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Stephanie Rios
Cates
EH 102-DB
March 31 2015
Plugged in Prevention
Society had made it clear that the teen dependency on social media is at an all time high,
and so are all the risks that follow. Risks including cyber-bullying, sexting, and catfishing. It is
expected for parents to want nothing but the very best for their children. Therefore parents
prevent their children from participating in activities associated with social media . Parents have
been known to set harsh restrictions in order to keep their children safe. Unfortunately teens of
rebellious behavior choose to ignore their adult authorities. Adults often choose this as an
opportunity to seize and attach teen rebellion by publicly bashing the cause of the rebellion.
Society only cues the sceptics and critics, demanding the teen population prepare itself for
another lecture they are likely to ignore. Adults must realize that in this war against social media
they are and will always be at a disadvantage. In this new 21st century world never will they win
this fight, but still should not allow themselves to be discouraged by this. In order for parents
to surpass this dilemma they maintain with social media, they must first educate themselves in
order to then connect themselves to the future.
As a generation that did not grow up with social media networking, adults do not see the
great appeal it has on todays generation. As a teenager of the 21st century I can straight up say
that never have I ever been lectured about my social media habits by an adult who truly
understood why I enjoy social media so much. According to Robert and Paris Strom, college
professors and researchers for The Child Research Network, Social network blogs like

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Facebook serve other constructive functions that adults frequently fail to see. Having someone
pay attention to your opinions and give honest feedback on behavior can support growth (50).
Here we find the main appeal of social media: The need to be heard. Though that is not the only
favoring factor. Another important appeal of social networking is reading the statuss that peers
post. I constantly listen to adults complain that teenagers care too much about what their friends
think about their appearance, but I wonder if they ever considered how much we value their
opinions. By reading peer postings, children get confirmation that they are not alone in how
they feel or interpret current events (R., P. Strom 50). This is exactly the kind of self reassurance
teenagers from any generation, past, present, or future, have always longed for. Social media
presents a cure (for most) to social awkwardness.
There is no doubt that social media has its downside, but this where parents need to step
it up, not blame social media. I can testify that I have never been lectured about social media by
an adult who has and is educated on social media. As as result of being lectured by people I
considered uneducated, and who always banned me from using social media, I chose to ignore
them. In an article entitled, Social Media Use and Adolescents: A Guide for Parents it states,
For parents and caregivers, discussing media content with their teens can be an effective
strategy to reduce the amount of personal information disclosed more so than prohibiting
access, as teens often perceive monitoring as a violation of their privacy. As a teen who has
experienced social media mishaps, I can say that it is important to monitor your childs social
media behavior. What is not ok is becoming overbearing about it. Children will simply block
their parents if they are becoming too overbearing(Goot). No one likes their privacy to be
invaded, and no one likes to feel like their child is unsafe; A compromise is needed.

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It is essential that adults realize that social media is here to stay. There will never be a
shut down on social media because it is, completely unrealistic and not really an option
(Goot). In this 21st century world of smartphones, tablets, and laptops, everything and everyone
has social media. Why? To share and spread the word. Social media provides all the features we
the people need to get our ideas out into the world. In its most recent iteration, the update
template has included semi-automated features such as tagging people and places which also
impact the narrative potential of updating (Page et al. 205). Young adults alone, are not the only
ones enjoying these new features. Companies are now even using these features to their
advantage. Companies use the like and tag buttons so much social media is continuing to
create more of these buttons. I alone have noticed that most of the news stories, or company
advertisements I view are produced from my friends hitting the Share button on Facebook. The
whole world is adapting to this new form of communication. Instead of bashing and dismissing
social media it should be adults and parents everywhere obligation to get with it. It being the
whole world.
The world is at a rapid changing rate and its time for everyone to get with the program.
Social media is just one of the small aspects of the change. Parents, yes, worry about your
children. Parents, no, forbidding your children from using social media is not the answer. The
answer is in you. Its time to realize that there is so much to learn about social media. More than
the negative viewpoints portrayed by society. It is time to get online yourself. See and feel the
experience for yourself. Most importantly remember: The current forms of social media are the
now; More is yet to come. Do not all yourself to fall behind. Get informed, and get ahead.

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Works Cited
Goot, Michael. "Parents Get Schooled on Social Media." Glens Falls Post-Star. N.p., 27 Mar.
2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2015.
Page, Ruth, Richard Harper, and Maximiliane Frobenius. "From Small Stories To Networked
Narrative: The Evolution Of Personal Narratives In Facebook Status Updates." Narrative
Inquiry 23.1 (2013): 192-213. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.
"Social Media Use And Adolescents: A Guide For Parents." Brown University Child &
Adolescent Behavior Letter 30.(2014): 1-2. Academic Search Premier. Web. 31 Mar.

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2015.
Strom, Paris, and Robert Strom. "Growing Up With Social Networks And Online
Communities." Education Digest 78.1 (2012): 48-51. Academic Search Premier. Web. 31
Mar. 2015.

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