Research made for subject Trends in Communication

1. Negative impacts of social media as
MySpace and Facebook on teenagers
in the U.S.A.
Trends in Communication
01/11/2013
Isabela Moreno S1072597
Manuel Bertoa S1072563
Jiri G. Dolezal S1072574

2. Summary
Social media and its unordinary use affects whole social community, it has got negative
impacts on the brain as well as on mental health.
In this paper we have answered several sub-questions and a main-question about social
networking issues and we confirmed that teenagers are the most affected by social networks.
More than 93 % of teens between 12-19 years old in the United States use the Internet
regularly and the 73 % of them use social networking communities.
In our research we found out, that the biggest effects and risks of social media on youth by
pediatrics are:
limited capacity for self-regulation
susceptibility to peer pressure
online expressions of offline behaviours:
o clique-forming
o sexual experimentation and sexting
o cyber-bullying
o privacy issue
o internet addiction
o sleep deprivation
Social media can be a good friend however even much worse enemy, to us, to our kids, to
youth and we need to know about it, control it and react to prevent ourselves.
By pediatrics, to reduce the risks of social networking on youth, adults should guide them in
their beginnings with Internet so that in the future they will become capable of making safe
and responsible decisions on their own and we will know that our young population is safe.
The key element to stop spreading of cyber-bullying, sexting and other issues linked with use
of social media, is in the hands of parents. Parents need to be aware of risks of social media
and its negative impacts and have to make sure that they know about online activities of their
teenagers.
Foreword
We would like to use this opportunity and thank to our tutor Miss. José Kooken. This
research wouldn‟t be done without your help and advices.
We hope that our research will help adults and young to understand risks of social media and
how to prevent their impacts.
2

3. INDEX
Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 4
Problem statement ........................................................................................................ 5
Methodological justification
Results
...................................................................................... 5
................................................................................................................................ 6
Reference list
.................................................................................................................. 14
Attachments .................................................................................................................... 16
3

4. Introduction
We cannot deny that social media has taken over conventional media in the world today. We
can easily see that they have impacts on our society.
Social media is changing the way we interact, share and communicate, however it's not
necessarily improving these aspects of our society. True to be told, social media can have
the exact opposite effect.
Whether it's minimizing face to face interaction, breaching our society's privacy and internet
bullying social media are having a huge impact on today's society. Not just impact on
ourselves, but more concerning impact on youth.
That‟s the reason, why we have chosen this topic. We need to protect young generation and
help them to become strong and healthy human being.
So next time when we're logging onto our Facebook, MySpace, Twitter or any other social
network, why not to take a minute and ask ourselves:
'How is social media impacting me?'
Because maybe if we can answer question about ourselves, we will be able to protect the
others, especially the teenagers.
4

