The Impact of New Media on Teenagers - Essay Example

? Impacts of New Media on Teenagers College Impacts of New Media on Teenagers In the past one decade, significant developments havebeen witnessed in communication as new media has spread worldwide (Jones, 2003). This development has led to the lessening of the ease and time of communication between different places in the world thus the expression “global village." According to Jones (2003), new media is now the largest and fastest growing medium of mass communication in the world and is increasingly becoming embedded in every aspect of everyday lives. Most people commonly interact with different types of digital communication devices daily while many others spend many hours daily just learning to use different communication gadgets such as smart phones, handheld computers, and laptop computers. Similarly, teenagers all over the developed world use video games, cell phones, the Internet, and other types of new media to communicate with each other every day. New media is especially applied through social media by teenagers to create their own social networks and interact with others through them Veltman (2006). Many researchers continue to investigate the impacts of social media on society with different studies focusing different specific segments, including youth, children, young adults, adults, and even the elderly. Even though a lot of research has been done on the impact of social media on the youth and particularly teenagers, not much has been covered about new media in general. Social media is just part of new media and there is still a significant gap in knowledge about how to minimize the negative impacts of new media on teenagers (Gross et al., 2002). According to Veltman (2006), new media is a broad term encompassing the amalgamation of traditional media with the interactive power provided by modern information and communication technology, including computers; computer enabled communication devices, and the Internet. It is thus important for researchers to focus more on the broader picture by examining the impacts of new media as a whole on teenagers. As a result of new technological and social innovations in the field of communication, most teenagers in the developing world can now be able to make use of different forms of the new media, including social media, the Internet, mobile telephones to interact with each other and their environments. This paper specifically focuses on identification of the various components making up new media, the positive impacts of new media on teenagers, the negative impacts of new media on teenagers, and approaches of minimizing negative impacts of new media on teenagers. Research Background This study examines one major dependent variable, which is the impact of new media on teenagers. This dependent variable is affected by the ‘elements’ of new media, all of which make up the independent variables. Although there are many elements associated with new media, this study will focus on five main independent variables, including the Internet, social media, access to portable communication devices, access to computers, and communication support platforms (Cyber cafes) that serve teenagers alongside other groups of people. The first independent variable in the study is the Internet. The Internet is defined by Jones (2003) as a worldwide system of computer networks in which users all over the world can access through a computer to communicate with other computers, share information, obtain information or even directly communicate with users on other computers on the network. Veltman (2006) points out that currently the Internet is an extensive, public, cooperative and self-sustaining system that billions of people around the world have access to. It also consumes a portion of the total resources committed to public communication networks globally. The second independent variable in this study is social media. Many definitions have been given to social media depending on the various approaches towards the concept. According to McKenna & Barg (2000) social media is a set of Internet-based tools that are used for sharing and discussion of content among people using communication devices. Social media has also been defined as a category of websites that are built on the basis of participation of many people and the content they generate (McKenna & Bargh, 2000). Examples of social media sites include Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and MySpace. The third independent variable in this study is access to portable communication devices. Portable communication devices generally refer to all communication devices that can be moved around with ease. These include gadgets such as mobile telephones, smart phones, iPads, and other similar devices. These devices can be used in sending messages, calling, accessing the Internet, exchanging media files though wireless connectivity, accessing financial services and other services. Teenagers across the developed world are increasingly gaining access to these communication devices, mainly from their parents. The fourth independent variable in this study is access to computers. A computer has been defined by as a device accepts digitized information, stores it, processes it through manipulations based on programs and makes it available to a user (Veltman, 2006). Over the times, computers have greatly improved in design, capacity and capability to store and process information; currently, new computer programs have been developed that enable multiple computers and programs to work together in network or parallel. Computers form part of the global communication network alongside the Internet and other devices. There are various types of computers in use globally including desktop computers, portable computers and mainframe computers. Teenagers all over the world have increasingly greater access to computers, particularly in the developed world where there is almost 100 percent access to the devices. The last independent variable in this study is access to communication support platforms. These are platforms, which make it possible for communication to take place by supporting communication devices and networks; one good example is cyber cafes where people can go in and access the Internet through computers (Gross et al., 2002). As it has already been observed, few studies have been conducted on the impact of new media