Social media plays a significant role in connecting people to new friends, especially teenagers. Most people may feel that they have no one to go to or talk to; thus, social media allows them to meet and learn about new friends and get to know them better(Anderson et al.). Research has shown that sixty-four percent of teenagers have made new friends through social media platforms. When asked, teenagers say that social media platforms are the best options for connecting with friends by sharing their feelings and lives.
Social media platforms help people to keep in touch with friends or families that relocate. Most teenagers using social media say they feel more connected to their companions’ lives. Girls connect through social media platforms differently from boys. Most girls prefer to connect online more than meeting them in person, while boys prefer to hang out in person and do other fun things than talk through social media. Nowadays, social media platforms are considered toxic and harmful since they lead to inadequate communication among teenagers, obesity, less intellectual society, and lack of concentration. But people fail to understand that social media platforms are important for people to connect with the online world and make good use of it. For example, a social platform like Facebook allows people to network socially by posting about their hobbies, interests, and building relationships with like-minded people. On the brighter side, one can even meet a life partner on this platform, which is good.
These platforms make it practicable for teenagers and people of all ages the difference in culture, where they live, or status. Having friends in social media platforms connects teenagers to friends and information and connects them to possibilities of social support from their peers or friends and larger social networks. About sixty-eight percent of teenagers have received support from their friends on social media during hard times or challenges. However, it is ironic that one may have many friends on social media and still feel lonely, but it is better than lacking friends in real life and social media.
Eighty-five percent of teenagers using social media say that people get the opportunity to show their different sides of who they are than they cannot show in person. Many teenagers consider this positive side of social media since it allows them to show a different version of themselves and talk about different things. In most cases, teenagers are not usually comfortable talking about serious issues face to face. Mostly it is all about jokes. Still, they get comfortable chatting online with their friends. Seventy-seven percent of teenagers say that people using social media are real compared to when they are offline. The ethos of social media is that everyone is given an equal chance to air their views or say something interesting to their friends even if they have few followers. Pathos used on social media by teenagers is seen in emotional communication like heart-touching quotes or pictures to gain friends’ sympathy. Teenagers use logos to rely on their friend’s intelligence in giving dependable evidence to support a discussion.
In conclusion, social media platforms are better for making friends since one can have control to choose the kind of friends one wants to have and the amount of information they want to share.
Work cited
Anderson, Monica, and Jingjing Jiang. “Teens’ social media habits and experiences.” Pew Research Center 28 (2018).
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