5. Problem statement
The aim of this work is to guide through the negative impacts of social media to just better
understand their influence on ours youth in the age of 12 – 19, as the most vulnerable group
of users of social media. We had set main question and some sub questions to guide
potential reader of this work to have some “mind food” about social media and their negative
influence.
In our research we are going to answer following main question:
How pediatrics evaluate the inordinate use of social media like MySpace and
Facebook on teenagers from 12 – 19 years old in U.S.A?
To achieve quality results we are going to answer next sub questions to get to the source of
the problem.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Briefly overview the most negative impacts of social media on society.
Negative effects of social media on the brain
How is affected the mental health of teenagers?
What can parents do to prevent the risks of social media on youth?
Methodological justification
We used some databases for finding scientist articles about our topic. Databases were
namely: Google Scholar, LexisNexis Academic, Scientific Journals and Springer.
Selected keywords were: negative impacts, social media, youth, teenagers, pediatrics, and
health risks.
Quantitative research method was used to find all information needed for our topic. It was
used all sources and databases, so we had over 20 articles to use for qualitative research
method. We selected and summarized the most important risks and issues linked to issue of
use social networks by youth from the most valuable sources, which were used as a results
of our research.
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6. Results
Brief overview of negative impacts of social media on society
We could discuss for very long time about pro and cons of social media however the aim of
this research is to show and provide high spectrum of information about negative impacts of
usage of social media. The aim of this article is to reveal danger for teenagers, however to
get some background for our topic, we are going to show very briefly, that social media can
negatively affects every one of us.
Because the topic is too wide, we would like to point out just the most negative impacts such
as:
- Lacking communication skills
According to Rodrigo Campodonico (2012), one of the negative impacts is that social
media has contributed to a downward slope in communication skills. Various factors involved
in social network communication are having a negative impact on people's communication
skills. For example the amount restriction of characters forcing us to express ourselves in as
few words as possible, or the option to edit our comments diminishing spontaneity.
This negative impact of social media has specifically been proved in communication
between teenagers. While teenagers spend more and more time chatting through computers
or cell phones, face to face conversation are becoming less common loosing quality real
time, face to face interaction.
It refers to these social network relationships as 'electronic relationships' and states that
they're not the same as real relationships, affecting our ability to differ for example
acquaintances and genuine friendships.
-
Addiction to social media
According to Elizabeth Koikai (2013), another issue is "social network addiction"
explaining the amount of time we are spending on social media and most important of all, the
dependency we're acquiring to it can compare to that of a drug addict to its respective drug.
Another example of the negative impact of communication through social media can be
seen in the recent England Riots. As social media can reach masses in a fast manner, social
networks were used to organize riots which ended in wreckage of property and injuries,
according to Gavin Stamp (2011).
-
A false sense of connection
According to Cornell University's Steven Strogatz, social media sites can make it make it
more difficult for us to distinguish between the meaningful relationships we foster in the real
world, and the numerous casual relationships formed through social media. By focusing so
much of our time and psychic energy on these less meaningful relationships, our most
important connections, he fears, will weaken.
-
Cyber-bullying
According to Jung B. (n.d.), the immediacy provided by social media is available to predators
as well as friends. Kids especially are vulnerable to the practice of cyber-bullying in which the
perpetrators, anonymously or even posing as people their victims trust, terrorize individuals
in front of their peers. The devastation of these online attacks can leave deep mental scars.
In several well-publicized cases, victims have even been driven to suicide.
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7. -
Decreased productivity
While many businesses use social networking sites to find and communicate with clients, the
sites can also prove a great distraction to employees who may show more interest in what
their friends are posting than in their work tasks. (Jung, B. (n.d.))
-
Privacy
Social networking sites encourage people to be more public about their personal lives.
Because intimate details of our lives can be posted so easily, users are prone to bypass the
filters they might normally employ when talking about their private lives. What's more, the
things they post remain available indefinitely. (Jung, B. (n.d.), Hatter, K. (n.d) & Melissa De
Zwart, David Lindsay, Michael Henderson and Michael Phillips, 2011)
-
Constant comparison with others
We all look at each other‟s social media sites and statutes, admiring clothes, lifestyles and
even relationships. But when it comes down to it, people mostly tend to share only the most
glittering highlights from their lives, deliberately leaving out the black ones. But this is not
taken into consideration when people start comparing their lives to others and they end up
feeling miserable which can at times even lead to low self-esteem, and depression. (Jung, B
(n.d.))
-
Distraction
One of the major disadvantage of social media is the distraction which is caused in everyday
lives. Many of us can‟t go an hour without checking for updates and new messages and this
is likely to cause us distraction from what‟s really important in our life. Instead of focusing on
work, school and family, we spend majority of our time online looking for the next juicy status
update, headline or photo. (Jung, B (n.d.))
1) Negative effects of social media on the brain
a. It might make you spend more money.
As a recent research indicates the intensive usage of social media produces a decreased
of our self-control, which experts believe could lead to higher spending. According to
Columbia University Professor Keith Wilcox, the way you counteract this is by raising your
self-awareness. It's not about don't spend time on Facebook, but just be aware of what it
might be doing to you."
b. It alters your appetite.
Research which has been done by Women's Health proved that "food porn" photos can
activate the brain's reward center and persuade viewers to overeat; that even looking at food
images after a meal can trigger hunger.
c. It messes with your ability to think independently.
HP Labs found that people were more open to peer pressure within social networks.
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8. People is more likely to change their minds about "liking" some things and posts if they see
that it is popular.
d. It hurts your self-esteem.
According to latest research, one of three people feels worse ("lonely, frustrated or angry")
after spending time on Facebook, often due to perceived deficiencies when comparing
themselves to friends.
(Damon Beres, (n.d) & Lindsey Tugman, 2013.)
2) How is affected the mental health of teenagers?
When teenager‟s use social media there are some positive and negatives aspects
included that we must consider. Negative aspects can produce some disorders on their
psychology and behavior.
For teens, social networking is part and a train for life. It is because they post information
and see the reaction in others. One advantage is that it can help shy teens to express
themselves in a comfortable way. (Jordan K.Turgeon; 2011)
While more than 4 in 5 (82 %) online teens ages 14-17 use online social networks, just a
bit more than half of online teens ages 12-13 say they use the sites. (Amanda Lenhart,
Kristen Purcell, Aaron Smith & Kathtyn Zickuhr)
According to Larry D. Rosen, 2011 the principal problems that can have teenagers on
their mental helth it could be:
-
Narcissism
The use of social media doesn‟t necessarily cause narcissism but it can increase alreadyexisting symptoms.
“For example, if someone prone to narcissistic behavior posts a status, and 20 people
respond with their comments, the problem is perpetuated.”
-
Anxiety and depression
According to Rosen‟s studies children who use more overall media can have problems
with depression and anxiety.
-
Task switching
It could be a problem if children can‟t concentrate in only one task and do it properly.
3) What can parents do to prevent the risks of social media on youth?
Many teens usually spend sleepless nights on social media without the knowledge of their
parents. The disruption of sleep has had adverse effects on the teens. It has led to cases of
insomnia, mood swings, attention deficits at school and increased obesity just to mention a
few.
Three major issues of lacking parents awareness
1) Parents are unaware of the issues involved in the online connections. While kids are
plugged in to social media, only about 40% of parents are involved themselves. Parents may
8

