Social Media and Its Effs on the Young Generation

          SOCIAL MEDIA AND ITS EFFS ON THE YOUNG GENERATION

Intro

1. If some 30 yrs ago somebody would be told, that one of the greatest threats to our emotional and psy well-being and our social grooming will be a small device on our table, the person would just shrug his shoulders and call you mad. But ironically that is what is happening nowadays. Uncon use of social media is gradually taking its toll on our social lives even though we are not on the peak of this phenomenon yet. Social media comprises of  a host of networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Skype and smart phone apps like Whattsapp etc. These media provide features such as   comm , texting, audio and video sharing etc b/w indls all over the world. Being the cheapest and most versatile means of fast access, majority of youth is shifting speedily to social media all over the world. According to BBC approx 67 % of the Pakistani youth uses this media.
2.  This craze of social media among the youths has led to a no of questions regarding its impact on their daily lives. Websites have become prominent parts of life for many young people today, but what is it really? What are the negative and positive effs? Is the young generation more concerned with Facebook than its daily life?

Aim

1. To analyze the impacts of social media on the young generation and propose a way fwd for overcoming its downsides.

Seq

1. Seq of the paper will be as fol:-

1. Social Media in its Entirety.
2. Social Media – That untamed Horse.
3. Analysis.
4. Recoms

Social Media in its Entirety

1. Coined in the late 90s by an Indian IT expert the term ‘Social Media’ has now become the way of life for many of us. Rg from Twitter to whattsapp etc, these sites can act as a great tool for professionals, small business owners and can also offer a no of opportunities to indls and gps. One can also use these sites to help out someone else. For instance, one friend might mention on his facebook profile about any of his req and another might give out a viable soln. Social media has also provided the youth with a source of edn. A no of Universities keep its students info about upcoming events through this media. According to Merriam Encyclopedia UK, social media is an essential tool for youth in the fd of edn for learning  the new trends, to improve comm skills, cultural promoting,  and religious and political info gathering and sharing links etc.
2. Social media affects young people who are growing up in an age where media is not just about TV but also about interacting, sharing and staying info about each other in a circle. The mammoth use of this media by youth has forced orgs to change their comm tools. It is extensively used by govts, gps, coys and  indls to express their opinion to others.

Social Media – That untamed Horse

1. With all its goods and bads social media has now become an essential part of our life style. Over the pd of time its extensive use by our society and the new features which it offers to us has made it much more than just a tool. In a cty like ours we find govt officials using Twitter to express an official statement and a Ts org using some other media to del its own views. A no of brands use their social media accts to advertise their products in order to attract online customers. Cultural and religious gps also use it to pub their view pts and gather followers. However the fact that its use by our society, spec the young generation without any regards to the governing laws/ conventions and the ethical values has turned it into  an untamed horse.

Analysis

1. In many cases we see that people’s lives revolve around their social media accts. We see people on smart phones every two minutes looking for the newest Tweet or status updates from friends. We find that being “Facebook official” brings validity to things in our lives and the list of examples goes on. It’s important to realize that this great tool is just that, a tool and not a way of life.  We sometimes share too much with too many people without even being conscious of that.
2. Deteriorating Social Norms.   With the advent of social media our already fledgling social fabric has become further weak. People spend lot of time and money in their electronic gadgetries only to distance themselves from much valued norms and values. Our youth being the majority of social media users pay no heed to the ethical and moral values forming the basis of our society. The factor around which a young indls life revolves is his/her smart phone and not the so many people who live imed besides him/her. Unfortunately this tendency has gravely affected our relationships at all lvls.
3. Negative Effs on the Study of Youth.   Being psy and mentally less str the youths are unable to strike out a bal in their pris. Rampant use of social media not only wastes their valuable time but also make them lose sight of their aims. Deceptive and unethical activities on social media further adds to the problem. The circulation of immoral material also inhibits the positive thinking ability of a student.  Having lost the real aim, study becomes a secondary obj for a student. He is unable to focus any more on his study and thus considers it a burden on himself.
4. The ‘Ideal Me’ vs the ‘Real Me’.   The self esteem of a pers is pretty much being built by the age of 12. It keeps on forming with experience and the surrounding environment and by the age of 20 a human learns to trust himself as a person. The process is called as ‘Identity Forming’ which is a duel b/w the 'realistic me' and the 'ideal me'. In real life one can’t be perfect, wise, look good all the time and always say the right things. But there is a possibility for that in the virtual world of social media. Compared to face to face conversation, in the Internet one can think longer before saying something and choose ones words carefully before typing it into a blog or chat message. One can choose to post only the nicest photos and delete the ones where he doesn’t look good enough. This tendency creates in our youth an 'ideal me' which is the person he wants to be. In most of the cases we find that the 'ideal me' is extremely far away from the 'real me'. A young and not so stable mind thus loses tr of the real world around it and falls prey to misperceptions.
5. Anti Religious and Sectarian Posts.   Social media being an open source is aval to all elms for sharing their views and opinion without taking into acct their validity. Opposing religious and sectarian factions have found an ideal platform for promoting hatred against each other in the shape of this media. Using fake idents and accts such elms are spreading their poisonous views to the common public thus providing gr for conflict and turmoil. Many a times such posts and shares have been the reason for conflicts resulting in loss of precious lives. Religiously motivated Ts gps such as TTP and LeJ etc are openly showing their hateful ideologies with impunity on social media. Invariably the flag bearers of such propaganda and its tgt are the youth. State institutions like NEPRA and PTA etc resp for reg the use of such media seem to have failed in their task.  
6. Exploitation of Social Media by Criminal Elms.   Due to the inherent ease with which one can hide ones ident as compared to other electronic media, social media has gained max attn of criminal elms. Criminal gangs use this media to keep tr of their tgts and blackmail them to meet their purposes. The youth being emotionally volatile is the most suitable prey to this vuln aspect. All over the cty in gen and in the big cities in particular youth are falling prey to criminals via this media. These gps exploit the emotional weaknesses of young indls by posing to be their friend or by offering them enticing offers such as monetary gains etc. Once the tgt is in their grip they then use it to meet their nefarious designs. The tac of such elms rg from kidnapping for ransoms to using the young indls as means of accomplishing their own disdainful aims.

