Problem Statement
I will be researching internet usage and its effects on adolescents. I am very interested to see what if any effect the increased amount of internet usage that this generation has experienced.
Literature Review Question
What effect does the amount of internet usage that this generation experiences have on their development?
Literature Review
Internet Usage and Adolescents
Adolescent’s
over usage of the internet has proven to be much more detrimental than
beneficial. The emergence of the internet has led to many mental and physical
defects. Social media is a major component of the internet that has led to a
plethora of social problems such as cyberbullying. It appears the best way to
solve the problem at hand is to limit the internet usage of adolescents.
Although, the internet poses many problems, there can be great benefits in
using the internet. The internet can be used as an educational mechanism to
increase efficiency in a working environment.
The use of the internet can be a very useful tool but at the same time
could have an adverse effect on adolescents.
With
the emergence of the internet there has also been a development of social media
and online interaction. Social media has affected a majority of adolescents in
America. Nearly 81% percent of teens in America use some type of social media
according to Linda Jackson’s book, Adolescents and the Internet, where she
explains the effects that the internet can have on adolescents. Social media
has proven to be a major part of a young adult’s life and looks like it is a
trend to continue.
Teenagers
spend huge amounts of time on the internet and media. (Strasburg as well as
figure 1) 
But
these adolescents must be wary of the harmful effects that social media is
capable of. Effects such as cyberbullying, sexting, online pornography,
“Facebook depression”, instant gratification, and the list goes on.
Social
media has brought forth a new and very complicated problem in cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying causes psychological, emotional, and physical stress for
adolescents that are on the receiving end. Many accounts of school violence have been
linked to cyberbullying, with instances including fights and even school
shootings. (Will) This comes from an account that is very popular in bullying
statistics and there effect. Amanda Lenhart conducted a survey and it reported
that of the 12-17 year old teens surveyed 94% of teens go online, 89% of online
teens go online from home, 77% go online at school, 71% go online from a friend
or relative's house, and 63% of online teens go online daily. (Lenhart) These
numbers are very startling to see how much of an impact internet and social
media have on adolescents. Also reported from the survey was that 85% of teens
had experienced some form of cyberbullying. The alarming fact that 75% of 12-17
year olds have come in contact with cyberbullying should raise gargantuan red
flags. Cyberbullying can lead to numerous many detrimental effects but yet
there is little done to deter these adolescents from cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying has led to suicide as it was concluded in a study that 7% of the
89% of teens that use the internet have attempted suicide. (Will) The lives of
children are being lost due to the effects of cyberbullying.
The
most effective way to reduce these tragedies from occurring is to limit
internet usage among adolescents.
The
emergence of the internet has led to increased exposure to violence among
adolescents. There has been an extreme amounts of exposure of mature content to
adolescents in recent years. New studies are coming out every day linking
aggressive behavior directly to the exposure in media violence and exposure to
mature content during youth years. (Park) Recent school shootings and acts of
violence in schools have been linked to exposure to media violence. (Will) With
the large amount of internet usage of adolescents, a substantial portion of
that is mature content and media violence. Most recently the tragic events that
occurred at Sandy Hook have been most notably linked to violent video games.
(Smith) The tragic event shows to be a reminder of the extremely harmful mental
and psychological effects violent video games can inflict on people. Yet another
reason to limit the usage of internet among adolescents is the mature content
and media violence impacts.
With the rise of the internet and social media
sites there are many new challenges to face. Facebook Depression is a new term
used by many researchers to describe the negative social effects that social
media websites can produce such as depression. (O’Keefe) Many of these
adolescents are getting so caught up in social media that they are allowing it
to have a major physiological impact on their lives. A direct cause from social
media websites is narcissism as these adolescents are getting too caught up in
their image. “I might see all of my
friends hanging out the night before and wonder why I wasn’t invited and feel
extremely lonely about that.” (Dockterman) Dockterman explains the phenomenon
of Facebook depression and how social media makes many adolescents lonely and
depressed. Overuse of Facebook and other social media sites a significantly
correlated with narcissism, Histrionic Personality Disorder,
Antisocial Personality Disorder, Bipolar Disorder, and Sadistic,
Passive-Aggressive, Borderline, Paranoid, and Somatoform Personality Disorders.