9. not be aware of their children‟s “pages” and don‟t fully understand privacy policies and they
don‟t realize what kinds of public postings are taking place, involving their children.
2) Parents don‟t want to interfere in their children‟s social lives. Most parents want their
children to be popular, accepted and enjoy a happy social life. Parents want to allow their
children to be as connected as the other kids they associate with, and so they tell themselves
that everything is ok.
3) Parents are afraid to take a stand. Many of “modern” parents are becoming apathetic
to the real dangers that too much social media can present to their children. They don‟t want
to push their teens away and so they allow their participation in social media to go
unchecked rather than make a “big deal” out of it.
These problems created by social media are not going away and will be growing. Parents
have to get involved. Parents have the responsibility to protect their children and be aware
of what is happening in their online world.
How to prevent your kids
Investigate and help your child set up privacy settings. Be aware of who can see what
they post, and what is being posted about them. Talk with them about online safety.
Make sure that your youth have plenty of offline time as well. Restrict the times and
frequency of online interaction.
Place all phones in the docking station at night where they are required to stay until
everyone leaves for work and school in the morning.
Consider allowing siblings to share a phone they can “checks out” from mom or dad.
Create family-determined “unplugged” hours when children can participate in other
activities such as outdoor games, reading, talking, playing together, etc.
Social media has a tremendous effect on us today, but with parental participation and
kids‟ cooperation, the effects can be positive for everyone.
How pediatrics evaluate the inordinate use of social media like MySpace and
Facebook on teenagers from 12 – 19 years old in U.S.A?
According to Danah Boyd (The role of networked publics in teenage social life, 2007),
online social networks like MySpace, Facebook or twitter became common destinations for
teenagers in the United States in last years. The whole country experienced, how young
people were logging in, creating complex profiles, publicly articulating their relationships with
other participants, and writing extensive comments back and forth. These social networks
developed significant cultural and sociological influence amongst American teens in a short
period of time.
“If you‟re not on MySpace, you don‟t exist”
Skyler, 18, to her mom
“I'm in the 7th grade. I'm 13. I'm not a cheerleader. I'm not the president of the student
body. Or captain of the debate team. I'm not the prettiest girl in my class. I'm not the most
popular girl in my class. I'm just a kid. I'm a little shy. And it's really hard in this school to
impress people enough to be your friend if you're not any of those things.
9

