Internet addiction blog by Anne-Lyse Limousin

Why are teenagers obsessed with social media ? How does it really affect our life ? The specialists are now talking about an Addiction, like they can talk about alcohol, tobacco, and gambling. Although the use of phones and internet can sometimes allow shy teens to socialize more, the dark side is that it has negative effects on their social lives, and it could encourage them to live more in cyber life than in real life, it can also have an effect on the school works.

First of all, one of the major effects of this internet addiction is the school work that decreases. It includes the grade but also the homework is affected. Grades and homework are usually affected because teenagers prefer to be on their phone rather than study. Good grades can lead to a good university and after a good job. But as teenagers we don’t look at this. We just think that being on our phone after school won’t affect our future job. And this is one of the problems of the internet addiction. We don’t see the time pass but we usually also don’t see the bad effects that it can have on our life. 

Another problem that we can face because of the internet addiction is the socialization of teenagers. An advantage of the phone is that it can be easier for a shy person to talk through a phone by messages. But this can also be a major problem, because teenagers now prefer to be alone in their bedroom playing on their phone rather than going out with their friends. Nowadays teens are more often to meet and discuss with people online than in real life. It’s a huge problem because teens don’t even know how to properly speak to a person in real life, because the way you talk to a person by messages is not the same as when you talk to a real person in real life. We cannot have the same attitude and words in real life as online. 

The other side of the socialization through internet addiction can also have many positive effects. Some specialists even said “Teens Are Addicted to Socializing, Not Screens” (Boyd). And this is something that we can often see. When we are on social media, we are always searching for new people and accounts that have things in common with us. For example a person that plays the same sports or has the same hobbies as you. It’s also a way to meet people and discuss with them. Sometimes you can even meet them in real life. And this is when you see the benefits of social media. An area to discover, meet, and talk with people from everywhere.

Last of all, teens are usually led to create and invent a fake life. This is primarily due to social media. On certain Instagram accounts like celebrities,  We can see people that have more money, better lives. It can be a place where we can develop jealousy. We want to let people think about a life that we don’t have, because people are never happy about things they have. They always want more. And this is human, but it can lead people in the wrong direction. We always need to remember that on social media the people only show you what they want. “How fake is your life on social media ?”(Salas) Sometimes they only show you the parts that are amazing and beautiful. But they never show you the bad things. But real life isn’t only the reflection of social media. 

In conclusion, the internet, sometimes called an “addiction” by some specialists, has negative effects on teenagers but also a little bit of positive effects. It’s like in life, which is not all black or all white and beautiful. We need to make some compromise and live with it. It’s now a way of life, and I think we should do the best we can to make the most of this new technology. Instead of using it as a destroyer of teenage life. We have all the weapons in our hands to make this technology something better and good for us.

Works Cited :

Boyd, Danah. “Teens Are Addicted to Socializing, Not Screens”. Onezero.medium.com. One Zero. 14 apr 2020. Web. 23 Mar 2021.

Salas, Van. “How Fake is Your Social Media Life?”. Poundit.com. Poundit. 21 Nov 2018. Web. 23 Mar 2021.