How many hours of the day do you spend on the internet; surfing, checking Facebook, Twitter, or any other form of media? I know for myself, it can be 30+ minutes per day!
So let's talk about a younger age group. How many minutes per day are teens (ages 10-18) spending online? What does their future look like in terms of media and social interactions?
According to Rachel Ehmke's article, Teens and Social Media, from the Child Mind Institute, "Teens are masters at keeping themselves occupied in the hours after school until way past bedtime. When they're not doing their homework (and when they are) they're online and on their phones, texting, sharing, trolling, scrolling, you name it."
They do this to receive recognition and maintain their image (Click HERE to watch YouTube video or scroll down).
Each section discusses the mental implications of being in a world where social media drives our social interactions, but I want to take it further than just social media.
Social media is just the tip of the iceberg and just the beginning of a whole new form of social interaction, virtual interaction. In a virtual space teens, and adults, are able to create a whole new image.
Today, research shows that kids develop low self-esteem through the use of electronic communication because it removes the risks involved with making and maintaining friendships. In a virtual world, that risk could be removed even more.
1) Perfection will take on a whole new meaning, teens will no longer need to feel comfortable with their own bodies because they can create new ones. They can feel comfortable in a virtual body that they have complete control over, a body that is perfect.
How might acceptance change?
2) With virtual avatars, social interactions can be just as abruptly ended, as texting, by logging out.
3) Variables can be accounted for and controlled in virtual worlds, so the concept of an unknown would become non existent.