10. But I go on these really great vacations with my parents between Christmas and New
Year's every year. And I take pictures of places we go. And I write about those places. And I
post this on my Xanga. Because I think if kids in school read what I have to say and how I
say it, they'll want to be my friend.”
Vivien, 13, to Parry Aftab during a “Teen Angels
“Just because I‟m on the computer at 2:30am, doesn‟t mean I‟m up to no good. Like last
night (my mom) comes in and yells at me to go to bed. When I don‟t, she is all „well what are
you doing, show me what you‟re doing.‟ Of course I was lurking Facebook profiles, cause
there is nothing better to do, but that‟s annoying to explain, she wouldn‟t understand.”
Pam, 17
From our point of the view, it is very important to develop a better understanding of those
technologies and their impact on young population.
Because of teenager‟s limited capacity for self-regulation and disposition to peer pressure,
they are at some risk as they navigate and experiment with social media. Recent paediatrics‟
research indicates that there are often online expressions of offline behaviours as well as
negative impacts on mental health hand in hand with lacking of communication skills.
(O'Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011)
For all those reasons, it is important, that parents will become aware of the effects of
social media sites, given that they are not healthy environments for children and adolescents.
Based on research of Youth work and social networking final report (NYA, 2008),
teenagers in the U.S.A. are using social media for:
Keeping in touch with friends and kith and kin;
Developing new contacts;
Sharing content, engaging in self-expression and exploring identity;
Hanging out and consuming content;
Accessing information and informal learning;
Participating in informal groups and engagement opportunities.
O'Keeffe and Clarke-Pearson (The impact of social media on children, adolescents and
families 2011) did research amongst youth of age between 12 -17 about usage of technology
in the U.S.A.
The results were:
78 % of teens have a cell phone (almost 50 % from that number were
smartphones);
23 % of teens have a tablet computer, a level comparable to the general adult
population;
95 % of teens use the internet;
93 % of teens have a computer or have access to one at home.
Various number of reports were done on that topic, however Chris Crosby (The effects of
social media on teenagers, 2012) suggests that about 83 % of American youth use their
phones for email, mobile internet and texting. His research further states, that these
American teens send and receive text messages 144 times a day. If the teens are not
texting, they are usually on social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace or Twitter where
they chat, share photos and video and participate in gaming.
There is no doubt, that social media sites have got positive influence on youth. From the
view of pediatrics (O'Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011), social media can have a positive effect
to teenagers such as staying connected with friends and family, making new friends, sharing
10

11. pictures, and exchanging ideas. Social media participation also can offer teenagers deeper
benefits that extend into their view of self, community, and the world.
However the negative impacts of social media on youth are more serious. Chou et al.
(Social Media Use in the United States: Implications for Health Communication, 2009) in their
research pointed out, that using of social media becomes a risk to adolescents more often
than most adults realize.
Paediatricians are in a unique position to help to understand impacts of social media and
to encourage healthy use and persuade parents to monitor social networks activity of their
teenagers for potential problems connected with social networks.
Based on their research, most risks fall into the following categories:
peer-to-peer;
inappropriate content;
lack of understanding of online privacy issues and
outside influences of third-party advertising groups.
Paediatricians are able to help parents to understand, that what is happening online is an
extension of those issues mentioned above and that parents can be the most helpful if they
can understand the core of issues and have strategies for dealing with them whether they
take place online, offline, or, increasingly last months, both.
According to O'Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson (2011) or Ybarra & Mitchell (2008), inordinate
use of social media of teenagers is characterized by and can lead to:
limited capacity for self-regulation
susceptibility to peer pressure
online expressions of offline behaviours:
o clique-forming
o sexual experimentation and sexting
o cyber-bullying
o privacy issue
o internet addiction
o sleep deprivation
Based on the pediatrics´ research (Danah Boyd, 2007 or Crosby, 2012 as well as
O'Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011), the most important negative issues connected with use of
social media on teenagers are:
Cyberbullying
“Cyber-bullying is deliberately using digital media to communicate false, embarrassing, or
hostile information about another person. It is the most common online risk for all teens and
is a peer-to-peer risk.”
Cyber-bullying is unfortunately quite common, can occur to any young person online, and
can cause psychosocial outcomes including depression, anxiety, severe isolation, and,
tragically, suicide. (Crosby, 2012)
Cyber-bullying is the biggest danger of social media, especially in the recent years. Just in
2013, two 13 years old girls died because of cyber-bullying.
Sexting
11

