Social Media
Social media presents two opposing themes for adolescents: opportunities and risks. While it gives young people the chance to educate themselves about the world around them through the globalization of social media, it also has the capability of encroaching on cultural values and identity. These advances in technology allow young people to voice their opinions and participate in society much more easily, but it also puts them at a greater risk of exploitation.
Television
According to Susan Gigle of UNICEF, from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, the number of television channels, household television sets and hours spent watching television more than doubled. There are now approximately 250 television sets per thousand inhabitants in the world—far more than the number of telephones.
The prevalence of television viewing among young people raises serious concerns about recent national and global trends in the television industry. In industrialized countries, there have been recent complaints over rising levels of aggression, obesity, substance abuse, eating disorders and unsafe sexual behavior among youth, increasingly attributed to commercial media aimed at children and youth.
Nepal Study: After introducing youth to television, parents and teachers were asked to respond to a questionnaire about the effects of television on study and general behavior. Of the respondents, about fifty percent stated that the television was making positive effects on children. About 13 percent mentioned that the television had not made any (neither positive nor negative) effect on children. 37% of the respondents mentioned that the television was having negative impacts on the study habit and general social behavior of children.
Fiji Island Study: After being exposed to television for 3 years, the young girls on the island previously reported as having large appetites, now showed signs of disordered eating with 70% reporting dieting.