Week 8.

For the assignment due on the 20th of September, I will be discussing the topic of 'Does the extensive use of social media have a positive or negative impact on the health of young people.' What do results suggest? How are young people interacting with social media? Does social media have underlining concerns in terms of the risks due to excessive use? I believe so, through the research I have found thus far. 

Here is some of the research I have acquired and the topic questions they link to: 

1. Always Connected? 
'Most young people today don't remember a time when there wasn't some form of social media.'
- McCann A 2013. Negative Impact of Social Media on Teens. Reviewed 15th September 2013 at  http://austinmccann.com/2013/05/28/negative-impact-of-social-media-on-teens/

2. Identity Crisis? 
‘The social networking site was thought of as a tool to communicate with others, but at other times it configured interactions and relationships in a new way; enabling the participants to forget that there was a real person or ‘subject’ behind the tool or object.’

-Pangrazio, L. (2013). Young people and Facebook: What are the challenges to adopting a critical engagement? Digital Culture & Education, Vol. 5, Issue1, pg. 34-47

3. Facebook Depression? 'Researchers have proposed a new phenomenon called 'Facebook Depression,' defined as depression that develops when preteens and teen spend a great deal of time on social media sited, such as Facebook, and then begin to exhibit classic symtoms of depression.'

-O'Keeffe, G and  Clarke-Pearson, K 2011. The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families. PaeDIATRICS Vol. 127 , No. 4, pg. 800-804

This article presents findings from recent study into the ways young people are participating in social media, more specifically Facebook and whether there are effects due to extensive use. Results suggest that there are a number of issues that have developed in relation to the over-excessive engagement to social media networks. Firstly, social media has created this instant connectivity young people are finding difficult to disengage from. Secondly, social networking is strongly linked with self-identity and through extensive use of these social media websites; young people have developed attributes that question self-identity and a healthy online presence. Lastly, how popular social media networks such as Facebook, have created their own concerns that transfer back into offline life; more specially, 'Facebook Depression.'