With modern technology, it is no surprise that social media has become the most effective way to stay up to date with news and friends online. Each social media platform has its own effects upon the minds and lives of teenagers. Most people believe that the extended use of social media is harmful for teens, but I tend to disagree. I believe that social media provides many opportunities for teenagers that would otherwise not be there.

Teenagers mainly use social media to connect with friends and keep up to date with what they are doing. You can see pictures from a friend’s vacation, or videos from a recent concert in town that you could not get tickets to. It can also be used to meet new people. Apps such as tinder take advantage of that and help set up dates between two people in the same area. This allows teens to expand their horizons, meet people and get out of their comfort zones.

Aside from connecting with friends and people within your area, social media is the perfect place to get inspiration from others. Apps such as Twitter have accounts dedicated to inspirational quotes and bible verses that can pop up on a timeline at the right moment to provide encouragement.

Teens who like things such as sports, art, dancing or other crafts, may see a painting, routine or play made by someone else and gain inspiration to make something of their own or recreate what they saw. This is amazing for teens as it allows them to develop new skills and talents, and even discover something new they love.

Although I do believe social media is mainly a positive entity, there still are some glaring issues that need to be discussed when talking about social media. The most obvious of those are cyber-bullying. Cyber-bullying is a popular form of harassment often done through the means of social media. While this is something that is not easily solved, I find it important to mention that if you see or experience cyber-bullying yourself, your first step should be to instantly report it either to a parent or report the account. If you are being cyber-bullied, block the account. You have all the power in the situation.

If that does not work, consider taking a break from social media and delete the app altogether. Sometimes people take a break just to clear their heads and focus on the real world, which is something that can be beneficial even outside of cyber-bullying.

I still believe that social media is beneficial to teens for the reasons listed above. As with everything, however, it is important to make sure that your life outside of the internet still exists and to focus more on the real world than the online one.