Name of the Leader: Caballes, James Matthew L.

Block: PCBET-01-102A
Members: Aban, Ma. Veronica G. Schedule: 1:30 PM, THS
Abasolo, Phea Vanessa C.
Astillero, Jessel Ann S.
Basa, Marjorie May
Cajucom, Redentor A. Jr.

Topic: Consequentialism
Title: “The Consequences of Wrong Usage of Social Media by the Teenagers”

I. ABSTRACT

Social media is a platform that allows people from all over the world to
communicate their concerns and opinions. Before knowing the consequences of
inappropriate social media use, teenagers must first understand what social media
means. The word "social media" refers to how people engage with one another in
groups or individually. They create, share, and occasionally trade ideas, photographs,
videos, and virtual communities via the internet and virtual communities. Social media
has changed from a fun addition to a fully integrated component of practically every
aspect of our daily lives. This study likewise explained what the consequences of the
wrong usage of social media in teenagers will be. We can avoid cyberbullying and other
unethical behaviors if teenagers know our responsibilities as social media users,
especially now that we have a lot of time to use social media platforms due to the
pandemic. Furthermore, we can come across various articles and news on social
media. It is simple to share them; nevertheless, if a youngster is unaware of fraudulent
actions online, such as fake news, it can quickly spread without being verified. In
contrast, if a teenager is unaware of their responsibilities as social media users, it can
lead to addiction and forgetting its limitations, such as the tendency for teenagers to
defraud other people.

Keywords: Social Media, Teenagers, cyberbullying, consequence

II. INTRODUCTION

Social Media is a technology that allows people to create and share information,
Ideas, Communicate, Engagement, Content-sharing, Collaboration, and other kinds of
expression through virtual communities and networks. It's popular these days especially
to the youth because of its user-friendly features. Millions of individuals use social
media to share knowledge and build connections all over the world. Social media allows
us to contact friends and family, learn new things, develop our interests, and be
entertained on a personal basis. At the corporate level, social media allows you to
engage with your audience, gather feedback from customers, and raise your brand
while on a professional level, you can utilize social media to expand your expertise in a
certain subject and improve your professional network by engaging with other industry.

Teenagers and young adults are quite active on social media, which is not
surprising. Individuals’ interests and concerns were not as complicated during the time
period before the development of social media. Although social media has grown in
popularity, people's lives have been affected by a variety of elements, including family,
environment, and personal experience, since the introduction of technology. Individual
lives have improved as a consequence of the internet and social media since we are
able to form and strengthen connections while also developing our social skills.
However, this big difference in social media has resulted in certain negative
consequences for our personalities.

We can also use social media as a platform to help and communicate with
people experiencing depression, anxiety, and stress, talking to someone having such
thoughts may help them boost their confidence again and will make them feel that they
are not alone. Nowadays social media has a huge impact on every part of our life and
on how we live especially to every teenager. However, using social media has to be
used for the right purpose it should be used by engaging with other people to reduce
anxiety and suicidal cases because during this time most of the students are
experiencing depression and anxiety. The best way to get rid of or lessen this problem
is to engage with friends and family using social media platforms. Every teenager
should know how to use social media properly to avoid social media conflicts or to avoid
fake news that spreads rapidly. Despite being useful, social media still has a lot of
consequences especially when it is used in the wrong way. One of the consequences is
cyberbullying. Social media addiction can also affect the health of the user like having
poor eyesight, experiencing headaches and etc.

In an article discussing the negative impacts of social media, the author says in
fact, according to Rachel Ehmke of the Child Mind Institute, "Self-esteem comes from
being confident in your own skin." A person's ability to feel good about themselves
lowers the more identities they have and the more time they spend acting like someone
they are not. To compare oneself to others is a natural part of human nature. And this is
particularly true in the case of teens. According to social comparison theory, comparing
and contrasting oneself to one's peers is an essential component of identity building.
Teenagers may learn where they stand in their views, preferences, and attitudes by
going through this procedure. Teens may be inspired and motivated by social
comparisons as well.

As a result, people create comparisons based on factors such as money,

intellect, and achievement, among others. When teens participate in social comparison,
they often concentrate on attributes like perceived beauty and popularity. Additionally,
people might compare their strengths and skills, such as athletic prowess or aesthetic
skills. In certain cases, making such a contrast might spur young people to work even
harder and achieve greater success in their chosen field. It may also be demoralizing
and cause a great deal of worry at times. It is dependent on the sort of social
comparison that is made.

