Summary Response Essay Analysis for Content

Intro Paragraph

For the summary response, we used two articles which were “How Using Social Media Affects Teenagers” (Ehmke, 2023) and “Is Social Media Threatening Teens’ Mental Health and Well-being?” (Columbia University, 2020).The intended audience are young adults and parents. The overall purpose of articles is to raise awareness of parents and teens about the harms of social media and how to avoid its ill-effects. In my opinion, the two articles provide a comprehensive description of physical and mental problems of social media use whereas the benefits have not been explicitly explained.

Paragraph 2 – summary of 2 articles

          First, Ehmke (2023) indicates that social media increases teenagers’ social anxiety and lower self-esteem, which can be addressed with the help of their parents. She states that because of social media addiction, teenagers do not adequately interact with people. The author also argues that teenagers become the victims of cyberbullying and stalking. The author concludes that parents should help children reduce Internet use by engaging their kids in various activities such as sports and music. Next, according to the article by Columbia University (2020), social media affects teenagers’ mental and physical health leading to anxiety and social isolation. It also explains the harms of social media on kids with ADHD. Toward the end, the article discusses how teens can create better relationships with social media and what parents can do to help their teens use social media in a useful way. Therefore, both articles highlight the negative effects of social media on teens and the support parents and professionals can provide teenagers to overcome social media addiction.

Paragraph 3– response 1

I agree with many points from Ehmke (2023) and Columbia University (2020). Above all, I agree that overuse of social media causes problems to teenagers such as the inability to communicate face to face, anxiety, and social isolation. I often experience that, as a college student, even when we gather for a social event, most of us are on the phone scrolling through Instagram or Facebook. We are busy taking countless selfies to post on social media. We are so immersed in social media and virtual conversations, but we may not know how to initiate a conversation, listen to others, and negotiate with people in face-to-face conversations. As a result, we sometimes feel isolated even if we have many friends on social media. The inability to communicate with professors, friends, and family can ruin our relationships with these people. Therefore, I agree with both articles that feelings of social isolation and anxiety can be common for those who are addicted to social media.

Paragraph 3– response 2

 One thing that I like about Ehmke’s (2023) article is, it advises parents to be role models to kids than to impose rules to limit the use of social media. Ehmke (2023) provides more effective strategies for parents such as checking emails when kids are not around and using the driving time to chat with their kids while driving “because that’s an important time to talk” (para. 20). I firmly believe that if parents use their driving time to make conversations with their kids instead of calling someone, it will make kids feel valued. These conversations might help kids solve their problems at school and understand each other better. True that Columbia University (2020) also advises parents to be role models, but it emphasizes more on controlling kids’ social media use and screen time. However, in my view, when parents always try to control their kids’ screen time, it can cause kids to be more stubborn and even misuse social media. Therefore, I like better how Ehmke (2003) looks at the issue compared to the strict guidelines provided by the Columbia University (2020).

Paragraph 4– response 3

However, I don’t agree with Ehmke (2023) that social media is always a negative factor for teenagers. There are many ways social media can be useful for teenagers. For example, they can learn about what they like (e.g., cooking, music, science), by connecting with individuals of the same interests through social media. Moreover, teenagers can benefit from some educational platforms in social media if they are struggling to understand some lessons in school. Since nowadays many young learners are visual and auditory learners, what they learn from social media may be more understandable to students. Therefore, in my opinion, the articles should discuss both pros and cons of social media, so that readers will have a broader knowledge.

Paragraph 5– Conclusion

After reviewing the articles, it is evident excessive use of social media affects teenagers’ mental and physical health causing anxiety, social isolation, and lower self-esteem. I agreed that social media use without control can be detrimental to teenagers’ physical and mental well-being while appreciating Ehmke’s (2023) advice for parents to set good examples for their kids. However, I think the articles should have discussed more about the benefits of social media and how teenagers can use social media to build a supportive community and learn about new skills.  If parents, writers, and teachers raise youngsters’ awareness of both benefits and harms of social media/internet, I am confident that young people will use it mostly to improve their social life and education. Therefore, I recommend adults to be more responsible toward educating the young generation about the internet/social media rather than restricting it.

References

Ehmke, R. (2023). How using social media affects teenagers. Retrieved from https://childmind.org/article/how-using-social-media-affects-teenagers/

University of Columbia (2020). Is social media threatening teens’ mental health and well-being?

Retrieved from https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/social-media-threatening-teens-mental-health-and-well-being