Social Media is Ruining Childhood
Wow, wow, wow is all I have to say about this debate! Back and forth, back and forth I went between arguments. One moment I was thinking social media is ruining childhood, the next minute I was thinking how can we live without it! Check out the debater’s arguments and see for yourself just how tricky this debate is. Agree Lauren was the head debater for this side. She provided a solid base of arguments that really made me think, yes of course social media is ruining childhood. In her video she focused on four main ideas about how social media is ruining childhood:
Lauren suggested we read the article, Smartphone and Anxious Kids: Mental Health Issues and iGeneration by Melissa Riddle Chalos. In this article, Chalos explains, “A 2015 report from the Pew Research Center found that 24 percent of teenagers ages 13-17 say they’re online “almost constantly” and that 73 percent have a smartphone or access to one.1 The digital generation communicates more in pictures and via text as they ever do in person. Smartphones, tablets, laptops and the social media they deliver have informed and shaped everything in their lives.” Due to these statistics, children are communicating less face to face interactions, less time outdoors, disenfranchised from their parents, they are sleeping less and could be affected by higher suicide and depression rates. In another article, Is New Technology and Social Media Ruining Our Children’s Lives by Aoife Reilly states 17 per cent of children under 3 own a smart phone or tablet. Parents believe it is important for their students to be familiar with technology before they start school. But is this affecting their readiness with other skills such as communication, sharing, and cooperation? Disagree Kylie took the lead with this side of the debate. She too had solid arguments that backed up her debated. Kylie stood her ground and provided the facts about why social media is not ruining childhood. 1. Opens doors for children
2. Children can take a stand against the injustices in society“If social media is bad, how are kids taking a stand against bullying? How did children organize a national walkout of school day to pretest against gun laws?”
3. Promotes mental health initiatives
4. Social media is unavoidable
In the same article Lauren used, Melissa Riddle Chalos mentions a few positive statistics caused by social media. Children are less sexually active because they are leaving the house left. This generation is also less likely to try or regularly use drugs and alcohol. In another article provided by Kylie, 5 Reason Why Social Media Might Actually Be Good for your Children, Michael Sheehan gives readers multiple different reasons as to why social media is good. The reasons are:
Find each debaters video below! Agree: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxwfCWwqkfQ&t=193s Disagree: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5ieIuhyBsY Thanks for reading, I hope you too are just as on the fence as I am! ttyl, -Ms. S
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