Social media can be a stressful affair for obvious reasons. We’ve got all sorts of issues taking center stage at this moment. Be it misinformation, fact-checking, or the entire Twitter saga, you name it and there’s a lot of worry at the moment.
Keeping all of that in mind, we assumed that most teenagers would end up getting extra worried and anxious about what’s next. But a new study by Pew Research is proving otherwise.
According to them, teenagers in today’s day and age aren’t overly concerned about social media and its effects. In fact, they claim to be worried about other more important things.
The latest survey that was conducted polled around 1300 American teenagers that were aged between 13 to 17. This took place during a one-month time frame and it was very similar to what we had seen take place in the past where youngsters had a better experience than adults during the era when social media didn’t exist.
80% of teens that were surveyed claim to view social media as a mechanism that keeps them connected to all of their pals’ lives. Meanwhile, around 71% spoke about how social media allows them to express creativity. Similarly, 67% claim that such mechanisms help to link them with others providing during such tough times.
Less than 58% took this time to mention how the world of social media grants them a feeling of greater acceptance.
Most teenagers described the world of social media as one that’s greatly neutral and 60% spoke about it as having neither a positive nor any negative effect on their lives. Yet, the survey did mention how the curve did shift toward a more positive aspect as it’s more favorable.
With that did come plenty of concerns linked to teens mentioning how concerned they felt about a feeling of getting overwhelmed, thanks to all of the daily drama that such apps put forward on a daily basis. Then a small chunk of the participants elaborated upon how they worried about friends leaving them out of key aspects of their lives.
Then there is an added pressure of putting up content to attain a certain number of likes or engagements. Let’s not forget how a few revealed how social media made them feel so negative about their lives and they were not okay with that.
Roughly 20% revealed that they were very concerned about their data getting collected by third-party apps as well but the figures were actually quite low.
As mentioned by a report in the Wall Street Journal, Meta had an idea about how certain products made teenage girls feel so conscious about themselves, yet the firm chose to downplay the ordeal.
While the subject of privacy in the online world is a matter worth great concern, most teenagers aren’t reporting major drops in their confidence levels. Around 60% claim they have nothing to worry about regarding how information gets collected and how data is made use of. With that said, around 20% felt really concerned regarding the process of data being collected.
10% of teenagers that were polled spoke about social media being used to promote political views and actions. And then you’ve got people posting about matters linked to social issues. Meanwhile, a lower rate had put up reports linked to hashtags being used to promote political or social matters.
Looking at the gender ratio, teenage girls felt more overwhelmed than males. Also, more girls felt spoke about how social media really made them feel lonely.
While polls like these are great, there still needs to be more research carried out that speaks about the matter as some perceptions fail to always reflect reality.
Read next: Social Media: The Good, the Bad, and the Productivity Killer
Keeping all of that in mind, we assumed that most teenagers would end up getting extra worried and anxious about what’s next. But a new study by Pew Research is proving otherwise.
According to them, teenagers in today’s day and age aren’t overly concerned about social media and its effects. In fact, they claim to be worried about other more important things.
The latest survey that was conducted polled around 1300 American teenagers that were aged between 13 to 17. This took place during a one-month time frame and it was very similar to what we had seen take place in the past where youngsters had a better experience than adults during the era when social media didn’t exist.
80% of teens that were surveyed claim to view social media as a mechanism that keeps them connected to all of their pals’ lives. Meanwhile, around 71% spoke about how social media allows them to express creativity. Similarly, 67% claim that such mechanisms help to link them with others providing during such tough times.
Less than 58% took this time to mention how the world of social media grants them a feeling of greater acceptance.
Most teenagers described the world of social media as one that’s greatly neutral and 60% spoke about it as having neither a positive nor any negative effect on their lives. Yet, the survey did mention how the curve did shift toward a more positive aspect as it’s more favorable.
With that did come plenty of concerns linked to teens mentioning how concerned they felt about a feeling of getting overwhelmed, thanks to all of the daily drama that such apps put forward on a daily basis. Then a small chunk of the participants elaborated upon how they worried about friends leaving them out of key aspects of their lives.
Then there is an added pressure of putting up content to attain a certain number of likes or engagements. Let’s not forget how a few revealed how social media made them feel so negative about their lives and they were not okay with that.
Roughly 20% revealed that they were very concerned about their data getting collected by third-party apps as well but the figures were actually quite low.
As mentioned by a report in the Wall Street Journal, Meta had an idea about how certain products made teenage girls feel so conscious about themselves, yet the firm chose to downplay the ordeal.
While the subject of privacy in the online world is a matter worth great concern, most teenagers aren’t reporting major drops in their confidence levels. Around 60% claim they have nothing to worry about regarding how information gets collected and how data is made use of. With that said, around 20% felt really concerned regarding the process of data being collected.
10% of teenagers that were polled spoke about social media being used to promote political views and actions. And then you’ve got people posting about matters linked to social issues. Meanwhile, a lower rate had put up reports linked to hashtags being used to promote political or social matters.
Looking at the gender ratio, teenage girls felt more overwhelmed than males. Also, more girls felt spoke about how social media really made them feel lonely.
While polls like these are great, there still needs to be more research carried out that speaks about the matter as some perceptions fail to always reflect reality.
