THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON YOUNG PEOPLE

THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON YOUNG PEOPLE.

WELCOME SLIDE. “Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullah” all my dear friends, welcome to the “Social Media Scroller” show. Inshallah, today, we are able to explore the impact of social media in shaping the lives of young people. In this podcast, you and I, your host, will delve into the most impactful topic witnessed by young people - social media. Social media platforms such Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter have been effective for connecting a wide range of young people across the globe. In this 12 minute podcast we are going to explore whether social media induces a good or bad impacts across young people including responsible factors..

POSITIVE IMPACTS OF USING SOCIAL MEDIA. Alright, let's start with exploring the positive impacts of using social media that has revolutionised the thought and connectivity across the young people. The limitation of reaching across young people with their close partners is not a big deal anymore with the further rise of social media. Social media usage in countries such as the UAE is expected to reach about 96% as of 2025 across the young and tech savvy individuals who are aged between 25 to 34 years. Thus we can understand that digital collaboration using social media platforms across young people is now a reality that signifies a positive impact..

POSITIVE impacts of using social media [Contd.]. Social media platforms facilitates the young people in developing creative outlets that are beneficial for young content creators Instagram and Facebook provides emojis and creative interfaces for young people that act as media for showcasing their talent Digital content creation conveyed across social media platforms provided opportunities for the young people in anticipating entrepreneurship For instance young artists can share oil paintings done on canvas across Facebook or Instagram for online auction. Social media platforms provides opportunities for young activists in sharing hashtags regarding sustainability such as #genderequality, #reducecarbonfootprint Thus social media platforms can help the young people in bringing a positive change in society and also to their career..

CHALLENGE IN USING SOCIAL MEDIA. However, let's not forget the challenges that the young people have that sheds a negative impact on the young people. Excessive use of social media and too much scrolling the reels generates strain to their eyes and the brain across the young people. In the UAE, Doctors have warned young people to reduce excessive use of social media due to susceptible cognitive and mental fatigue from prolonged virtual interaction. And yes, cyberbullying is another challenge faced by the young people that induces dramatic impact in their morale and generates stress among individuals A study revealed that prevalence of cyberbullying in the UAE accounted for 4.7% and has been observed across the young people aged between 18 to 25 years..

CHALLENGE IN USING SOCIAL MEDIA [CONTD.]. The existence of distraction across these young people has been witnessed from excessive use of social media that reduces their sleep and study. As a result in instances regarding insomnia, anxiety has been observed across the young individuals that makes it difficult to concentrate in performing their own functions. And finally, the issues regarding privacy…!! Do you know that in a recent survey, 76% of the respondents believed social media platforms could protect privacy of personal information. Most young people do not realise the repercussions of privacy issues as it may lead to the loss of confidential information that could be misused..

STRATEGIES IN MITIGATING THE CHALLENGES. I think that the necessity of digital literacy can be effective for the young people in safeguarding their personal information before uploading across social media pages. Inshallah, digital literacy can help these young people in protecting their personal information from being breached Incorporating authentication measures can significantly reduce the proximity of hackers in gaining access to personal accounts of young users in social media platforms. Parents and educators should warn the young users in using social media platforms on a controlled basis that can help in fostering resilience within their personal lives..

STRATEGIES IN MITIGATING THE CHALLENGES [CONTD.].

ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE ACROSS YOUNG PEOPLE.

ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL MEDIA USAGE ACROSS YOUNG PEOPLE [CONTD.].

OVERALL LEARNINGS REGARDING USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA. The shaping of the lives concerning the young people in UAE can be traced from social media usage that reflects theory usage patterns. Team collaboration across social media platforms are useful for the young people in enhancing their work functions while residing at homes. The young people can get to know new people while using social media platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp, Twitter quickly However, chances of meeting fake people is also subject to impact a negative impact on the young people that reduces trust when collaborating with other people The young people need to hide their accounting numbers, phone numbers and personal contracts when using social media platforms..

OVERALL LEARNINGS REGARDING USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA [CONTD.].

CONCLUSION AND ENDING. So, we learned that the dependencies of the young people concerning social media shapes their lives We should prioritise proactive use of social media rather than waste our time in this digital world. Thank you all for coming to the “Social Media Scroller” show, ma’a as-salama and staying fit. We will meet in the next podcast..