It can be used to raise awareness about an important cause, but it can also be used to spread hate, especially among teenagers. Being a teenager, I can be the first to say that social media is how most teenagers run their lives, but is it the right way? Austen McCann makes a brilliant point in her article: “Social media has allowed them to take their lives online and instead of saying goodbye to friends at school and waiting to see them the next day…” Although social media can connect teenagers in the world and the friends and family around them, is actually one of the leading causes of suicide among teenagers in the 21st century. As important as internet connection may be, social media should not be the primary source for teens. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The average teenager spends at least 2 hours and 20 minutes on social media every day. In the articles Impact of Social Media on Teens by Austin McCann it is emphasized that "social media is becoming more than a part of their world, it is becoming their world." Teens complain of being constantly stressed with homework, but perhaps homework isn't the main source of stress. EveryDay Health magazine states that, according to statistics, a teenager who spends more time outdoors is generally a happier and healthier child. However, since 2000, the time teenagers spend outdoors has decreased significantly, leading to more depression and obesity. Not only does it affect health, but social media prevents parents from having an in-depth conversation with their children without them checking their phone. Even though the positive effect of having a social media profile is to communicate with friends/family, they don't even have the decency to raise their heads and engage in conversation. Enjoying the little things around them becomes a difficult task for the average teenager when they are too busy tweeting about it. The contradictory effects of this prove that social media is not all it is cracked up to be. Should. This is the word that teenagers have no choice but to constantly follow. Social media encourages false images of how everything should be in a perfect world. This impact is what causes girls and boys to have insecurities and questions. These misleading images of what bodies, relationships, homes, cars, etc. should look like. they are what lowers self-esteem and leads to depression and suicide. Aside from connection, social media revolves around who “retweeted,” who took the “selfie,” and “how many favorites did that photo get.” It's almost disgusting to know that teenagers base their insecurities on the number of likes they get. The false perception of life portrayed on social media is misleading to teenagers and is not worth filtering out. Not only is social media misleading, but it is also very unimportant. Aside from the news portion of the sites, most of the posts are extremely insignificant and unimportant to our world. The kind of information that “Becky just got a new car interior” is completely useless in the long run. Nicholas Wapshott states in his article Buying Into Big Brother on social media: "We might pity the idiot schoolboy who uses expletives on Twitter or posts a photo of himself holding a joint at a party only to find out when he's looking for work." that a trawling by a human resources department made it.