III. TOPIC CHOSEN

Today's generation has become so fascinated with social media that it has
supplanted typical media and entertainment sources. When they get up, the first thing a
teenager does is grab their phone, check and browse through their social media
accounts. According to Durfy (2019), Generation Z has never known life without social
media, with 44% of them visiting their accounts every single minute to check it. They
grew up with exposure to the internet and social media platforms, making them true
digital natives. Modern technology has brought both significant advancements and
unforeseen circumstances to all individuals around the globe. It's nearly tough to believe
a modern-day teenager who doesn't use their smartphone to play games, stream
videos, keep in touch with friends immediately, and share their life through pictures,
videos, and updates. As a result, many teenagers abuse social media usage because of
their lack of awareness about their responsibilities as social media users. They simply
do whatever they want with social media without considering the possible
consequences. We detest the concept of teenagers not being well-versed in the
utilization of social media as it will only lead to several harmful effects in their lives. We
believe that we should know about it to be aware of many issues, such as avoiding or
not being one of those who engage in cyberbullying, keeping away from fraudulent
online activities, and preventing social media addiction.

Teens can at least keep themselves protected or reduce the risk of cyberbullying
if they have a practical understanding of social media and see some of the alarming
signals that someone is bullying or harassing them online. We agree that having
knowledge will enable us to be more aware of what is occurring on social media. We will
be able to provide solutions or seek assistance to prevent the indications of online
bullying. As said by Milosevic (2019), if you have access to other platforms, you will be
familiar with the tools that will help you solve the issue, such as blocking and reporting,
which enable people to ban abusive persons from reaching them in the future or to
report violent information to the platform. Fewer people are likely to be aware of Safety
or Help centers, which provide information on what to do if a teenager is bullied online
and how to assist them both on and off the network. As stated by Mintz (2019), teens'
safety and security are jeopardized by cyberbullying. Hurt feelings, sorrow, frustration,
anxiety, embarrassment, low self-esteem, difficulty to trust others, fear of social
interactions, school failure, bullying others, and, in severe cases, suicide are some of
the negative consequences. According to end to cyberbullying organization (n.d),
teenagers should make an effort to learn about good netiquette. This involves using
emails, messages, and other types of electronic communicating correctly. Many
unpleasant internet posts or comments may have been posted by accident or
misinterpretation, leaving the sender, recipient, or both ashamed, humiliated, injured, or
harassed. Everything we post or say on social media must be carefully scrutinized to
ensure that we do not hurt others. We should constantly remember the phrase "think
before you click," which will enable us to avoid getting trapped in a toxic social
environment.

Knowing how to utilize social media can also assist a teenager in avoiding
engaging in fraudulent online activity. In social media, we can encounter many articles
and news, and it is easy for us to click the share button. However, if a teenager is not
aware of fraudulent activities in online such as fake news, it can quickly spread without
checking its credibility. In addition, scammers are becoming more creative in their
efforts to extort money or personal information from you. They focus on people of
various ages, ethnicities, and economic levels. There is no one set of individuals who
are more prone to fall victim to a scam; we are all exposed to scams at some point in
our lives. That is why we must be vigilant of even the smallest detail on social media
and maintain a solid public image as much as possible. According to the Australian
Competition and Consumer Commission (n.d.), if we are aware of social media
interactions, we can have an idea on weighing the consequences of a scam while
dealing with unexpected contacts from individuals or companies, whether it's over the
phone, by mail, email, in person, or on a social networking site. Remember, if anything
appears to be too good to be true, it most often is. In addition, as said by Lewis (n.d.),
Everyone should be informed that we do not have to reveal a social security number or
driver's license with numerous social networking platforms if it is not absolutely
necessary, just like our sensitive information that may be used against us in a plethora
of evil ways. Remember that there are strategies to be wise about what you share and
whom you share it with before you go online and delete all of your social media
accounts. Users must be educated on how to use social media appropriately in order to
protect their safety and confidentiality. Social media platforms must also comprehend
the consequences of failure to acknowledge security and privacy concerns. If the
information is tampered with, it throws suspicion not just on the social network but also
on real-life personality.
 Lastly, understanding how to manage social media can help us in averting social
media addiction by allowing us to be more responsible for whatever we do on it. We all
know that in our age, we have complete responsibility for how we use social media and
healthy balance the use of it. As stated by Ahmad (2018), 56% said they were worried
about missing anything crucial on the internet. In another study, it was estimated that
the typical individual spends about 135 minutes each day on social media. That is why
we must be more conscious of and in charge of our social media usage, ignore guilty
pleasures, do something productive without using the internet, and engage in a social
media detox. All of this is possible if we know how to use social media appropriately.
Being a responsible digital person requires acquiring the internet social skills needed to
function in online community life in an ethical and courteous manner. According to
Cherney (2020), not everybody who consumes their time on social media will acquire an
addiction as long as they know how to make use of their social media wisely. However,
as this activity becomes more available to more people, more people may develop a
social media addiction at some time in their life. You can actually reduce
overdependence on social media before it becomes problematic by getting regular
pauses and creating clear and strict boundaries for yourself.

