“Adolescent Portal”

Pediatrician, Doctor Michael Rich, in the article, “Seeing Social Media More as Portal Than as Pitfall,” tells us to look at social media platforms as neither “positive or negative, but as essentially neutral.” That is because Dr. Rich believes that it is not these platforms’ fault that people tend to abuse it and use it for other intentions. Dr. Megan Moreno conducted some research on this particular topic and discovered that of those adolescents who posted “risky” things on their online profiles, when alerted with suggestions, it is the females who were more likely to reply. She also discovered that “sexual material was more likely than alcohol-related material to be removed.” Dr. Moreno now tells us that social networking sites is not exactly a bad thing when you can use it to understand human interactions over the internet. She also looked at the issue of depression. Many disheartening statuses that were posted online showed symptoms of depression similar to students who underwent screening tests.

The article basically highlights the importance of social media during this era. It is highly relied on. Instead of shunning all social media platforms, students should be encouraged to experiment with and use it to their advantage. There will always be risks on the internet like cyber bullying, but the things is it also allows youths to reach out for help when necessary.