11/19/19
Adolescence is complicated without the pressures of social media. Teens are trying to figure out where they fit in and what type of person they want to be. They are faced with a wide range of decisions that impact their social lives, education, and future. Yet, the prefrontal cortex in their brain (the part that helps with decision making and impulse control) isn’t developed. The impact of these decisions are amplified by the desire to display a persona on social media in hopes of being famous, or at least rack up the likes.
Because of social media, teenagers live in a world where fame appears to be available to anyone. When I think of people who are famous, I think of people who have achieved something extraordinary. When our teens think of someone famous they mostly think about someone who has a lot of followers and gets a lot of likes. These people who are “famous” in our teens’ eyes, really haven’t accomplished anything notable in our eyes. I know this first hand because I have seen the types of YouTube videos my own kids like to watch. They would consider these YouTubers to be famous because of how many views their videos get. In most of them, they eat weird things and overreact to almost everything. These people haven’t done anything notable but are still considered “famous” by our teens.
Why are these people considered famous? Because basic common sense goes out the window in the search for likes. Likes often reflect poor decision making. The dumber or more ridiculous the post or video, the more “famous” it becomes. Now, poor decision making was around long before the internet, but social media glorifies such actions and archives them for viewing days, months, even years after they happen.
The impact of social media coupled with the not-yet-fully developed brain results in fame-seeking teenagers who compromise their common sense and decision making. Tune in next week for more information about personal development and what we can do to help students be intrinsically motivated to make better decisions. We will discuss how to battle the “all about the likes” mentality and encourage better decision making.
Thunder Connection 11/12/19 - An "On All of the Time" Mentality
Thunder Connection 11/5/19 - Information Overload
Thunder Connection 10/29/19 - Sending Mixed Messages
Thunder Connection 10/22/19 - Social Media and Altered Expectations
Thunder Connection 10/16/19 - Hacks for Homework
Thunder Connection 10/8/19 - The Sincere Slacker
Thunder Connection 10/1/19 - Managing and Prioritizing Tasks
Thunder Connection 9/24/19 - Choosing a Time and a Place
Thunder Connection 9/17/19 - Why Write it Down?
Thunder Connection 9/10/19 - Social Media and Five Things Most Teens Want
