Social media. It could either be the bane of your existence, or why you’re here in the first place. It could destroy your reputation, or build it. Everything depends on what you do online, and in the real world. For example, will you choose to do your homework? Or will you stop and scroll through Instagram for the next three hours? Most people get distracted and decide to scroll on social media for a bit, and then get lost in their phone. This displays the negative sides of having a connection with social media. Students get distracted, affecting their grades and mental stability.

Teachers have a big problem with students and their urge to whip out their phone whenever they want, and it only worsens when they get home. There’s nobody around to tell kids to get off their phone and do something productive. Even if classes seem boring, students have no idea how much it helps to actually pay attention. Giving your teacher undivided attention alone could bring your grades up. Media sites are likely to encourage negative behaviors for students, like procrastination, and could even spark an interest in drinking and drugs. Procrastination is like a drug; the moment you start procrastinating, you won’t stop doing it.

Along with getting distracted, students put off their work until late at night, and ruin their sleep schedule. The following day, they won’t be in a good enough condition to fully pay attention during their classes. This ultimately leads to their grades slowly dropping down to Ds, or Fs.

“Many researchers have been diving into a considerable amount of research on how social media influences student retention at colleges. Many parents are worried that their college students are spending too much time on Facebook and other social media sites and not enough time studying. Therefore, our research ascertains the relationship between the social media and students’ study efficiency” said Stephen.

Not only does social media distract students, it also starts bringing down grades to the point where students will need to work even harder, which can also lead to stress.

Stress in teens is pretty common. Stress, anxiety, depression, the list goes on! Because of the overwhelming piles of work students have to do, it’s likely for them to give up and return to their phones. School isn’t always the center of all of this stress. There could be things going online that others might not know, like lack of attention from friends, or online friends talking behind people’s backs. 

“In (the) present world almost every individual from age of 11-93 is connected to the social media” said Kaur and Bashir.

 I firmly believe that we should find a way to balance ourselves with health and breaks. Now don’t get me wrong, breaks are great; they relieve anxiety and calm you down after a long day. But too much of it? The consequences will come shortly.

Personally, I think the effects of social media can vary.  Great things can come out of social media, like meeting people you won’t find in your local neighborhood, and seeing and appreciating people’s works of art, music and literature. Not only that, but teens can have a place to vent, a place to tell everyone their thoughts. Unfortunately, there’s going to be a lot more downsides. Some people don’t know what kindness is. Some people turn out to be fake friends and can act rudely or abandon and replace people. A similar situation happened to me and I didn’t handle it very well. I remember being stuck to my phone, ignoring work and basic nutrients, to see if my old friend responded or not. Social media…depending on how you use it and if you let it control you, could be the best thing in the world, or the very thing that destroys you.