12. Sexting can be defined as “sending, receiving, or forwarding sexually explicit messages,
photographs, or images via cell phone, computer, or other digital devices.” (O'Keeffe &
Clarke-Pearson, 2011)
This new phenomenon occurs among the young population. Recent survey revealed, that
20 % of teens have sent or posted nude or semi-nude photographs or videos of themselves.
There is another risk for teenagers and that is to be threatened or charged with felony
child pornography charges, although some states have started characterizing such
behaviours as juvenile-law misdemeanours. (Ybarra et al., 2008)
Facebook Depression
“Facebook depression” is defined as depression which is developed, when teenagers
spend a great deal of time on social media sites, such as Facebook, and then begin to
exhibit classic symptoms of depression. Acceptance by and contact with peers is an
important element of adolescent life.
The intensity of the online world is thought to be a factor that may trigger depression in
some adolescents. As with offline depression, preadolescents and adolescents who suffer
from Facebook depression are at risk for social isolation and sometimes turn to risky Internet
sites and blogs for “help” that may promote substance abuse, unsafe sexual practices, or
aggressive or self-destructive behaviours. (Danah Boyd, 2007)
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13. Conclusion
In this paper we have answered several sub-questions and a main-question about social
networking issues and we can conclude that teenagers are the most affected by social
networks.
As a Kaiser Family Foundation study (Generation M2, 2010) shows, the three most
popular computer activities among teens are social networking sites such as MySpace and
Facebook, playing computer games, and watching videos YouTube. The increasing use of
Smartphone has increased the importance of social networks. Now young people are
connected all day wherever they are.
More than 93 % of teens between 12-19 years old in the United States use the Internet
regularly, and the 73 % of them use social networking communities.
Social media and its unordinary use affects whole social community, it has got negative
impacts on the brain as well as on mental health.
In our research we found out, that the biggest effects and risks of social media on youth
by pediatrics are:
limited capacity for self-regulation
susceptibility to peer pressure
online expressions of offline behaviours:
o clique-forming
o sexual experimentation and sexting
o cyber-bullying
o privacy issue
o internet addiction
o sleep deprivation
To protect teenagers from these risks of social networking, pediatricians advice to parents
that they should have more control over their children; monitor social networks activity of
their teenagers for potential problems connected with social networks; be aware of who can
see what they post, and what is being posted about them; talk with them about online safety;
restrict the times and frequency of online interaction.
To reduce the risks of social networking on youth, adults should guide them in their
beginnings with Internet so that in the future they will become capable of making safe and
responsible decisions on their own and we will know that our young population is safe.
Social media can be a good friend however even much worse enemy, to us, to our kids, to
youth and we need to know about it, control it and react to prevent ourselves.
13

