Risks of misuse of Social Networks among Adolescents

Adolescence is a moment of development characterized by the construction of a sense of self-identity, and adolescents of the 21st century configure their identity through and for the Internet. It is expected that young people will want, during this period, to find their place in the world in relation to their peers, with increasing autonomy from their parents. This means being part of social groups with specific interests, determining their own values, standing up for their ideas, and discovering themselves in this stage of profound changes.

With the advent of mass Internet access, the vast majority of adolescents have access to a mobile phone from an early age.. It is logical that, therefore, social networks and virtual reality are their favorite ways to configure their identity. This can be seen in the creation of profiles, of avatars that emulate their real appearance - or differ from it - as well as in the adoption of different aliases to call themselves whatever they wish on the digital level, in which they meet with others teenagers. This does not have to be seen as a negative thing. Just as times change, so does the way we communicate with others and the way we understand ourselves.

• Related article: "The 3 stages of adolescence"

Risks of inappropriate use of social networks in adolescence

The recurrent use of new technologies, which are the order of the day in the digital age, give us adults, adolescents and children facilities that in other moments in history not too distant would have been unthinkable For example, with just a couple of buttons or clicks we can find information that a few decades ago would have required us to delve into a labyrinthine library, or we can exchange messages instantly with any friend, even if they are on the other corner of the world.

Despite this, the internet and the use of social networks has, in adolescents, an undeniable counterpart. Social networks in adolescents are a key tool for the development of their generational identity; but, simultaneously, carries a series of risks that are beyond adult control. Adolescents become digitally emancipated at an early age, before the age of ten, and develop much greater skill than adults when it comes to using technology.

Parents cannot rest assured that their children are safe in the digital world. In this context, it is expected that many of them will be concerned about the misuse that their children could give to social networks and other forms of communication. Next, we will delve into the main risks of problematic use of social networks in adolescents.

1. Cyberbullying

Harassment and violence have always been present among young people. However, the ways in which these practices materialize has changed with the massive access that adolescents have to social networks. He school bullying It is a problem that unfortunately many adolescents must face., generating serious future consequences such as increased feelings of loneliness, greater anxiety and depression, alterations in appetite, sleep, etc. When a person is attacked by their peers, in general, they are being attacked for a quality or characteristic of theirs—whether physical, cognitive, socio-emotional or behavioral—leading the adolescent to develop maladaptive feelings and beliefs about himself himself/herself.

Bullying has shifted towards the digital world, which, as we introduced previously, is a much freer and unrestricted plane than the real world. On social networks there is no teacher, professor or parent capable of putting a stop to the inappropriate behavior of adolescents. The rules are determined among the peers themselves and, on many occasions, they are not able to put a stop to it when harm is being done to others. The misuse of social networks leads many adolescents to disseminate information and images of other young people and authority figures without their consent. The risk of doing so is that, on several occasions, the content shared on social networks may be false, degrading to the other person, refer to some event that I would prefer to have kept private or even have sexual content, which could have legal consequences and seriously reduce the self-esteem of the person. victim.

2. Mobile phone dependence

Another of the most notable risks of misuse of social networks is dependence on the smartphone. Social networks detect through algorithms which content we are most interested in to teach us more and more about it. This ultimately aims to increase our chances of consuming a product and staying in front of the screen. Besides, many platforms are full of ephemeral videos, no more than fifteen seconds, that keep us going scrolling more time than we would like.

Adolescents run the risk of failing to fulfill their obligations – increasingly greater, in contrast to childhood – by spending too much time on their mobile phones. For example, despite having the intention of finishing their homework, they might put off completing the task by spending hours watching videos. But dependency is not risky simply because of the fulfillment of tasks, but rather because they lose the possibility of deciding how to invest their time. Perhaps they would prefer to be doing other activities that could be much more cognitively, emotionally or creatively stimulating, such as playing a sport or hobby. There is no problem with teenagers “killing time” in front of their smartphones (just like them, adults we do it too), but it is problematic that they do not have the ability to decide how long they want to stay in the screen.

Furthermore, it should be noted that Adolescents have not yet definitively developed their prefrontal lobe, which causes who are not yet capable of exercising their executive functions in the same way as a adult. Some of the executive functions are the possibility of planning and making decisions in the long term, or the ability to have good inhibitory control. Compared to an adult, a teenager is less skilled at deciding when she wants leave the phone or not, which means that dependence on social networks could still be elderly.

3. Social isolation

Hand in hand with dependence on mobile devices, social isolation is a risk that adolescents run when misusing social networks. On the one hand, it is paradoxical that, despite the hyperconnection that characterizes our time, all the research carried out on this topic systematically shows that Social isolation in adolescents is increasing as their time spent on the internet increases. Although social networks help an adolescent display his or her identity as an individual and in relationship to a group, its excessive use or as a replacement for face-to-face ties can lead to isolation social.

• You may be interested: "Unwanted loneliness: what it is and how we can combat it"

4. Grooming

Harassment for sexual purposes by an adult of a minor over the Internet is known as grooming.. Social networks make it possible to create false profiles through which you can subtly approach a teenager or child without them knowing that there is an adult on the other side of the screen. A possible preventive measure is to encourage the adolescent to make responsible use of her social networks. For example, you could reduce the number of people you associate with online, sticking to adding only those people you know your true identity to your friends or followers.

Strategies to deal with the problem

These are the most effective measures to combat the misuse of social networks in adolescents:

• Set a minimum age to start using them: It is important that they do not start using these websites during the transition between childhood and adolescence, or before this stage of life.
• Limit the publication of content: In the early years of adolescence, it is important that they do not upload photos in which they appear, so as not to expose themselves to grooming or not to reveal information that violates their security. *Set times for using social networks: only outside school hours.
• Promote the use of communication platforms with private channels, such as Telegram or WhatsApp, compared to conventional social networks, which favor the use of public comments.
• Establish limitations with the type of users they can interact with online: They should only associate with people they know in person. It is necessary to specify very clearly what the limit is between a known person and an unknown person.