Social Media: A Blessing or Threat to the Adolescent Mind

One of the good things about the technology era and digital age we're in is the privilege of social media. Several of these spaces exist today, all with their diverse modes of operation. Different user interfaces, user experiences, expectations, operations and services. Even with all their differences and competitions, they serve purposes closely knitted to each other.

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Several of these social media platforms and spaces are available. It could be surprising to find how many are out there. At some point, I was surprised to find out about several others that are out there apart from the major and popular ones we know. Some serve distinct sorts of purposes that perhaps, one wouldn't find them that popular amongst the rest.

As I make efforts to consider the role played by social media in our lives; how it has shaped and affected our engagements with life, I was confronted by the impacts and the effects it has had on the adolescent mind. I tend to wonder, if this was largely a blessing, or a threat. The conversation gets deeper as time passes by. I guess it will be nice to have a little of the discourse here today.

Yes, the conversation keeps getting deeper. If one looks closely, they will realise that there are more engagements and use of these spaces by the adolescents than years back. I'll say my time being a child or an adolescent had lower engagement with the media spaces among the adolescents, and years before my time were lesser likewise. Today, it's a major thing among adolescents.

Understanding and realising the place it has among the adolescents today; the potentials and impacts it has, it will be good to see where it's heading with the younger ones. Something I can say is that it's been much of a threat as it has turned out to be a blessing. Adolescents are showcasing their skills, talents and gifts in these spaces today and getting a good return. Many are also learning wonderful, beautiful, edifying, thought-provoking and developmental things from these media spaces.

It will be a fallacy to say there's nothing good out there coming from social media. However, it seems that with every good and value added, there's a commensurate level of evil, negativity, and destruction poured out into the spaces, which makes me see a threat in it too. The testimonies of many today－who social media wasn't even a major thing at their adolescent age－revealed that one addiction or the other they suffered with was powered by social media.

If you take a good time to imagine it and think it through, you will understand how much of a threat it could be, even in its diverse blessings. You know, there's always this curiosity the adolescent mind has, and with the tools of these media spaces, it could get bad for a curious mind without some control or discipline.

Thankfully, the space has inspired and blessed many with one potential, Knowledge, skill, and one thing or the other. Honestly, that's something to be happy about, and grateful for in such terms. Perhaps, such things as the aforementioned are the reason these spaces came into being. But as it's proven in life, abuse isn't inevitable, even for things of good intent.

Whether it's a blessing or a threat, one thing that stands is that social media will remain. Not just that, but it will keep growing, multiplying and diversifying into different forms. The virtual reality experience is coming into play. As it's known with technology, it never stops growing, it never backs down from an opportunity to develop. I guess what's best is to find some sort of regulation and discipline for its use.

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Images are mine, except otherwise stated.

Thank you for reading through!