By Lily Gosney
With the increased access to phones in the last decade, our generation has no doubt been greatly impacted by social media. Whether it is compromising our academics or helping create relationships with people in person and virtually, it is very clear that teens spend too much time on social media, but I believe that there are beneficial aspects as well. On average, most students spend about 3-4 hours a day on their phones, taking away time from sleep, school and other activities. When junior Cian Boersma was asked about social media’s effects regarding his academics, he agreed that “it’s lowkenuinley affecting [his] grade like [he’s] sorry Dr. Sharma.” Due to the pandemic in 2020, apps like TikTok grew instant popularity, so quickly that presently, teenagers especially revolve around it and are surrounded by its effects. Whether they are negative or positive, they have impacted this generation where it changes day to day social skills as well as interactions. Apps such as Tiktok and Instagram have created the term, “doomscrolling,” where teens spend hours and hours scrolling through their feed and completely lose track of time. Doomscrolling is one of the greatest enemies since a harmless video can quickly turn into 20, resulting in lost time. It can unmotivated students to study for tests, do their homework and even go outside because social media can be so addicting. Most people wonder, “If social media is so bad then why not delete it?” Well, this is simply due to the fear of missing out (FOMO). Social media is intended to help people connect with friends, express themselves and mainly, have fun. Without it, you miss out on so many opportunities where you are able to connect with others. The concept of FOMO impacts many teenagers’ lives since it can bring kids out of their comfort zones and join in on things they would never do or result in poor decisions really only because they didn’t want to miss out. Social media can consume teenagers’ lives in negative ways by making them less productive, but I do believe that in this present day, without it, it can be difficult to connect with peers and enjoy one’s youth. By finding a balance between time on our phones and with our friends or doing our schoolwork, we can perfectly alter our schedule where we can be focused as well as have fun.