Researches show that the majority of teenagers nowadays have a preference to communicate online than to meet face-to-face. Contributing to this trend is a mix of both psychological and societal factors; therefore, in order to reverse the situation, we need to tackle these core issues.
This current rising phenomenon of teens choosing to socialise online over the traditional means can be explained with psychology and society’s actions towards this issue at present. First and foremost, regarding the inner workings of the brain: when exposed to Internet at a young age, the brain unconsiously formed a dependency on it. Growing up, teens innately have a strong preference of utilising social media and online platforms in place of real-life communications, due to its familiarity, which brings comfort. This is worsened with neglectful parenting, which is caused by an overall lack of awareness to the consequences of overusing online platforms.
To effectively remedy the situation, we need to focus on minimising the damage caused by the aforementioned factors. Firstly, bringing the public’s attention towards this concerning topic and its damages is an effective way to raise awareness. If society pay more attention, then cases similar to these should be prevented in the future. Secondly, to directly bring our children outside for socialising, we need to foster a positive mindset about face-to-face talks for them, erasing the learned patterns throughout their childhood. Personally, fieldtrips at school and limits to using phones have drastically change the way myself as a teen usually communicate, as I feel more confident in my speaking skills.
All things considered, I believe that the weight teenagers put on online socialising over traditional methods can be alleviated by eliminating the core issues regarding their psychology and society’s negligence, raising everybody’s awareness.