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We Know You Better! Teens
Oscar Smith, Publisher May 25, 2021
It can be a difficult to understand why your teenager uses social media so much. It might seem like they're always online, and always distracted from the life in front of them. This page will help you learn more about social media and teens, why it matters to them, and what the risks and benefits of social media can be.
Facebook
A free site where registered users (aged 13 and up) can share pictures, links, videos, and other content with their 'friends'. Friends are other registered users you have connected with within the network. Most of the time, anything you share will only be seen by the people you have 'friended'. Facebook changes it's privacy settings regularly so it's important to stay up-to-date with their settings and policies.
A free image sharing service that is used mainly on mobile devices. On Instagram, it's common to connect with people you don't know but share common interests with (for example, Taylor Swift). You can have a public account or a private account where only friends can see your posts. Instagram also has their own privacy settings to stay up-to-date with.
Snapchat
A mobile phone messaging application that allows you to send video or picture messages to one or more people at a time. The messages are only viewable for a few seconds at a time, as determined by the sender. However, there are ways of saving the images using other phone functions.
TikTok
A free video sharing platform where users can shoot, edit and share short videos. Like other social media apps, users can follow, like and comment on everything they see. The bulk of TikTok users are 24 and younger.
Tumblr
A blogging website where people can publish their own articles and share it with people who follow their blog or profile. They also view the content of people they follow. On Tumblr, it is more common to connect with people you don't know in real life than people you do.
WhatsApp and messaging services
WhatsApp and messaging applications let you contact friends using internet data (or wifi) instead of your mobile carrier, which reduces the cost of messaging. It can be used without a sim card if connected to a wifi network. It is popular because it allows you to send messages to a group of friends at one time.
Other games and sites
YouTube, Club Penguin, or online games like World of Warcraft are also considered social media because of the way they enable social interaction.
Check out this comprehensive list of social media platforms and what they do (including recommended age rages).
Why teens use social media?
Social media is a way for teenagers to stay in touch with their friends. Teens have always talked after school, long before social media – hanging out at the bus stop, at the local park, chatting on the phone – now they just have a different platform to do so.
It is an important part of socialising and connection in the modern world. Teenagers and social media use is increasing, the main reasons teenagers regularly use social media include:
- talking to friends
- joining in on group conversations
- learning about current events and staying up to date with online content
- meeting new people
- not having anything to do, or feeling bored Thank You For Supporting HIP Champaign
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