on teenagers; most research has largely focused on social media, which is just a subset of new media. As a result, a lot of focus has been placed on the negative impacts of social media on teenagers while overlooking the overall effect of new media on them. Noll et al., (2009) examined the benefits of new media on the health of adolescents and came out with the findings that overall, new media has a number of benefits for the health and development of adolescents. The study established that most teens use new media devices to build and extend friendships through electronic interaction; this provides the teens with the opportunity to experience connectedness as well as learn from each other. Youn (2009) examined the positive impacts of new media on teenagers and established that the latter utilize new media as an important source of information. This is very important, particularly in the teen developmental period for purposes of learning; according to the study, 57% of teenagers utilizing new media indicated that they visited social networks and called others on mobile devices for advice. According to research by Lenhart et al. (2010) cell phones, mobile communication devices and their features such as texting are very useful for teenagers and their parents. The assertion that cell phones were popular because they helped the children, and their parents keep in touch irrespective of their location was backed by over 90 percent of the respondents in this study (parents and children). The studies detailed above demonstrate the importance of new media in the health and development of the modern teens as well as their social well being. It is acknowledged that while media is an integral part of the life of a modern teenager, there are a number of risks associated with new media. These include negative impacts to the mental health, cyber bullying, sexual solicitation and exposure to content that is illegal. Some studies have examined these and other negative impacts of new media on teenagers. A study by Ybarra et al., (2009) indicated that most teenagers surveyed were regular media users who had many friends. However, the study also found out that lack of close friends and feelings of peer rejection were feeling that developed out of new media usage especially when disagreements arose between friends. The study further revealed that teenagers who used the new media heavily reported being less content with it and had a high likelihood of getting into trouble, getting angry, sad or bored. A similar study by Lenhart (2007) also revealed that the frequent use of new media creates a possibility of suffering emotional distress, being harassed or receiving threats and other humiliating communication from the media network. This negatively affects the emotional health of a teenager. The study indicated that in California, about 23 percent of teenagers surveyed reported being threatened; the conclusion was that cyber bullying appeared to have the same prevalence as physical bullying. Similarly, a study by Noll et al. (2009) indicates that bullying through new media network is associated with higher levels of depression and anxiety in teenage victims than physical bullying. The study proceeds to indicate that cyber bullying has been associated with teenage suicides among individuals known to have received hurtful comments sometime before their suicide attempts. New media has also been associated with negative impacts on adolescent relationships among teenagers. The study by Noll et a. (2009) also indicated that teenagers may receive lewd content from their teenage relationships or be forced to send similar content, usually nude pictures to partners. This form of relationship abuse may also include non-stop texting to partners or sending of endless messages through social media. The study also revealed that unwanted solicitation for sex affects teenagers using new media. A study by Collins (2011) revealed that teenagers were more likely to receive sexually suggestive gestures from fellow teenagers through the new media than sexual predation from adults or individuals of the same age through traditional methods. Conclusions Research on media and communication, particularly impacts of new media on teenagers, is essential towards helping to place safeguards to protect and educate them on beneficial new media interactions. Communication through new media is very important for the psychological health and development of teenagers; it is also educative and entertaining. However, use of new media is also associated with some negative impacts, which must be curtailed for the safety of the young generation. Studies into new media cover all the aspects of electronic communication that affect teenagers, including social media and their findings are therefore, more useful towards building better protective strategies. References Collins, R.L., Martino, S.C., & Shaw, R. (2011). Influence of New Media on Adolescent Sexual Health: Evidence and Opportunities, Working PaperWR-761. Retrieved from: http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/11/adolescentsexualactivity/newmedialitrev/i Gross, E., Juvonen, J. & Gable, S. (2002). Internet Use and Well-being in Adolescence, Journal of Social Issues, 58(1), 75-90 Jones, S. (2003). Encyclopedia of New Media: An Essential Reference to Communication and Technology. New York: The Moschovitis Group Lenhart, A. (2007). Cyberbullying. Retrieved from: http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2007/Cyberbullying. McKenna, K. & Bargh, J.A. (2000). Plan 9 from cyberspace: The implications of the Internet for personality and social psychology. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 4, 57-75. Noll, J., Schenk, C.E., Barnes, J.E., & Putnam, F.W. (2009). Childhood abuse, avatar choices, and other risk factors associated with internet-initiated victimization of adolescent girls. Pediatrics, 123(6), 1078-83. Veltman, H. (2006). Understanding New Media. Toronto: University of Calgary Press Ybarra, M.L, Espelage, D.L, & Mitchell, K.J. (2007). The co-occurrence of Internet harassment and unwanted sexual solicitation victimization and perpetration: Associations with psychosocial indicators. Journal of Adolescent Health, 41(6), 31–41 Youn, S. (2009). Determinants of Online Privacy Concern and Its Influence on Privacy Protection Behaviors among Young Adolescents. The Journal of Consumer Affairs, 43(3), 389-418 Read More