With school being online for about a year, and students forced to connect via the internet, it is no surprise that more and more teens are getting addicted to social media.

When the Coronavirus hit the world unexpectedly in 2019, everyone had to wear masks and all sorts of entertainment venues, from amusement parks to theaters, were closed. The one thing that probably had the biggest impact was having the school buildings closed to students. Since schools were shut down, students were forced to learn online and meet with their peers and teachers on Google Meet, Google Classroom, Zoom and other platforms. Since students were encouraged to stay home away from their friends, they experienced several levels of boredom and depression. Many developed a dependency on social media.

Getting addicted to social media is a big problem for students, physically and mentally. Constant dependence on different devices – phones, laptops, tablets – is impacting vision. Students are losing focus and developing shorter attention spans. Some can’t focus on or do anything right without checking the phones or computers every few minutes.

A study shows that staring at screens and devices for a long time causes damage to the brain, and when hours were required online for school and social time was restricted by face-to-face interaction, turning to social media was the most logical result, but it isn’t always the best result. Social media not only involves chatting or looking at posts, but it is also growing as a place where cyberbullying happens. Students are getting mean texts and posts that make them feel insecure about themselves. Some students have even committed suicide due to social media.

“Social media sites create an illusion of connectivity” (fitlife.tv). Social media is a big problem for students even if they don’t realize it. Parents are trying to reduce screen time and limit the student’s time on social media. Whether it is spending time on YouTube, Instagram or Snap Chat, it is important to set time aside to talk to people face-to-face, to spend time away from the screen and to enjoy the realities of friendship and family time. Those are the things that pave the way for positive memories.