Social media have both negative and positive impact among users. A person who uses Internet more frequently has some mental disorder.  The positive effect for using such technology is that those people, who prefer to communicate through social media shows more concern for their online peers than people, who are not into social media.

Psychology professor at California State University Dominquez Hills, Larry D. Rosen, says that parents should be guiding their young ones on the proper use of technology at a young age.  When they are already adults, things are going to be tougher because teenagers do not wish to listen to the older people anymore.

In a conference, entitled “Poke Me: How Social Networks Can Both Help, and Harm Children,” Rosen said teenagers who interact by means of social media too often shows more narcissist inclination.  Young adults, who are older than teenagers and have many friends via Facebook, show more evidence of other mental problems such as hostile behavior, obsession and some unfriendly behaviors.

Rosen said using social media on a daily basis has a negative effect on the health of all children, preteens and teenagers, making them more susceptible to emotional disorders like anxiety, depression and others.  Also, social media are making children more liable for additional health problems while growing up.

College students have the same opinion about Facebook that the site is too distracting for them and affects their study habits.  A study conducted by Rosen and two other researchers showed that middle and high-school students and college students, who visits their Facebook accounts no less than one time in the course of a 15-minute study period, is going to get a lower grade compared to those who did not check their Facebook account during the same time.

However, there is also a beneficial effect of social media.

Youngster who often engage friends on Facebook show more ” virtual empathy” to online friends. Social networking also presents an essential tool for teaching minor in ways that connect with young students, more so than using other conventional methods. An added benefit of social site is that they can be used for socializing.  Teenagers, who are introvert, can still entertain friends even though they are too shy to interact with their peers once in front of them.

Rosen say further research includes a connection between virtual and real-world compassion. Despite the fact that the two are not the same, they appear to be interconnected. Whenever a person has more virtual empathy and real-world empathy, they also get more social support compares with those that do not.