Nowadays, the younger generation is very different from when we were kids. Cargos and crop tops are in style instead of unicorn shirts and leggings. Eight year olds shop at Sephora and wear makeup. 

The biggest difference between the way we were raised and kids now is kids’ access to phones and social media. Almost every kid in the new generation has a phone, tablet, Ipod, or some type of device. 

Usually, with these devices come a social media platform like Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Snapchat, and Tiktok. These apps can introduce children to harmful apparel like cyberbullying, inappropriate content, phone addiction, and much more.

Parents are letting their kids rot away and lose their connection with the world. For example, many influencers will use filters to make their lives look better than the lives of whoever’s watching.

This makes children jealous of others’ life, which really affects their view on the world. Everyone should be grateful for what they have in life, and ruining it at a young age makes it even harder to gain that appreciation as an adult.

Professor Abhijit Nasker’s quote is really something the younger generation should think about; “The fewer devices you have to charge, the more charge you have for your mind.”

Education is an important value in a child’s life. While everyone might not ace school, most little kids try to put in an effort. Having social media only interferes with their schoolwork and grades since it’s so addictive. Their phones are really changing their childhood and increasing anxiety and depression. 

There can be benefits to social media, however, like communicating more, connecting with other people, or even finding someone who you can really relate to so you don’t feel alone. 

But honestly, children shouldn’t have to deal with that. The only people they communicate with are parents/siblings, and teachers/ friends from school.  

Having social, in person interaction is important to build communicating and life skills at a young age. Talking over text or platforms aren’t going to help with this.

Another concern is inappropriate content. Kids should not be cursing from a young age, or being exposed to things they really shouldn’t be seeing yet. 

Cyberbullying is another problem. Pretty much everyone, especially kids, that have social media have encountered some form of cyberbullying. Whether it was about them, or someone they know, or no one in relation to you, we’ve all seen it.

Bullying hurts kids more than it can hurt us. It might feel like we have a reputation to uphold, but kids will feel horrible about themselves and will remember it for the rest of their lives.

A few years ago, on April 25, 2022, a ten year old kid, Nate Bronstein, was enrolled at a private school that looked very promising to his future. As a present for this huge accomplishment, his parents got him a phone. 

Within days of having social media platforms, he became a victim of relentless cyberbullying from his classmates. Sadly, he ended up taking his own life because he didn’t want to deal with it anymore.

14.9 percent of kids on the internet are cyberbullied, and 13.6 percent of those cyberbullied have made a suicide attempt. This shows that cyberbullying is a serious thing that younger kids really shouldn’t be having to deal with.

Kids also might feel excluded. Say that they are scrolling on Instagram and they see that one of their friends is having a party without them. They’re going to feel like they’re not wanted and excluded by others.

Studies have shown that kids without social media tend to look on the bright side and be more positive toward others. 

Influencer Steven Barett put out a powerful quote; “Social media is designed to make you think: maybe I should be somewhere else, doing something else, with someone else; but if you always think your happiness is somewhere else, it will never be where you are.”

Your childhood is something you should enjoy, not something you spend wishing you were doing something else in a supposedly happier place.

Another reason why kids shouldn’t have access to social media platforms is that they will lose their social skills they’ve already started building. While it can be argued that social media helps you communicate, The Kids Mental Health Foundation has stated, “Spending too much time on social media can prevent kids from learning skills to interact with others in real life-skills like understanding context, starting and maintaining conversations, and interpreting body language.”

Social skills are important to learn at a young age; they make a foundation for life skills that are needed later on in life. Losing those social skills at a young age because of social media only makes it harder to use social skills as an adult. 

In conclusion, social media has affected the younger generation to a point where it’s harming their childhood.