Everywhere we look there are iPhones, Laptops, iPads, and many more electronic devices. These devices, along with social media, have become greatly popular over the past ten years. I am currently eighteen years old, going into my second year of college, and the information I have obtained about the upcoming generations, is shocking.
This past weekend I went on a vacation to Lake Havasu in Arizona, with my friend and their family. A couple of seventh graders came along on our trip, and we bonded with them by sharing stories and drama from all of our lives. In the beginning, they hesitated to share with us the drama happening in their grades, but eventually, it all came spilling out.
I learned many facts about what middle school students have been exposed to and experiencing, and the information is disturbing. These kids are sending nude photos at the age of twelve. Yes, twelve years old. They are smoking, dealing drugs, and many other inappropriate things at such a young age. When my friends and I were their age, we weren't exposed to these actions. Then again, we barely used electronic devices. Instagram was not popular, nor were twitter or Snapchat. We were kids, and that's what we knew. Disney movies, dance parties, and swimming were our favorite ways to pass our time. This makes me question the exposure of today's generations and how it is negatively is affecting their childhoods.
Now who do we have to blame for this downhill spiral these kids are being led down on? Social media. Social media has become the latest craze in the past few years, and kids are on Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter constantly. Snapchat is a photo sending application that allows users to send photos from anywhere between one and ten seconds, then the photo disappears forever. This may be tempting for young influenced kids to send pictures of themselves and inappropriate things, to fit in and seem "cool." Little do they know that once someone screenshots their photo, it can be posted anywhere. Instagram is another app that can be abused at times. Kids in middle school are too young to be looking at celebrities lives, latest scandalous outfit trends, and other Instagram influential things. These can make them feel the need to do the same things so that they fit in. At this age they are still finding themselves, not knowing who they are and what to expect from life.
These applications should be restricted to fifteen and up age groups, because the younger the child exposed is, the more of a chance they are influenced to make bad decisions. Either by following celebrities or their fellow peers, these kids are in for a long ride.
