Loyola Professor Shares Concerns About Social Media: ‘We’re Being Manipulated’

BALTIMORE, Md. (WJZ) — Hate it oregon emotion it, societal media has go a large portion of galore of our lives. But our reliance connected platforms similar Facebook, Instagram and TikTok tin besides beryllium a double-edged sword.

On 1 hand, societal media platforms are a large mode for radical to link with friends and acquaintances. On the different hand, it tin and foster feelings of jealousy and animosity among radical who would usually get along.

As a communications adept precocious explained to WJZ, young radical are particularly susceptible to the effects of societal media — for amended oregon worse.

“It plays a relation cipher could person perchance imagined 10 years ago,” said Dr. Elliot King, prof of communications astatine Loyola University Maryland.

Dr. King said caller grounds provided to Congress by a erstwhile Facebook worker confirms what societal subject probe has been for immoderate time: that societal media tin beryllium peculiarly harmful to children.

“There’s nary grooming that we’re being manipulated by societal media platforms that’s known,” King said. “It would beryllium bully if we taught kids oregon adults however they’re being manipulated, truthful erstwhile they’re being manipulated, they tin say, ‘Oh, you’re manipulating me.'”

Frances Haugen, a erstwhile Facebook worker turned whistleblower, compared Facebook to cigarettes, according to CBS News.

“Facebook understands that if they privation to proceed to grow, they person to find caller users,” Haugen testified. “They person to marque definite that that adjacent procreation is conscionable arsenic engaged connected Instagram arsenic the existent one, and the mode they’ll bash that is by making definite that children found habits earlier they person bully self-regulation.”

As Dr. King pointed out, it’s important to support successful caput that the extremity of societal media is to support radical engaged. Platforms privation users to support scrolling due to the fact that yet they’re selling your attraction to advertisers.

Another happening users should consider, King said, is that consuming images and video of different people’s seemingly cleanable lives tin impact young people’s self-esteem and assemblage image.

That’s wherefore immoderate parents support tabs connected however their children usage societal media, oregon however overmuch clip if spent browsing these platforms.

Lisa Kelemen said she’s ever monitoring her teenagers’ enactment connected societal media.

“It conscionable seems similar societal anxiousness is connected the rise, and it seems similar kids are truly uncovering much comfortableness down a screen,” Kelemen said. “And truthful that’s conscionable a existent interest for me.”

Peter Adams is simply a grandparent who believes connection is cardinal erstwhile it comes to educating children astir societal media. That’s been his attack with his 12-year-old grandson.

“If you’re perpetually looking astatine TikTok, Instagram, thing incorrect with Facebook, but you person to cognize erstwhile to chopped it connected and erstwhile to chopped it off,” Adams said. “And I deliberation that’s what a batch of our young radical don’t realize.”