The effects of social media have been documented for a long time. Now the world is realising how dangerous the social sites can be for the users. Harms of social media are now new. But the worst part is social media has led to a number of other problems like trolling and sharing memes. We all love memes and share them every single day. But we have never realised how harmful they can be.
Various studies have linked memes with harmful effects for the kids and teens. But the sad thing is parents don’t realise how dangerous the memes can be for their kids. In this post, we will guide the users on what memes are, why they are so popular and what are the dangers of memes for the kids and teens.
Table of Contents
What are Memes?
Memes are visual content which relate to funny, weird and amazing part of human life. They provoke emotions and let them find some fun. Through memes, people share and express their feelings. People use memes to say something which might have been not possible for them. So in other words, memes are the content which provides a sort of entertainment to the social media users.
Why Do Teens Love Memes?
When it comes to memes, everyone finds them impressive and funny. People of all ages create and share memes. Even, nowadays, social media is all about sharing memes and tagging your friends, loved ones and family members in them. Memes have gone out of social media and people send them in personal messages too.
There are various reasons why kids and teens love memes. First, they offer some sort of entertainment. The free entertainment which people can really relate is amazing. Second, memes are engaging and provoke emotions. They let people share them with the friends. It keeps going on and the memes become viral.
Why Are Memes Harmful for Teens?
Memes provide fun and entertainment. But there are fewer people who have ever tried to find out how memes can be harmful for the people. But they are really harmful for the kids. Various studies have been done in this regard.
A recent study carried out in the UK found that memes are problematic. Memes can normalise the offensive behaviour, bullying as well as trolling. In other words, when kids keep sharing memes, they don’t realise they have become offensive and violent. They just enjoy the memes but their behaviour is changed due to sharing memes.
The same study also linked memes with mental health issues. Researched explained memes affect the mental health of kids and let them find pleasure in memes. However, they do so on the cost of affecting others. They have no idea how damaging the memes can be for people around them. Gender based memes are often shared which are believed to be offensive.
It is alarming to learn that the same research has found obesity an outcome of memes. The study finds that memes lead to obesity in the kids. Children spend a lot of time on their phones. They also develop unhealthy eating habits which causes weight gain in them.
What Parents Should Do?
It is can be concluded from the above discussion that memes are harmful for the kids. Memes impact the brain development as well as change behaviour of the teens. That is why is becomes really important that parents should take some measures in this regard.
To start with, parents should discourage use and sharing of memes. They need to use a android spyware app to check the social media use of kids. It will let parents know if their children share any memes. They must then warn the kids about how offensive the memes are so they should avoid sharing such stuff
Author:
Abby Sandel is a Passionate Blogger at Spy App and keeps a keen eye on useful apps and gadgets. Enthusiastic about helping and empowering users with Tech-related stuff. Absolutely loves running and goes for a run whenever she feels.