Communications and Media

Technology has given birth to social media which in one way or the other impacts either positively or negatively on our youth. Some examples of these social media include Twitter, Myspace, Youtube, Orkut, Friendster and Facebook. These social sites keep springing up and our youth are getting hooked on them day by day. The sites have huge followings and most of the subscribers are the youth. Eyebrows never fail to be raised when young people spend a substantial amount of their time on these sites. What information do they access What kind of people are they associating with Are they at risk of getting hooked to crime, pornography, drugs and who knows what Is there any positive gain from social media What if the negative gains outweigh the positive ones These concerns are addressed here

Positive Effects of Social Media on Our Youth
The web is an opening to a huge world where our youth are not restricted in whatever they may seek to know. All answers seem to be plastered here for anyone who is interested. A study carried on the positive effects of social media showed that our youth are curious and eager to learn. Those interviewed said that they learn a lot on technological skills. Social media is the home of new technology and many therefore benefit from this aspect. Creation of these sites has taken a lot of creativity and this provokes the young minds. They learn how to be creative and this opens up their minds to discovery (Science Daily, par. 1-10).

Also featured on social media are blogs which are educative. They could be on a certain issue, a product or even a company and our youth are bound to learn a lot. Social media carries with it discussions on diverse matters and this opens up our youth to various views. This also triggers them to think outside the box. Through social media, our youth learn how to express themselves through these discussions or the live chats. They learn vital communication skills which are valuable to their social life. Social and professional networkings are also some of the positive attributes of social media. Through it, our youth are being constantly prepared for the 21st century which requires more than classroom knowledge to be successful. Social media makes the learning process interesting and relevant as it offers a captivating learning experience. (Science Daily, par. 1-10).

Negative Effects of Social Media on Our Youth
There are two sides to a coin and social media also has a side to the good side. One of the negative characteristic of social media is addiction. Our youth have a tendency of getting hooked on these sites and therefore spend most of their time online. This could cause a decline on their overall performance both at school and at home. Our youth are vulnerable when online and some of the other negative effects they suffer are sexual solicitation. Other users may lure them into talking about sex or even performing something sexual. This adds up as internet sexual harassment. This harassment mostly occurs during the live chats (Ybarra and Kimberly 350-357).

 There is also a risk of falling prey to pedophiles who hit on the seemingly troubled youth. They give attention and promises of love and a child undergoing a trying time at home maybe swept away. Other youth are bullied on these sites by other users who may coerce them to do stuff for them. Others break their self esteem through lewd comments on their personalities. Our youth are also at a risk of getting into wrong company that may lead to various social crimes like drug abuse, pornography and alcohol. This is occasioned by the fact that they cannot be able to tell who is a genuine friend (Ybarra and Kimberly 350-357).

Conclusion
The impact of social media on our youth is clearly a sensitive issue and we need to keep it under control. Social media as a learning resource is commendable as they get to learn so much. On the other hand, the youth are a vulnerable lot and they may end up getting caught up in the negative web. This can cause them grievous emotional and physical harm as well. It is however possible to prevent the negative affects if the right measures were put in place. These include counseling the youth, offering them sound advice against ills of social media, addressing their psychosocial problems, offering service on mental health online as well as establishing anti-bullying programs in schools.