14. Reference list
AMANDA LENHART, KRISTEN PURCELL, AARON SMITH and KATHRYN ZICKUHR.
“Social Media & Mobile Internet Use Among Teens and Young Adults” Pew Internet &
American Life Project February. 2010
http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media/Files/Reports/2010/PIP_Social_Media_and_Young_Adul
ts_Report_Final_with_toplines.pdf
BOYD, DANAH. “Why Youth (Heart) Social Network Sites: The Role of Networked Publics in
Teenage Social Life.” (2007) MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Learning – Youth,
Identity, and Digital Media Volume (ed. David Buckingham). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
BRIAN JUNG. The Negative Effect of Social Media on Society and Individuals. [online]. (n.d.)
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/negative-effect-social-media-society-individuals-27617.html
CHOU, Wen-ying Sylvia, Yvonne M HUNT, Ellen Burke BECKJORD, Richard P MOSER a
Bradford W HESSE. Social Media Use in the United States: Implications for Health
Communication. Journal of Medical Internet Research [online]. 2009, vol. 11, issue 4, e48[cit. 2013-10-22]. DOI: 10.2196/jmir.1249. Available: http://www.jmir.org/2009/4/e48/
CROSBY, Chris. The Effecs of Social Media on Teenagers. In: SociallyActive [online]. 2012.
vyd. [cit. 2013-10-22]. Available: http://sociallyactive.com/social-media-effect/
DAMON BERES. 5 Weird Negative Effects of Social Media on Your Brain. [online]. (n.d.)
http://www.rd.com/slideshows/negative-effects-of-social-media/#slideshow=slide1
ELIZABETH KOIKAI. The Negative Impact of Social Media on our lives. In: current affairs &
debate [online]. 2013. http://themoose.no/2013/05/08/the-negative-impact-of-social-mediaon-our-lives/
GAVIN STAMP. English riots: Social media were „force for good‟. [online]. 2011.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14931010
Kathryn Hatter. What Is the Danger of Teen Networking?. [online].
(n.d.)http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/danger-teen-networking-2237.html
LINDSEY TUGMAN. 4 negative effects of social media. [online]. 2013.
http://www.thv11.com/news/article/276713/143/4-negative-effects-of-social-mediaMELISSA DE ZWART, DAVID LINDSAY, MICHAEL HENDERSON and MICHAEL
PHILLIPS. Teenagers, Legal Risks and Social Networking Sites. Pg 71. 2011. Available:
http://newmediaresearch.educ.monash.edu.au/lnmrg/sites/default/files/SNSandRisks_REPO
RT.pdf
O'KEEFFE, G. S. a K. CLARKE-PEARSON. The Impact of Social Media on Children,
Adolescents, and Families. PEDIATRICS [online]. 2011-04-01, vol. 127, issue 4, s. 800-804
[cit. 2013-10-22]. DOI: 10.1542/peds.2011-0054. Available:
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/doi/10.1542/peds.2011-0054
Part of a conversation from December 2004 that motivated Parry Aftab (Executive Director of
Wired Safety) to help teens use social network sites safely; story shared by one of her “Teen
Angels” (n.d) (http://www.teenangels.com)
Passionate. Ultra-fast release cycles and the new plane. (n.d)
http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2006/03/ultrafast_relea.html
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15. RODRIGO CAMPODONICO. Negative Effects On Communication Skills. [online]. 2012.
http://worldissuesnz.blogspot.nl/
RUDD, ANDY. Hannah Smith suicide: Teenager used Ask.fm in secret after being banned
from going on it by worried father. [online] (2013) http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uknews/hannah-smith-suicide-teenager-used-2184385
SociallyActive. The effects of social media on teenagers. (2012) Retrieved from
http://sociallyactive.com/social-media-effect/
The Impact of Social Media. In: Youth Work and Social Networking Final Report:
NYA [online]. 2008. vyd. [cit. 2013-10-22]. Available:
http://www.practicalparticipation.co.uk/yes/what/what_does_it_change
VICTORIA J. RIDEOUT, M.A., ULLA G. FOEHR, PH.D., AND DONALD F. ROBERTS, PH.D.
(Kaiser family foundation study). “Generation M2: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds”
[online]. January 2010 http://kaiserfamilyfoundation.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/8010.pdf
VIVIAN VAHLBERG. Fitting into their lives [online]. 2010.
http://www.americanpressinstitute.org/docs/Foundation/Research/Fitting_into_their_lives.pdf
YBARRA, M. L., K. J. MITCHELL, Ellen Burke BECKJORD, Richard P MOSER a Bradford W
HESSE. How Risky Are Social Networking Sites? A Comparison of Places Online Where
Youth Sexual Solicitation and Harassment Occurs: Implications for Health
Communication. PEDIATRICS [online]. 2008-01-28, vol. 121, issue 2, e350-e357 [cit. 201310-22]. DOI: 10.1542/peds.2007-0693. Available:
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/doi/10.1542/peds.2007-0693
15

