A quick search of Google Scholar of “Social Media Effects of Youth” will turn up a number of academic studies ranging from the effects of binge drinking of teenagers because of social media, to possible effects on how the mind processes information, to the social structure of the family, changing, all because of social media. All of these concerns have valid points; however, it is important to remember that every type of new technology has met some type of resistance.
The printing press, for example, came with its fair share of critics. Abbot Johannes Trithemius stated:
[The writer,] while he is writing on good subjects, is by the very act of writing introduced in a certain measure into the knowledge of the mysteries and greatly illuminated in his innermost soul; for those things which we write we more firmly impress upon the mind…While he is ruminating on the Scriptures he is frequently inflamed by them (Brann).
In other words, the printing press would take the writer, usually a monk, further from God. While one could argue that handwriting a book would put you more in touch with the author, the speed, by which new ideas could flow because of the printing press outweighed the need that every book be hand-copied.
The telephone, electricity, and even vaccinations have all come with critics voicing concerns. Some of those concerns have been valid, much like some of the criticism for social media.
Some of those concerns can be found in this article about students coming into the classroom already either having watched a video that only gives a one-sided surface level video about the topic being taught, or even to harass teachers because of something they said that was recorded.
Social media, much like these other leaps of technology, have their uses for the good of society as a whole. Because these are tools being used by humans, another, more sinister reason for use can be had as well. Think about the things that have been printed that have led to the loss of life, the number of people who are contacted by phone and scammed out of money, or the harm that social media can do to students/teachers in a classroom.
It is incumbent on all of us to call out the behavior we do not approve of and that can cause harm. This tool can be used for such good and can connect people and groups that no other technology has been able to before. My hope is that we can come together as a community and ignore divisive forces.
Brann, N. L. (1981). The abbot Trithemius: (1462-1516): the renaissance of monastic humanism. Leiden: Brill.
Skeen, William (1872). Early Typography. Ceylon: Government Printer, Colombo. p. 122.