IV. ETHICAL THEORY

Way back when we were young, our primary teacher is always telling us that if
we got a high score, or we did our activity very well, we would receive three stars, and
when we were in junior high school, our science teacher always told us that "in every
action, there is an opposite reaction" when they are discussing Newton's law of motion.
Also, our English teacher always teaches us the cause-and-effect relationship, and our
Economics teacher tells us that "When demand is up, the supply is down," and lastly,
when we get home, our parents always remind us that if we study hard, we will get a
better job and a better future. We are entirely unaware that it teaches us that our every
action, good or bad, has corresponding consequences, which explain the concept of
consequentialism.
 Consequentialism is a set of normative, teleological ethical theories that hold that
the consequences of one's actions as the most significant basis for determining whether
an action was right or wrong (Wikipedia,2021). Wherein, according to a website, Ethics
unwrapped, action is being judged whether something is right by what its consequences
are. For example, telling a lie is wrong; however, if lying can save us from harm,
consequentialism says it's right. Hence, all actions, whether it's good or bad, as long as
they result in the best or right outcome, or it makes the world better in the future, the
consequentialism approach says it's right. (Armstrong,2003) In addition, Scheffler
defines consequentialism in his book entitled Consequentialism and critics as a moral
concept that states the proper action in every given situation is the one that would
create the best overall result, as measured from an impersonal position that gives equal
weight to everyone's interests. He added that any individual who opposes
consequentialism appears to be focused on the case that profound quality advises to do
less great than we are in a situation to do and to prevent less malevolent than we are in
a situation to forestall. Consequentialism, along with eudaemonism, falls under the
broader category of teleological ethics, a group of views that claim that the moral value
of any act consists in its tendency to produce things of intrinsic value. Under
Consequentialism are both utilitarianism and hedonism. Utilitarianism evaluates
outcomes according to the principle of "the most good for the greatest number."
Hedonism, on the other hand, believes that something is "good" if it brings pleasure or
prevents misery.

From a consequentialist standpoint, a morally right act will produce a good

outcome because they maximize goodness over badness (Pettit 1994). In this case, our
claim "Teenagers should be Knowledgeable about their Duties as Social Media Users"
is suited to our ethical theory- Consequentialism. Considering that a good action
outweighs a good outcome, then if a teenager understands social media, they may at
least protect themselves to avoid cyberbullying, engaging in fraudulent online activities,
namely: identity theft, plagiarism, online Investment scams, Phishing, etc. and social
media addiction. It also allows them to be more responsible social media users.
Moreover, if being knowledgeable on using social media can prevent and protect
teenagers from such harm, then teenagers should do it. As Consequentialism says, "an
action is based on its outcome, it maximizes good over bad then it is right to do." As
Italian proverbs said, "A good beginning makes a good ending" if doing an action can
make a good outcome, then it's better it is better if teenagers know what their
responsibility are so that they will prevent themselves from harm ahead of time since it's
tough to know what will happen in the future.

V. ARGUMENTATION AND APPLICATION

Nowadays, the use of social media has become a necessary daily activity,
especially for teens. That is why teens should be knowledgeable about their duties as
social media users because the wrong usage of social media can result in unseen
consequences, whether good or bad. If a teen becomes a knowledgeable social media
user, it can quickly determine online frauds, fake news, scams in order to efficiently
avoid them. According to Haines (n. d.), reasonable consequentialism states that in
order for an action to be justified, it must first come to a reasonable conclusion about
the consequences. For instance, if a teen encounters an article, it should be double-
checked if that article can provide information based on facts before sharing it, that
mostly teens nowadays share everything they see particularly on Facebook. Before
sharing something, possible consequences must realized and justified first to prevent
the spreading of fake news. In that way, more people will be well-educated and adapt
this practice.

There is also unintentional engagement in cyberbullying. As reported by Patchin

(2013), accidental bullying is when teens say things to others, mainly online, that aren't
meant to be hurtful but are perceived as such. Meaning, teens may accidentally engage
in cyberbullying if they are not knowledgeable users of social media. This is in line with
plain consequentialism; as it states, that the morally right action is the one with the best
overall consequences of all the things a person can do at any given time. In short, a
teenager can minimize the adverse effects of being irresponsible social media users as
early as they become aware of the consequences. As a result, they would also become
responsible netizens who would share their experience and knowledge with others who
are lacking. To sum up, becoming a knowledgeable social media user makes us choose
the best actions that may produce the best result.

VI. Summary

The term "social media" describes how individuals interact with one another. If
teenagers understand their obligations as social media users, we can avoid many
unethical activities. There are multiple uses of social media. Millions of people use
social media in terms of connecting to someone they know, enjoying social media
entertainment, and helping people in need. Despite its utility, social media has a number
of negative implications, particularly when it is misused. We will be more conscious of
what is happening on social media if we are aware. Teenagers should make an effort to
learn proper netiquette. Understanding how to use social media can also help a
youngster avoid engaging in fraudulent online activities. Being a responsible digital
citizen necessitates learning the internet social skills required to behave ethically and
courteously in online communities. By taking regular breaks and setting clear and tight
boundaries for yourself, you can lessen your overdependence on social media before it
becomes a problem. You may need to disconnect from the internet from time to time to
get your life in order.
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