(Taylor) Overuse of social media websites are associated with all of these
mental and social disorders that prove to have a detrimental effect to
adolescents.
Adolescents’
use of the internet has led to exposure to mature content such as online
pornography and sexting. In recent studies done by Amanda Lenhart for PEW
research found that 15% of cell owning teens 12-17 in age have received
sexually suggestive texts. (Lenhart) Exposure to mature content is alarming at
an age as low as 12. This exposure can lead young adolescents to pursue a
sexually active lifestyle at too young of an age. Typically these young
adolescents are not taught the harmful effects of unprotected sex. Amanda
Lenhart shows studies that show there is an association between internet usage
and media exposure to sexting and online pornography. Mature content in an
early adolescent life can lead to very harmful effects later on in life.
The
massive increase of internet usage and social media has led to many impersonal
relationships. It is more common nowadays for children to be on their phones
during family dinners. There is an obsession with our smartphones has not only
changed the way we spend time, but the way we feel and think. (Qtd. in Dockterman,
Stolz) We
connect these insignificant messages so much to our self-worth. (Dockterman)
Adolescents have allowed social media to have so much of impact on their lives
and the way they think. These adolescents are constantly chasing the idea that
something is cool. (Generation Like) When kids think that that a product is
cool they tend to all ride the bandwagon and get the product. In recent years
the obsession with technology has led teens to be unsocial. Adolescents are
becoming less and less social with the development of technology and social
media. Now more than ever teenagers are more aloof and socially awkward than
ever before. We can link this behavior to the emergence of social media sites
and increasing amount of technology used by adolescents in an average day see
Figure 1.
Instant
gratification is the desire to experience pleasure or fulfillment without
delay. (Patel) This concept has arose with social media and now poses a threat
to many adolescents. Many kids post on social media websites to get immediate
likes to boost their self-confidence. (Generation Like) Although this appears
to be a positive effect there is another side for those who don’t receive likes
which could perhaps lower their self-confidence. Instant gratification and the
desire to get immediate pleasure is plaguing this generation with a numerous
amount harmful effects. Nowadays it is very rare to see an adolescent working
on something that does not have an immediate payout. Instant gratification is
just one of many harmful effects that comes with the massive amount of media
and technology use by adolescents.
Social
Media has been the root cause of many problems that have arisen with the usage
of the internet. Social media can link friends to each other and allows us to
communicate in a way never before seen. However, there can be so many negative
effects that come with the usage of social media. Social media is a direct link
to Facebook
Depression,
Cyberbullying, sexting, violence, and many other negative social and mental
effects on adolescents. Psychological issues have also arose right alongside
the emergence of social media usage.
Not
only does the internet cause a plethora of social problems, but there have been
a vast amount of mental and physical effects linked to the internet. Studies
have shown to link internet usage to sleep deprivation, knowledge gaps, and
ADHD. (Jackson) Some mental and psychological effects from the internet prove
to be extremely harmful to adolescents. ADHD has been diagnosed to 6.4 million
children ages 4-17 and that number has increased 5% per year since 2003.
(Statistics) These numbers have been linked to the internet and usage among
these children.
Knowledge
gaps have become more and more common and larger in this new generation. Due to
search engines many adolescents have not retained common knowledge. If they do
not know something the first thing they go to is google. Google reports there
are 1.17 billion users. (Google) Mark Bauerlein claims search engines and the
internet have made this generation incompetent and their lack of retention
of common knowledge has led him to claim
the new generation as the dumbest generation. (Bauerlein) Knowledge gaps are
not the only problem with the internet and search engines. As search engines
also alter the way we think. Patricia Greenfield, a developmental psychologist
who runs UCLA’s Children’s Digital Media Center, reviewed dozens of studies on
how different media technologies influence our cognitive abilities. Some of the
studies indicated that certain computer tasks, like playing video games,
increase the speed at which people can shift their focus among icons and other images
on screens. Other studies, however, found that such rapid shifts in focus, even
if performed adeptly, result in less rigorous and “more automatic” thinking.
(Carr) The more and more we let the internet the less and less we are able to
generate innovative and creative thoughts. The more “automatic thinking” we
possess will lead to the inability to think outside of the box. The internet
has changed the way we think and if we allow it, the internet could very well
alter the way of thinking forever.
