To Be Social or Not…That is the Question

Most of my friends are on Facebook and chat online frequently. They post photos, recipes and articles. I might be missing information, but overall, I don’t feel as if I’m missing out on anything significant. And I’ve learned that there are some teenagers—a small minority between 5 to 15 percent—who agree with me (including some of our very own LJCDS students) who abstain from social media use.

 

The information overload and the relentless desire to post interesting, popular and relevant content that will gain likes and comments is exhausting to some. However, in the prosocial world of online communication, are these teenagers antisocial and are they missing out?

In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, Christine Rosen calls these teenagers “abstainers.” The group of adolescents who wish to abstain from social media have phones, are adept with technology, and may still use social media, but they just use it differently. Rosen reflects that the students may use social media sparingly, selectively or not at all, but despite the level they choose, the abstainers don’t believe they need social media to stay connected to their peers and the world around them. They are confident in their relationships to know they won’t be excluded from important events.

The social pressure to conform and the comparison to friends and celebrities is not new, but social media opens the doors for constant and instant comparisons to peers and social endorsement. In an interview by Rosen, one 18 year old from LA shared that her peers, “…don’t have adequate boundaries when it comes to using social media appropriately.” Another teenager speaks to the considerable amount of time her peers spend on social media.

 

With that said, there’s no doubt that there is an upside to social media that must not be discounted. According to a Pew Research poll in 2015, 92 percent of American teenagers (ages 13-17) are online daily using Facebook, Instagram and/or Snapchat. On average, a teenager has 150 Instagram followers and 145 Facebook friends. A report last year by a nonprofit child advocacy group, Common Sense Media, states that one in five teens shared that social media helps boost their confidence; 52 percent believe it helped strengthen their friendships; 28 percent say it makes them feel more outgoing; and 29 percent say it made them feel less shy.

 

Director of Digital Media at Common Sense Media Shira Katz shares, “On the whole, teens said that they feel that social media has a more positive than negative impact on their social and emotional lives.” Caroline Knorr, also of Common Sense Media, refers to a report from the University of Queensland that reveals social media offers a sense of belonging as well as genuine support network. Digital platforms also allow children to creatively express themselves, have an audience for their work, passions or opinions, and receive feedback. Proponents of social media say that social networks expose teenagers to important issues and people in the world by giving them a voice to create change.

 

Whether an abstainer or a social media activist or somewhere in between, there are many ways to balance, participate in and be comfortable with our ever changing digital world. Our goal as educators is to continuously offer education and information to allow our students to make the right decisions for themselves.