Social networks are a danger for young people

• May 4, 2024

The social networks they are a phenomenon thanks to the power of communication that the Internet facilitates, however, the misuse of them can cause addictions to be created, mainly in adolescents.

According to information from Reurters , the time that adolescents spend connected to social networks increases the risk that smoke , drink alcohol and consume drug , according to a national survey on attitudes related to substance abuse, carried out in U.S .

On a typical day, 70% of young Americans (around 17 million) between 12 and 17 years old went from one minute to several hours in Facebook , MySpace and others social networks , according to him National Center on Addictions and Substance Abuse (CASA, for its acronym in English) of the Columbia University .

And within that same group, the adolescents most immersed in the social networks are five times more likely to smoke , are three times more likely to drink alcohol , and twice as susceptible to consumption marijuana that those who do not devote any of their time to social networks .

The company Knowledge Networks surveyed 1,037 adolescents from 12 to 17 years old and 528 parents of those young people through the Internet. QEV Analytics conducted the annual telephone survey of 1,006 young people between 12 and 17 years old, asking questions used by CASA to follow trends.

The results revealed that half of the adolescents who had used a social network on the day of the survey he saw photos of young people "drunk, unconscious or consuming drug in those pages. "

But even beyond those who visit them on a daily basis, 14% of young people who had not used a social network That day he said he saw that kind of images on the pages.

According to the study, young people who had seen those images were four times more likely to be able to get marijuana , one third more than getting prescription drugs, without it, and twice as many chances of getting alcohol .

In addition, those teenagers who had seen the images were twice as likely to think they would try drug in the future, and tended much more to have consumer friends of illegal substances .

But the polls, which also interrogated adults, found that nine out of 10 parents do not believe that teenagers who spend time connected to social networks are more likely to drink alcohol l or consume drug .

The authors of the report urged parents to present a united and consistent front before the consumption of substances. They also asked the administrators of the social networks to remove those images and cut off access to the teenagers who upload them.

Video Medicine: How social media is affecting teens (May 2024).