A very important part of adolescent
lifestyle is the amount of sleep. The loss of sleep can cause an enormous
amount of mental and physical problems. The use of internet has been directly
correlated with the loss of sleep for adolescents. The use of TV or computers
before going to sleep can delay sleep for up to two hours. (Hatfield) Around
the world children get an hour less of sleep than they used to get. (Bronson) Bronson
has completed many studies claiming the lost hour of sleep causes a 7 point
drop in an IQ test, ADHD, and obesity. Internet usage has been proven to lead
to sleep deprivation in adolescents. (Jackson) Sleep deprivation is very
harmful for all people but to the development in adolescents it can cause many
negative effects. We must be extremely wary of the harms as it could be truly
detrimental to the development of our youth. Sleep is extremely essential for
the developments of adolescents.
ADHD and many other of mental
diagnosis are derived from the internet. With the rapid use of the internet
that has emerged especially in the early 2000s has brought ADHD along with it. As
ADHD has been diagnosed to 6.4 million children ages 4-17 and that number has
increased 5% per year since 2003. (Statistics) ADHD is the lack of ability to
retain focus. Many children (including my brother Ben) are prescribed Adderall
for their mental diagnosis, whether it be ADHD or one of many other mental
defects. Adderall has many side effects and if a children were to overdose it
very well could be fatal. (Drugs.com) Adderall can stimulate growth of
adolescents and could harm adolescence development. There have been many
stimulation that many children nowadays are misdiagnosed with “made up” mental
disorders. However, there have been many studies that show proof that the over
usage of the internet leads to many mental disorders and lessens cognitive
abilities. Internet usage affects perhaps the most important part to
adolescence development with the loss of sleep.
Internet and its usage can be
extremely harmful to adolescents. There are a vast abundance of mental
disorders linked to its usage. Sleep deprivation is another cause from the
overuse of the internet. The internet’s search engines have led to many
knowledge gaps in adolescents. There should be a limit on the use of the
internet among adolescents to deter these effects from occurring.
The internet has led to new and
better opportunities for the vast majority. The internet can be a great
educational tool which is used in millions of schools across America. The
internet allows over a billion people to connect and communicate. There are so
many great things that can come from the usage of the internet. Independent
studies are know better than they have ever been with the help of the internet.
The internet and new technology has
led to quicker and enhanced results. The internet is a great tool that
increases the efficiency of a great amount of work and enhances the content of
that work. The new technological world of today has led to so many new opportunities
in work and for more of an efficient working environment. The majority of jobs
in America use the internet in their working environment. All of these new
technological advances increase the lifestyle of Americans. Adolescents’ use of
the internet can help them educate themselves and increase their knowledge to
never before seen lengths. The great things the internet offer us are evident
and must be taken advantage of.
Educational use in the internet for
adolescents prove to be great feats. The internet and new technology has
increased the efficiency of the classroom environment and now almost all
classrooms are using the new technology to increase productivity. The use of
the internet has led to a curriculum that is in respect to all type of learners.
In my life every single classroom I go to has a smart board and the use of
computers is essential in most classes. Many colleges are online which changes
a great deal of things. The internet provides great opportunities in the world
of education.
Although the internet ruins some
relationships, the internet can help shy adolescents express themselves and
conquer their social fears. Personally, I tend to say many things that perhaps
I would not say in person on the internet. Many kids feel safer and make new
friends with the assistance of the internet. (O’Keeffe) I disagree with the
ideas of Bauerlein that the internet makes my generation the dumbest
generation.
Although
there may be more knowledge gaps nowadays, knowledge is at the bottom of the
totem pole for the hierarchy of thinking. I also think that the ability to
access almost any question we have at the hands of our fingertips make us the
smartest generation.
There are great benefits from the
use of the internet. We can connect across the world and share different views
and ideas. Education is enhanced and independent studies are greatly improved.
I believe the internet is a great tool if used wisely.
The internet poses many new problems
that challenge our generation. I believe it is absolutely essential for us to
be watchful on our usage time of the internet. The internet has great negative
effects to adolescents when used in excessive amounts. I fear that most
adolescents use the internet and technology too much. The internet could be the
biggest challenge that this generation will face.
