With kids back in or in the process the next few weeks of returning to school, a new report out from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at New York’s Columbia University certainly must have some parents a little edgy.
According to the CASA survey, American teens of middle and high school age are more apt to engage in smoking, drinking and using drugs should they also be surfing social networking sites. The two social networking sites which received the most attention were Facebook and MySpace.
The study points out that teenagers devoting any time at all to social networking sites were a whopping five times more inclined to light up a cigarette, three times more likely to consume alcohol and twice as apt to include marijuana in their daily lives.
Proof is in the Pictures
Among some other tidbits from the survey of 12-to-17-year-olds:
- 70 percent of surveyed teenagers admit to using social media sites;
- 40 percent of all teenagers have viewed pictures on those sites of kids engaging in alcohol or drug usage – half of those individuals were not yet teens – they were 12 or younger;
- Exposure to the above-mentioned images appears to lead to greater usage of alcohol and marijuana.
One of the chief recommendations in the report is having social networking sites such as Facebook employing more technological expertise to reducing such images, along with denying access to children and teens who post such pictures.
While survey officials would not come out and say social media exacerbates the problem, it certainly does not help it.
Even though social media is still in its infancy stages, this most recent survey bears noting that both parents and their kids need to come to an agreement on how best to use social networking sites.
A 2009 report looking at similar issues noted that more than 1 out of every 10 teenagers has gone online to post a nude or seminude picture of themselves or others.
The report from Common Sense Media also pointed out that 22 percent of teens report they view their social networking sites more than 10 times daily.
Paying the Price down the Road
Along with the reported risks now for many teens that use social networking sites, there are potential negative implications down the road too.
Teenagers using different social media sites run the risk of posting images or comments that will impact them when it comes to trying to get into college, the military or even obtaining a part-time job.
Among the areas where a social media posting could wind up hurting a teen is:
- College admissions – A 2008 Kaplan report claims one in 10 college admissions officials regularly reviews college applicants’ Facebook and MySpace pages, with nearly 40 percent of them discovering posts and images that portray students in a negative manner;
- Business and medical schools – Admissions officers for both business and medical schools also regularly view sites such as Facebook to check up on prospective students;
- Child porn – While we all know the dangers teens place themselves in by posting explicit photos or language to strangers on social networking sites, they can also put themselves in legal jeopardy. Posting or transporting photos of oneself or friends in scanty clothing or sexually suggestive poses is risky, especially if any of the individuals posing are under 18, given the end result could be child pornography charges. It’s one case to be charged with sending or obtaining child pornography as a minor, however those charges in adult court could carry not only prison time, but a lifetime of sex offender registry.
As you can see, there is much that can go wrong when teens take to social media sites.
Used properly, social media sites can serve as educational tools in helping brings events into the lives of teens that may otherwise miss out on such information.
Used improperly, social media can leave many teens facing more than just being grounded.
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