By The Spring 2025 Media Dilemma Students
A Wake-Up Call for Digital Dependency
By Emily Ammon
The recent 12-hour TikTok blackout in the U.S. exposed our deep reliance on social media. On January 18, 2025, millions were left without access, highlighting how embedded these platforms are in daily life.
The ban stemmed from national security concerns over TikTok’s Chinese ownership, forcing a potential sale.
As the deadline neared, uncertainty grew. In a last-minute decision, President-elect Donald Trump granted a 75-day extension, restoring access.
“Users woke up to find their favorite app inaccessible, sparking panic across social media,” CNN said.
This disruption underscores a major issue: our digital ecosystems’ vulnerability to geopolitical tensions.
A single platform’s shutdown shouldn’t send millions into chaos.
“This should serve as a reminder that no platform is too big to fail—users and businesses alike need to prepare for digital disruptions,” said one tech analyst.
To address this, we must diversify our digital use. Relying too much on one app centralizes data and increases risk.
Encouraging multiple platforms can mitigate these dangers.
Clearer regulations are needed to balance national security with user rights. Abrupt decisions create confusion, and transparent policies can prevent future disruptions.
The TikTok ban was brief, but its impact was telling. As we navigate the digital age, we must ensure our reliance on technology doesn’t become a weakness.
The Hidden Effects of Social Media on Children
By Lauren Deibert
The digital age has brought technological advancements, but at what cost to children? Social media, once a tool for sharing and communication, has transformed into an influence on young minds in ways we are only beginning to understand.
While some parents may see it as harmless entertainment, studies reveal a darker reality that social media is significantly impacting children’s mental health, self-esteem, and attention spans.
The internet has become the new playground for children, but it lacks clear boundaries. Social media is shaping how kids think and develop emotionally.
While it offers opportunities for creativity and socialization, studies indicate that it also promotes unhealthy comparisons with young audiences.
A 2023 study from the National Institutes of Health found that children who spend more than four hours a day on social media exhibit increased levels of stress and lessened attention spans.
The rise of influencers encourages materialism, consumerism, and unrealistic beauty standards. Some argue that parental boundaries are enough, but research shows that children are often exposed to harmful content despite safety measures.
If we fail to act against harmful content, we risk raising a generation that is more impressionable than ever before.
Some argue that social media fosters creativity and new connections.
While this is true, it does not outweigh the dangers of content that manipulate children’s emotions and behavior.
Parents, educators, and policymakers need to take action.
Stricter regulations and parental controls can help these from harm to children. More importantly, open conversations about healthy social media use is crucial to impressionable children.
The digital world is still growing, and we must ensure it doesn’t consume the well being of the next generations.
The Downside of Social Media Use: Is it Unhealthy for Teens?
By Breanna Canada
Within the past generation, people have used social media as a simple tool, to communicate with their peers, share content and even stay in touch with current events.
Unfortunately, for teenagers, social media is not considered as a basic tool. It’s a necessity.
For teens, all it takes is a simple scroll and they are immediately glued to their phone screens, allowing hours to go by without them even realizing it.
The article titled “Teens and Social Media Use: What’s the Impact?” by The Mayo Clinic offers a balanced perspective on social media impacts, speaking on the positives and the negatives it has to offer.
While it acknowledges the healthy aspects and how it can be useful for teens, it loses focus on how excessive usage can be threatening for them, mainly towards what it can do to their mental health.
The article does a well job at expressing the positives, as it mentions how social media is a good outlet for expressing creativity, personality and connecting with others who they are not able to see in real life.
But the major focus is on the negative impact on social media.
According to the article, in a study focusing on 12–15-year-olds in the United States, spending 3 hours a day on social media was linked to a higher risk of mental health concerns.
Being on social media can be draining for teens in a sense, as it can cause many issues such as being distracted from their everyday lives and responsibilities, lead them to false information, or lead them towards online predators and cyberbullies.
Overall, what should be more urgently discussed about social media is how it can be harmful, stressful and even dangerous for teenagers who don’t know how to have self- control when it comes to social media.
The main issue on hand is how social media is damaging to teens along with their mental health and overall everyday lives. In some cases, for those teens who it highly effects, there should be regulations such as limited screen time, put against them to keep them structured and less focused on social media as a whole.
This can help shape teens and hopefully help them understand how social media a necessity should not be.
Unseen Wounds: The Negative Impacts of Social Media on Teens
By William Karwoski
Over the past two decades social media has changed drastically, from starting on the computer to then later becoming an app.
This has given people more access, especially teens, causing severe negative effects on views of themselves, on others, and causing overall mental health problems.
A growing amount of research is highlighting the large impact social media has on teens mental health.
There have been studies that linked an excessive amount of social media use to increased rates of depression, anxiety and even loneliness.
This constant exposure on media platforms like Instagram or Snapchat led to problems like depression, anxiety and dissatisfaction in their bodies.
While being able to communicate and post stuff on social media, that also causes cyberbullying. Teens are subjected to stuff like harassment, rumors, threats, and exclusion from social interactions.
Teens that are victims of these are most likely to become emotionally distressed with about 59 percent being victims of cyberbullying.
The extreme addiction of teens caused by social media is due to the advanced algorithms to increase user engagement, which has caused problems of excessive screentime.
This addiction to the screen has caused teens to have problems such as poor sleep, and academic performance.
With teens saying they’re almost constantly on social media until midnight or even later.
The unrealistic body and beauty standards that are shown on social media has led to major negative self-esteem issues among teenagers.
Unfortunately, due to all the posts they see causes them to do drastic things such as “purging” which is a type of eating disorder that involves self-induced vomiting, and anorexia nervosa and coming from a personal experience the effects from both are extremely severe and can be led close or even cause death.
Quite often harmful content leaks through the programs that allow certain posts. Such as harm to other people, self-harm and the abuse of substances.
Studies by a group called the “Youth Endowment Fund’ found that due to the exposure to this kind of content 68% of teenagers feel unsafe to go outside into their local areas.
While there are benefits to social media, the negative impact on teens with their mental health, social interactions, and over-all general wellbeing is unfortunately overlooked and cannot be overlooked.
Which is why parents, educators, and governments must collaborate to develop policies and strategies to lower these effects.
With plans in effect, social media can be used as a positive impact for teens to learn and have a normal and healthy development, as they are the future of this world and the direction it goes in.
Elon Musk’s Social Media Influence Raises Ethical Concerns
By Ryan Butler
Elon Musk’s presence on social media is both an asset and a liability. With over 150 million followers on X (formerly Twitter) as of 2024, he doesn’t just participate in online conversations, but he shapes them.
His tweets can send stock prices soaring, shift political debates, and even sometimes spark controversy.
While many admire his willingness to challenge the status quo, his influence raises important questions, especially now that he is involved in the government.
Musk has built a reputation for being outspoken and engaging directly with users. His unfiltered approach has won him a loyal fanbase, but it’s also led to concerns about the real-world impact of his words.
A 2022 study by the Knight Foundation found that high- profile social media figures (including Musk) can unintentionally spread misinformation.
His tweets about the 2020 U.S. election, for example, were widely shared and in certain cases, were “flagged” for being misleading.
Another analysis by the Network Contagion Research Institute found that after Musk took over Twitter in 2022, hate speech and misinformation on the platform spiked, raising concerns about how his leadership would affect the future of the platform.
It’s undeniable that Elon Musk is a visionary, but his massive social media presence and ownership could be a serious ethical challenge while working within the White House.
Separating personal opinions from public responsibility is important here, especially with the power that Elon Musk and X have over society.
