Issue: The Pros and Cons of Social Media for Youth

Pros: Cons:

 The ability to keep in touch with  Cyberbullying

friends and family  Anxiety
 The ease of making new friends  Misrepresented sense of body image
 Recognized as a source of support  Threats
and assurance by many  Criticism
 The exposure to new ideas  Miscommunication
 The exposure to political and social  Feeling of being left out and lonely
movements  Paranoia
 Positively affect emotions for few  Many describe it as a source of
 Described as method of stress worry and pressure
management by few  Exposure to disturbing content

Conclusion: Despite its overwhelming number of cons, many people, especially teens, still use
social media likely due to its convenience and the ease of being closely connected to their
friends and the rest of the world. I believe that social media is here to stay since its pros
definitely outweigh the cons, I mean imagine a world where we would still have to read letters
from long-distance relationships and have no other choice but to wait days, if not weeks, to
receive a response, not to mention, social media helps socially awkward people make new
friends, helps emotionally distressed people find support and brings communities together for a
good cause, to name a few. Finally, most of the cons can be avoided by just staying on the safe
side of the social media world, therefore, there isn’t much of a reason to criticize social media
unless you go out of your way to look for one.