The Love of Likes

By Cheurlie Pierre-Russell

Teenagers ought to be educated about the effects of being active on social media. This is because the place where they go to, to satisfy their emotional needs might just end up being where they meet the most hurtful messages they’ve ever read.

The Love of Likes examines the psychological effects of social media and how our brains are

• Language: English
• Publisher: J3Russell, LLC.
• Release date: Jan 24, 2020
• ISBN: 9781087859446

Cheurlie Pierre-Russell

Cheurlie Pierre-Russell was born and raised in sunny Miami, Florida, to Haitian immigrant parents, with several older siblings in the home. She is the youngest member in her family, which some will say she is spoiled rotten but that is not the case. Her experience of being the youngest child has motivated her into caring for children's perception and their social relationship. C. Pierre-Russell graduated from Georgia State University with a Bachelor in Arts degree in Sociology in 2011. She has also obtained her Master in Science degree in Psychology from Walden University in 2014 and she is a proud veteran of the United States Navy. Her passion is working with children and helping them become the leaders of tomorrow. All of her writing empower, inspire, inform, and educate children of today from different sociological backgrounds with different psychological experiences.

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

Consider this snapshot. As the clock strikes noon, the teenagers of Mailey street, South Texas emerge from the front door of their school in what looks like a herd of sheep. Each one of them glued to their iPhones and other social media devices. As they are fixated on their phones, their bodies are present but their minds are not.

This is what describes the attitude of the modern day teenager. If you’re a teen, you might be wondering, How does social media affect teenagers? This e-book seeks to answer your question. Using both facts, anecdotes and analogies, we delve into the world of social media, exploring the psychological effect of social on teenagers.

In this modern age of technological advancement, it’s no longer a secret that the life of a modern-day teenager is built around the use of technology. It’s a time in history where our phones are the first and last thing we see every morning and night, it's no wonder social media can have such affects on our minds as many teens look toward social media for emotional support and social acceptance.

Research shows that, on average, we spend two or more hours a day on social media. This means the average teenager uses technology mainly to access social media sites. All across the country, the newest technological devices are opening up means of communication the lifestyle of being addicted to social media.

The Love of Like explores the risks and benefits of being actively engaged in the use of social media. It also contains lots of ideas and suggestions on how we can deal with cyberbullies and the way to end the negative effect of cyberbullying.

Your journey through social media ought to be one that is both exciting and fulfilling. This is why it is essential that we have a grasp of the psychological need for social media likes, how our brain is programmed to always wasn’t more and more likes. The addictive pattern of social media likes.

Also, you’ll hear stories that show firsthand how certain individuals thrived through the glorious and shameful part of social media activity—learning from their mistakes and failures.

As our social media networks continue to grows, we need to be mindful of the values and beliefs of other people. We ought not to just post anything in there that could cause a ruckus or a domino effect that’ll ultimately affect us.

We should be careful not to put anything that will create tension. Before sharing your thoughts on your social media page—whether it’s on politics or religion, or personal or posting something that’s generally provocative or controversial—keep in mind who your audience is.

Most times, our social media friends aren’t our friends in real life and there’s every possibility that they’d come stabbing us in the back when we say anything that does go well down their throat.

We need to be sensitive on social media. The Love of Likes explains that there are people that could get jealous when you put up something that stings the ego of your viewers. If they’re not really your friends, you might want to be careful who you show your success. Their jealousy could make them come hunting you down with their offensive comments.

I. No Physical Interaction

Social media, in its magnanimity, has a psychology component which tells on us to some degree as humans, affecting our behaviors and expectations in life.

Whatever you think of social media—things like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram—or for whatever reason you use it, the context of friendship really only begins with the physical friends around you. Much of your focus will be on the friends you have in school or at college.

Rather unfortunately, perhaps, humans were created as attention-seekers. So, with that in mind, it’s normal and natural that we love our online likes just as much as we want to be liked in person. Over time, however, these cravings can grow into certain traits that only mess us up, tampering with our joy, desires, anxieties and fears.

One major reason why people often choose to post things online for friends is because they can easily dodge the physical interactions necessary in the real world. You should probably take a minute or two to think whether that’s a good or a bad thing for you here. Does over-indulgence in a pastime that allows you to isolate yourself from reality truly serve you well? Does it assist your mental health and real social networks or does it work against them?

The face-to-face world is a tough place where a lot of emotions are attached to human interactions! In other words, it’s much easier to post online a tweet about how badly your friend has just treated you than it is to pull aside your friend and tell her directly to her face. Just as humans have an innate wish to be popular and liked, we also love to avoid conflict. Well, most humans do, anyway. So, posting something indirectly and online—perhaps not even identifying the offender, in this case—is much easier and less stressful than having some kind of ugly or distressing confrontation with a real-life friend. But of course, just because posting your thoughts on Facebook or Instagram means you’re avoiding stating them out loud in your real day-to-day world, it doesn’t mean online activity doesn’t cause conflict.