Dear Ms Samantha Taylor,

This letter I’m writing to you today has a purpose of relaying my perspective of the argument you’ve brought to light. This letter is meant to emphasise the inimical nature of social media teenagers have become privy too. You have made it clear that you don’t believe in Franzen’s or the others ideology and I believe that is a problem you need to address and we as a society need to solve.

 

This letter I’m writing to you today is to help teenagers with no other recourse.

 

I personally believe that techno-consumerism is gradually becoming a widespread problem across the globe as teens are becoming more infatuated with social media as time goes on. The real problem lies in the double-edged sword called social media as it uses the guise of allowing you to speak to long-lost friends and other advantages to strip away any real human contact and forms teens who think incoherently, speak colloquially and listen dumbfoundedly.

 

People swing back and forth like the oscillations of a bell in a striking clock when choosing whether the benefits outweigh the negatives and remain idle. Whilst believing silly ideologies such as both the benefits and the negatives balance each other out, I believe your article is the perfect ensemble to unbalance the scales. In your article you have clearly stated the detrimental effects the internet has on teens using the opinions of various people and media as evidence.

 

Firstly you began the preamble of your article introducing the opinion of Jonathan Franzen who believed that teenagers were losing their empathy replacing it with apathy. Losing sense of their reality.

 

Ultimately becoming husks of their former selves.

 

Secondly you started introducing the similar opinion of the american comedian Louis CK, who hyperbolized the effect that social media has on teenagers and Susan Greenfield’s opinion stating that teenagers were becoming indoctrinated by the social media they love so much, becoming hedonistic and detached from the real world, losing abilities such as sensationalism and other essential abilities needed in reality. Subsequently talking about newspapers and their account of pornography addiction and aggression caused by video-games and internet misuse; ending your article with two points, the first by John Henley stating that teenagers are digital natives however oblivious to the dangers associated to social media and the second by the Pew report emphasizing John Henley’s statement with their findings that only 9% of teens were “very” concerned with third parties accessing their information.

 

First and foremost I have bore witness to the effects highlighted by Jonathan Franzen. I believe losing the new generation to apathy could be a serious threat brought about by social media if our new generation, our fresh-faced youngsters lose their empathy. Our world will crumble like pastries filled with an abundance of abject indifference in our population.

 

Susan Greenfield stated that we were losing our children as they become more detached from society the more they use their social media consequently becoming self-indulgent and losing common abilities necessary for human interaction and in doing so become more isolated as a result. Moreover the newspapers that report accounts of pornography addiction and aggression  rising due to video-games and the prolonged use of the internet and this therefore causes teenagers who are more sexually confused and violent.

 

John Henley and the Pew report both talk of the dangers teenagers are faced with as they put themselves in danger as they remain indifferent about their own privacy and do not care who can access their personal information . This is a threat as there are many who carry malice in them so cyber bullying, fraud and even rape may become a likelihood. We don’t want that. We don’t want our children vulnerable to harm.

I think it is time we excise the tumor that is social media.

 

In conclusion I agree completely with the ideas in your article but not you, I think teenagers need to be presented in this way so that the populace can finally notice and take action. They are still oblivious to the dangers the world has, they are not the impervious individuals they think they are and without our intervenience they may truly be lost. I believe it’s not enough anymore to just aspire for a better world, its time we mold this earth for the better not just for us but for the teenagers and future generations.

 

“Vision is not enough, it must be combined with venture. It is not enough to stare up the steps, we must step up the stairs.” ~ Vaclav Havel

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Thailah Robertson