By Helen Gotsopoulou and Valeria Papaefstathiou

Nowadays, most young people depend on mobile phones and social media. The screen time that adolescences spend, on a daily basis can affect their lives positively but mainly negatively.

On the one hand, social media can help young people to overcome the problems that concern them and to become more confident. Some teenagers may even seek psychological help in order to handle bullying. Another advantage of social media is that it enables people to make new acquaintances and socialize. Finally, another benefit of social media is that it can promote communication and connection so it can be really helpful in chatting with friends and relatives regularly.

On the other hand, social media can be really harmful on young people lives. First of all, social media presents a distorted view of real life so it can make adolescences feel insecure about their lives. Furthermore, it makes them compare themselves unfavorably to others because of the standards that are created. For example, teenagers are sometimes forced to adjust their preferences so as to fit in with a group of people. Another disadvantage of social media is that unkind or hurtful comments that can offend someone are posted there. Last but not least, it can exacerbate existed anxiety and depression.

Taking everything into account I am inclined to believe that the disadvantages of social media outweigh the advantages. So I believe that with suitable use and help from their parents, teenagers could learn to strike a balance on how to manage the time they spend on their mobiles. Then, social media would clearly represent a positive step forward