Recoms  

1. The maxim “it is not the gun but the man behind the gun who matters” holds true in the case of social media as well. The makers of social media sites probably didn’t produce these for the purposes for which they are being used by the youth. It is very important to revisit and revalidate the real purpose of this useful media so that its real purpose is achieved. Fol are some measures suggested to achieve this purpose:-

1. Setting clear Social Pris.   Our nose diving social norms have been further deteriorated by the ingress of social media. Its hi time that we rein in the menace created by the wrong use of this media. The youth being our future need to be edn about the imp of the social norms and be given a clear pic of  the goods and bads of social media. Fol measures are recom to be taken:-

1. The govt should make it compulsory for the edn institutes to give a clear dir to the students with regards to the ups and downs of social media. Lecs on the imp of the social norms and ethical values should be arng in schools and universities.
2. Parents need to teach imp of the social values to their young children. The nec and benefits of sharing each others’ sorrow and happiness should be hi lt in front of the young generation.

1. Giving a Clear Aim to the Youth.   The uncon use of social media has blurred the aim of our youths. They should be guided towards their basic aim which is to focus on their studies. Fol needs to be done in this regard:-

1. They should be taught about the imp of the time and energy they have and be edn about the nec of using both in a rt dir. The realities of the prac life should be made clear to them.
2. Both parents and teachers should keep an eye on the unrestrained use of social media by the youth.
3. Emph should be laid on the moral grooming of the youth so that they are not attracted by the vicious material circulated on social media.
4. Youth should be motivated to indulge in other healthier activities such as sports and book reading etc.

1. Acceptance of Realities. The dichotomy b/w ‘the real me’ and ‘the ideal me’ forces the youths to lose sight of the realities that surround them. They then start dwelling their pers on falsehoods. It is therefore nec that they are taught the difference b/w reality and the perception of reality. To achieve this fol is recom:-

1. The youth should be made to realize that real success can be achieved only after facing the ‘real me’. They should be made to understand that their realities are not impediments but steps which would lead them to success.
2. The detriments of a false image given by social media to the youths should be made clear to them.  They should be discouraged from having false social ideals.

1. Con the Spread of Religious and Sectarian Hatred.   Social media is the prime means of influencing the young minds with hateful and vicious religious/ sectarian views.  This tendency needs to be stamped down by taking steps at national, collective and indl lvls. Fol steps be taken in this regard:-

1. Govt should ex strict chk on elms which spread such views. All such gps should be banned and their activities on social media be closely monitored.
2. At collective lvl gps and orgs should take concrete steps to avoid exploitation of youth via social media by such gps.
3. Indls having clear minds should teach the youth to refrain from involving in such activities. Everyone  should make sure that he does not fall prey to such religious elms on social media.

1. Reining in the Menace of Social Media.   Non adherence to the existing laws and conventions regarding the use of social media has turned it into a menace. Anti social elms are rampantly using this menace to meet their ends without even being noticed. Eff measures are req to be taken to rein in these elms. Fol will go a long way in this regard:-

1. Govt institutions should revisit existing laws on the use of social media and intro eff laws to govern the issue.
2. Govt should take steps to tr such anti social and criminal elms and punish them accordingly.
3. The youth should be edn by parents and teachers to prevent from playing into the hands of such elms.

Concl

15. Social media is a great tool which can make our life comfortable in a no of ways. Its positive use in a bal way will benefit us at indl and org lvl. However our youth is being negatively influenced by this tool. The youth usually share their pers info without caring for security and are likely to be manipulated by criminal elms. There is a dire need to guide the youth regarding the correct use of social media so that max benefits can be accrued from this tool.  

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