16. Research plan
Our problem statement
Negative impact of social media as MySpace and Facebook on teenagers in the U.S.A.
Main question
How pediatrics evaluate the inordinate use of social media like MySpace and Facebook on
teenagers from 12 – 19 years old in U.S.A?
Sub-questions
For answering the problem statement, we will use the following sub question:
1. What are the biggest risks for youth (12 – 19) using social media?
Definition of our subject
The goal of our research is to analyze impacts of inordinate use of social media from the
view of pedestrians. Research will be concentrated on U.S.A. market and main social
networks like Facebook and MySpace and their influence on personal development and main
possible health risks on youth (12 -19 year old).
Research is very actual and its main asset is to uncover dark side of social networks
reflecting possible risks for youth users.
The U.S.A. market has been chosen as a main market for this research, however usage of
social networks is global and that‟s our research can be used for understanding such a
concerning topic globally.
The research will be done in the period of 2006- 2013. A time frame of 7 years.
Keywords
The keywords we will be using are:
Social networks
Facebook
MySpace
Health problems
Internet
Pediatrics
U.S.A.
inordinate use
Teenagers
Youth
Risks
Diseases
Negative impact
Similarities
The period 2006 - 2013 (7 years)
Period
The research will be done in the period from 21st of September to the 30th of October 2013.
16

17. Sources
Databases
We will use the following databases:
Scientific Journals
Lexis Nexis Academic
WorldCat
Springer
Publications and literature
We will search for publications in above databases and on Google Scholar and Google
Books and Springer.
Practices
We will use some examples of real life tragedies which happened in our time frame from
mass media to show practical aspects of our research.
Search engines
Name Databases: Google Scholar, LexisNexis Academic, Scientific Journals, Springer
Selected keywords: negative impacts, social media, youth, teenagers, health risks
Key articles
Title
Journal Author
The Impact Online
of Social
article
Media on
Children,
Adolescents,
and Families
Why Youth
(Heart)
Social
Network
Sites: The
Role of
Networked
Publics in
Teenage
Social Life
Online
article
DOI
Gwenn
10.1542/peds.2011-0054
Schurgin
O'Keeffe,
Kathleen
ClarkePearson
Danah
Boyd
Year
Volume
2011 127
Number Pages
4
10.1162/dmal.978026252483 2007 Unknown 16
17
7
26

18. Search in catalogues, databases, Internet
Title
The Impact of
Social Media on
Children,
Adolescents, and
Families
Author
Gwenn
Schurgin
O'Keeffe,
Kathleen
ClarkePearson
ISBN/DOI
10.1542/peds.2011-0054
Year 1
2011 Y
2 3
Y Y
4 5
Y Y
Why Youth (Heart)
Social Network
Sites: The Role of
Networked Publics
in Teenage Social
Life
Social Media &
Mobile Internet Use
Among Teens and
Young Adults
How Risky Are
Social Networking
Sites? A
Comparison of
Places Online
Where Youth
Sexual Solicitation
and Harassment
Occurs:
Implications for
Health
Communication.
Teenagers, Legal
Risks and Social
Networking Sites
Social Media Use in
the United States:
Implications for
Health
Communication
Y = yes, N = no
Danah Boyd
10.1162/dmal.978026252483 2007 Y
Y Y
Y N Y
Amanda
Lenhart et al.
Not to be found
2010 N Y N Y Y
M. L. Ybarra
DOI: 10.1542/peds.20070693
2008 Y
Y Y
Y N Y
Melissa de
Zwart et al.
ISBN: 978-0-646-55345-0
2011 Y
Y Y
Y Y
W. Chou et.
al.
DOI: 10.2196/jmir.1249
2009 Y
Y Y
Y N Y
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Leading journal?
Renowned publisher?
Leading author?
Content
Up to date publication?
Relevant publication?
18
6
Y
Y
Y

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