Gap Identification
Throughout my research I was unable to see if teens are aware of this issue. Also, there was no representation of their views on this rising issue. During my research I was unable to find any studies that show how adolescents feel towards the issue. Adolescents have a key view on this issue as it specifically retains to them. I plan to eliminate this gap by surveying adolescents on how they feel about this issue; more specifically I plan to survey Norton residents. By learning adolescents’ views on this issue, we can create a system that is more adept to them.
Research Question
How do adolescents feel about this issue, or do they even believe there is an issue?
Methodology
I plan to survey 10-15 adolescents
and assess their viewpoints on my topic. Because my literature gap does not
assess the viewpoints of adolescents on this issue, I plan to fill the gap
using a survey. I will attempt to interview adolescents typically in the 7-17
age range. I will be gathering qualitative data as most questions are fairly open to an array of answers.
Research Methods
I will gather my data through a survey of Norton adolescents. I will see their opinions on this rising issue. Using this survey that asks opinionated based questions I believe I can get a better understanding of the adolescents' viewpoints.
1.) How much time do you spend a day on electronics/internet?
2.) Do you feel that using electronics/internet for that amount of time is harmful to the health of adolescents?
3.) Do you think that the internet has many benefits from it?
4.) Do you think there should be a restriction on the use of electronics/internet on adolescents?
5.) Do you think the average American spends too much time on social media?
6.) What do you think is the greatest benefit of the internet?
Findings
In the first question the surveyors claimed they typically (8 out of 10) spent 5-7 hours on electronics. This lines up well with the research I have completed in my literature review. An astounding 90% of my surveyors felt that the amount of time spent on electronics/internet has played some effect in their development. Every single surveyor agreed that the internet has many great benefits and that the average American spends too much time on social media. The most common answer for question six was that news/communication is the greatest benefit from the internet.
Conclusion
I believe this research can help shed light and raise awareness to our generation of the dangers of getting too connected. As technology becomes a greater aspect of our everyday life we should be well aware of its effects on our generation. As the introduction and wide use of the internet could prove to be a great challenge for this generation.
References
Bauerlein, Mark. The dumbest generation: How the
digital age stupefies young Americans and
jeopardizes our future (or, don't trust anyone under 30). Penguin, 2008.
Strasburger, Victor C., Amy B. Jordan, and Ed
Donnerstein. "Health effects of media on children and adolescents." Pediatrics 125.4 (2010): 756-767.
Jackson, Linda A. "Adolescents and the
Internet." The changing portrayal of American youth in popular media (2008): 377-410.
Beaudoin, Christopher E. "The internet's
impact on international knowledge." New Media & Society 10.3 (2008): 455-474.
O'Keeffe, Gwenn Schurgin, and Kathleen
Clarke-Pearson. "The impact of social media on children, adolescents, and families." Pediatrics
127.4 (2011): 800-804.
Smith, P. K., et al. "An investigation into
cyberbullying, its forms, awareness and impact, and the relationship between age and gender in
cyberbullying." Research Brief No. RBX03-06. London: DfES (2006).
Lenhart, Amanda. "Teens and sexting."
A Pew Internet & American Life Project Report, Retrieved July 4 (2009): 2010.
Litan, Robert E., and Alice M. Rivlin.
"Projecting the economic impact of the Internet." American Economic Review (2001): 313-317.
Taylor, Jim “The Bad, the Ugly, and the Good of
Kids’ Use of Social Media” Huffington Post (2013).
Hinduja, Sameer, and Justin W. Patchin.
"Bullying, cyberbullying, and suicide." Archives of Suicide Research 14.3 (2010): 206-221.
Patel, Neil “The Psychology of Instant
Gratification and How It Will Revolutionize Your
Marketing Approach” Entrepreneur (2013)
Dockterman, Eliana “How Social Media is Ruining
our Relationships” Time Magazine (2014)
Carr, Nicolaus “How the Internet is Making us Dumber”
The Telegraph, (2010)
Bronson, Po and Merryman,
Ashley, “The Lost Hour” Nature Shock (2010)
“How Adderall effects its
users” Drugs.com (2014)
Pink, Dan “Generation
Like” video (2011)
Hatfield, Heather, “Power
Down for Better Sleep” www.webmd.com
(2014)
Peace Out!!
