Page 36 - Intra Muros November 2023 Issue

TODAY’S CHILD

Teenagers also believe other people have to reality of the number of people the account These create false and unrealistic expectations
more friends than they really do, based on holder engages with in real life. The process for teens to try to meet. Teens strive for more
the number of followers a person has. The of choosing who is ‘worth’ following back is ‘likes’ by editing their photos. Body image, and
teen user may have hundreds or thousands of harrowing and is another discussion altogether. by extension mental health and wellbeing,
followers because of the skilful posting they become eroded. Cyberbullying also takes place
do; in fact, they only really know a handful of Key points to consider: between friends who are fighting or former
those people and are friends with even fewer. • Hooked on scrolling romantic partners who are now in conflict –
Most social media platforms are designed exposing photos are posted to cause one of the
For the teen with fewer followers, the to keep users engaged for long periods of parties distress and to lash out at them due to
assumption then is that they are less liked, time. Instagram does this very effectively personal hurt.
less connected and therefore less popular. by allowing users to scroll indefinitely. • Live streaming
The seduction comes into play where the Teens and adults quickly lose track of time Live streaming is another concerning feature
‘less popular’ teen must create a post which while scrolling. Sleep gets disrupted and of Instagram when it comes to teenagers.
will get more followers, or they must be more relationships become strained as families no It allows users to connect with followers in
active on Instagram. longer communicate with one another. real time. This has all sorts of problems with
• Direct messages (DMs) regard to exposure, let alone the grooming and
The idea of “Followers” versus “Following” DMs allows users to share posts, videos, abuse that can sneak into a teen’s feed. Online
is an irony in itself. The goal is to have more photos, voice messages and calls with each bullying is also prevalent in “live chats”, where
people following you than who you follow. other. Even if a teenager’s account is set as friends discuss others in an open and real-time
When this goal is looked at objectively, it is private, anybody with an Instagram account live conversation.
ironic. Having more people following you is able to DM another Instagram user. Human
cannot demonstrate popularity or being well- nature being what it is, curiosity may get the Pointing fingers
liked. It demonstrates the account-holder’s better of your teen, and they may let themself Problems with new technology get blamed on
ability to use people for their goal of achieving be exposed to someone or something you technology. If we want to find a solution to these
status/popularity. would prefer them not knowing about or problems, we need to take ownership of our
seeing. role in the situation and take cognisance of the
More realistically, the number of people they • Influencer culture technologically driven world in which we live.
are following back shows how many people Influencer culture is a fascinating thing.
the account holder actually engages with in Influencers promote products, services, There has always been a medium transmitting
real life – that is, how many people they know apps, etc. to the target audience. These social pressure. Previously it was TV, newspapers
personally and choose to follow back is a titbits are not always easy to uncover as and magazines. Today it includes social media
better reflection on their social standing. they are housed in benign-looking posts and and the internet. The challenge with social media
may mislead teens into wanting something is that it is accessible all day, every day, from
For example, if a teen has 1 500 followers promoted on their feed. anywhere and for as long as you like.
but is only following 350 back, this reflects • Mental health challenges
pseudo-popularity/like. Out of the 350, 250 As mentioned above, edited photos and It is the social pressure put on teens that is part
to 300 of those may represent a truth closer enhanced photos are the norm on Instagram. of our culture, that is then amplified by social
media. Things like popularity used to be abstract.
Today it is quantifiable in terms of how many
followers you have on Instagram.

However, we need to guard against making social
media the forbidden fruit. Teenagers are always
one step ahead of their parents. For example:
• Being a ‘friend’ of your teen on Instagram does
not mean you can see what they have posted.
They are able to hide their feed from you. You
cannot access where others have tagged them
in posts, photos or videos or who your teen is
direct messaging.
• Teens have more than one account.
• Decoy apps allow teens to hide their photos
and videos, make secret calls and message
people.

The lesson to be learnt is that as technology
advances, teenagers will never stop moving
towards these advances.

34 | INTRAMUROS NOVEMBER 2023