grandma, Aunties and her cousins She’s more often uses social media. Alisha who is

from Chuuk moved to the U.S in May 30th 2016. She uses social media apps to stay in

touch with her family and friends , She uses Facebook to communicate with her

grandma, aunt, uncle, cousin and her friends. She uses social media 6 times a week to

communicate with her families and 7 times to communicate with her grandma. Once

specific moment that she remembers was on the Feb twenty something 2019 with her

cousin Juliet. She was in the car on her way to School . They were talking about how

the typhoon hit their country, her cousin was showing her around the area how bad it

was how terrible it was with the houses that destroyed. Alisha said that “ I felt like I was

just sitting next to her looking at all the mess that had happened” ( Interview). Their

conversation on Facebook Messenger made her feel as if she was sitting next to her
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cousin in the car Micronesia Chuuk. She noticed how much she misses her country and

her families and friend.

Teens use social media to improve their relationships​ . In her article, ​10 ways to

really connect. ​Sherman gives advice about how teens can make more meaningful

connections on social media. ​“Is what I’m saying relevant? Will it resonate with my

friends, fans and followers? If not, then why bother?” (Sherman). “ If you want to make

an impact in these channels, make sure your responses to others or thoughtful.” Every

response you make especially if your out in the public stream is an opportunity for

greater connection. Talking to people or responding to them, in a good ways or

meaningful way, they will great a good impact with you and you will give them

meaningful thoughts. It will also bring you a good connection with them. This the most

thing we need to do starting using good words or meaningful words to respond to

everything in good ways, it will make that person having a good day, especially its

important for everyone of us or everybody using meaningful words or good words.

People will have good impact with you or respect you for the way you are to them. That

they will respect you so much on. You making them feels good by doing what you do,

they will respond to you calmly and peacefully in a meaningful and thoughtful way. You

using meaningful word to anyone. Mostly all people or customers like talking on the

phone or anywhere where a good employed or a good person will make their day good

by just responding to them meaningful and thoughtful way.

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Teens can use social media to find community service opportunities.

VolunteerMatch.org is a site that matches volunteers with service organizations in the

community. For example, the Children’s Theater of Charlotte needs volunteers to usher

during performances. The VolunteerMatch.org site describes the responsibilities for an

usher. “Usher are needed for School Performance, which take place on weekday

morning, and Public Performances, which take place on Friday evening and Saturday

and Sunday afternoon. Usher should arrive 1 hour before show time and should expect

to remain throughout the entire performance. Ushering a 3-4 hour time commitment

performance.“ (Volunteermatch). An usher serves the community because the help the

audience to access the performances. The audience might be a group of kindergarten

or a family. The Children’s Theater of Charlotte educates more than 2,300 young people

in classes and camps every year. Some of these young students might grow up to

become theater professionals.

Volunteers for the blind dog is spread around through the United states.

Canada dedicated to helping find visually impaired dogs by rescuing them in shelter.

They start formed in August 2009 the member have many years of experience with

blind dogs and rescue. They have been rescued more than 475 visually impaired dogs

so far. “Blind dogs see with their hearts!.”

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The title of the graph is social media Usage by teen. The source of the graph is

Statista. The x-axis shows the frequency of use of social media by teens. The y-axis

show the percentage of responses by teens. The legend shows that the two bars in the

graph represent two years, 2012 and 2018.

Most teens, 34% reported they used social media than once a day in 2012. Most

teens, 70% reported they used social media more than once a day in 2018. More teens

reported used social media more than once a day in 2018 than 2012. The number of

teens using social media more than once a day increased by 36% from 2012 to 2018.
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The fewest teens, 7%, reported using social media once a week in 2012. The

fewest teens, 1% reported using social media once a week in 2018. Less teens reported

using social media once a week in 2018 than 2012. The number of teens using social

media once a week decrease from 2012 to 2018. Overall, the data in the graph shows

that the frequency of social media use by teens is increasing rapidly. The data shows

that only an extreme minority, from 1% to 4 %, of teens check their social media less

than once a day in 2018.

In the future, social media will continue to beneficial and relevant to teens​. In the

article 11 ways Social media will evolve in the future the author describe how social

media will change in the future. The author predicts that in the future, social media

users will focus more on relationships than on personal branding. Teens will use social

media to increase connection, intimacy, and communication in their family and personal

relationship. Teens will focus less seeking more popularity or more followers, likes,

views as if they are a product being sold or a brand seeking to grow.​ ​“Social media has

really gotten away from us. It’s gotten to the point where we work for it, not the other

way around. With social media as it’s been, the users ​are​ the product, which has

caused some real rifts and problems between loved ones. It’s just not connecting us the

way it was supposed to”(Chirag Kulkarni). Users spend time and energy working on

social media, deciding which pictures to post and what captions to write. When creating

a selfie, users will take multiple pics and then choose the best one to share. Sometimes,

none of the pics are good enough, and the user has to start over. Selfies are not simple,

in the moment, pictures that users create and share without a lot of effort and
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consideration. Sometimes, a user will edit or change the caption or the filter to change

the look or message of a picture after it has been posted. After all this work, even when

a picture receives many likes and positive comments, social media can not help the

user in the same way a real relationship might. There is no comparison between a real

friend and a “like” from someone we will never meet.

Works Cited
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“21 INSANE Social Media Statistics (Updated for 2019).” ​The Content Factory​, 5 July

2012,

https://www.contentfac.com/more-people-own-cell-phone-than-toothbrush-10-cra

zy-social-media-statistics/​.

“Blind Dogs Need Your Help! Volunteers Needed!” ​VolunteerMatch​,

https://www.volunteermatch.org/search/opp756855.jsp. Accessed 7 May

2019

“20 Crazy Facts You Never Knew About Social Media.” ​SuperMoney!,​

https://www.supermoney.com/2015/08/20-crazy-facts-social-media/.

Accessed 7 May 2019.

“Infographic: Teens’ Social Media Usage Is Drastically Increasing.” ​Statista

Infographics,​

https://www.statista.com/chart/15720/frequency-of-teenagers-social

-media-use/. Accessed 7 May 2019.

Kulkarni, Chirag. “11 Ways Social Media Will Evolve in the Future.” ​Entrepreneur​, 3

Aug. 2017, https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/293454.ds. Accessed 3 May 2019.

Sherman, Aliza. ​10 Ways to Really Connect Through Social Media​. 7 July 2010,

https://gigaom.com/2010/07/07/10-ways-to-really-connect-through-social-media/.

“Using Social Media to Strengthen Family Bonds.” ​Fuller Youth Institute,​

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https://fulleryouthinstitute.org/articles/using-social-media-to-strengthen-family-bo