This research paper outline examines the negative effects of social media on children. The outline includes sections on defining key terms, the history of social media, introducing the research topic and aims, examining positive and negative impacts of social media on children in the body, providing conclusions and recommendations, and listing annotated bibliographic sources. The body will discuss issues like addiction, cyberbullying, depression, sleep quality and anxiety. The conclusion will summarize findings and recommendations to address negative effects.

1. Research Paper Outline
Research Topic: Negative effects of Social Media on Children.
Project Outline.
1. Definition:
a. Children
b. Social Media
2. History of Social media and some examples of social media
sites
How did the social media come about?
How have these sites evolved since they came into use?
3. Introduction
i. Social media is impacting our children in a negative manner.
a. Research thesis statement
b. Aim of the Research.
c. Importance of the study.
d. Scope of this research paper.
4. Body
i. Some of the positive ways that the social media affects our
children.
ii. How does these social Media sites affect our children today?
a. Addiction.
b. Cyberbullying.
c. Depression
d. social comparison
e. poorer sleep quality
f. lower self-esteem,
g. and higher levels of anxiety.

2. 5. Conclusion
i. Summary of the study.
ii. Recommendations.
iii. Conclusion for the entire paper
6. Bibliographies
1. Clark, Tyler. "Internet Addiction: Too Much Time On The
Internet For Kids". The Center For Parenting Education, 2018,
https://centerforparentingeducation.org/library-of-articles/kids-
and-technology/how-much-time-internet-kids/.
2. A-Z, Topics, and Media Tech. "How Using Social Media
Affects Teenagers". Child Mind Institute, 2019,
https://childmind.org/article/how-using-social-media-affects-
teenagers/.
3. "Is Social Media Bad For Teens’ Mental
Health?". Unicef.Org, 2019,
https://www.unicef.org/stories/social-media-bad-teens-mental-
health.
4. "6 Ways Social Media Affects Our Mental
Health". Forbes.Com, 2019,
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2017/06/30/a-run-
down-of-social-medias-effects-on-our-mental-
health/#3ecc8ac32e5a.
5. Nikken, P Implications of low or high media use among
parents for young children’s media use. Cyberpsychology:
Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 11(3), article
1. https://dx.doi.org/10.5817/CP2017-3-1
6. Angela Barnes and Christine Laird ”The Effects of Social
Media on Children” Communication and Social Media CMST-
496 / Jeffrey Stafford, PhD, JUNE 6,
2019https://sites.ewu.edu/cmst496-stafford/2012/06/06/the-
effects-of-social-media-on-

3. six sources
Annotated Bibliography
1. Clark, Tyler. "Internet Addiction: Too Much Time on The
Internet for Kids". The Center for Parenting Education, 2018,
https://centerforparentingeducation.org/library-of-articles/kids-
and-technology/how-much-time-internet-kids/.
This is one of the articles selected that can aid us in
understanding the negative effects of social media on children.
According to the article, the social media increases screen time.
Screen time is amount of time spend by a child on screen, which
could be laptop, tablet, smartphone or TV. Clark (1) went ahead
to reveal four possible negative effects of social media. These
include increased chances of becoming obese, harder time
getting to bed, increased possibility of developing
psychological problems and internet addiction. These effects
will help me in creating themes that would make up my research
paper.
2. Tokunaga, Robert S. "Following You Home from School: A
Critical Review and Synthesis of Research on Cyberbullying
Victimization". Computers in Human Behavior, vol 26, no. 3,
2010, pp. 277-287. Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/j.chb.2009.11.014.
This is another article selected for the study. The article reflects
a study designed to review the association between internet,
social media and cyberbullying victimization. The study found
many things related to the social media and cyberbullying
victimization. The study found out that children and youths in
social media often experienced what is termed as cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying victimization is a case where a person is harassed
through electronic devices such as mobile phones and laptops.
The effects of cyberbullying include serious psychosocial,

4. affective, and academic problems. Some victims even commit
suicide. The study is therefore relevant as far as the theme of
“negative effects of social media on children” is concerned
because it identifies cyberbullying as one of the negative effects
of social media on children
3. Nikken, Peter “ Implications of low or high media use among
parents for young children’s media use”, Cyberpsychology:
Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 11(3), article
1. https://dx.doi.org/10.5817/CP2017-3-1
This is another article selected for the study. The article was
selected because it is relevant to the topic of the study. It
reveals the implications of low or high media use among parents
for children’s media use. Although the article does not directly
explore the negative effects of social media on children, it
focuses on an issue that can help me in making
recommendations on how to address the negative effects of
social media on children. Specifically, the article acknowledges
the fact that although social media has negative effect on
children, parental engagement could be the best antidote for
addressing the negative effects of social media. For example,
by citing the study by Lauric Ella et al (2015), the Nikken
revealed that the parent’s ideas about the advantages and risks
of media content and technologies may determine how much and
what media children can consume
4. Yust Karen-Marie “Digital power: exploring the effects of
social media on children’s spirituality” International Journal of
Children’s Spirituality, 2014 Vol. 19, No. 2, 133–
143, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1364436X.2014.924908
This is another crucial study selected for the research because it
directly focus on effects of social media on children. However,
unlike the previous articles, this source focus on effects of
social media on children’s spirituality. The source is selected
because it is relevant to the research topic. While
acknowledging the positive effects of social media, Yusk
revealed that behind the positive aspects, there are other more
corrosive elements of social media on children’s spirituality.

5. The source is crucial in my study because it will make me add
spirituality as one of the major topics of discussion in my
research.
5. Angela Barnes and Christine Laird ”The Effects of Social
Media on Children” Communication and Social Media CMST-
496 / Jeffrey Stafford, PhD, JUNE 6,
2019https://sites.ewu.edu/cmst496-stafford/2012/06/06/the-
effects-of-social-media-on-
This study is selected because it reveals one of the less known
negative effects of social media on children. The article reveals
that the types of communications channeled through social
media are often sexually discriminatory. So sexual
discrimination in social media is highlighted as one of the
negative effects of social media in children. The article is
therefore crucial in my study because I will have to focus on
sexual discrimination in social media as an independent theme.
6. Tobbi, Dyer “The Effects of Social Media on Children”
DJIM, 2018, Vol. 14
1-16, file:///C:/Users/user1/Downloads/7855-14306-1-PB.pdf
This is another source selected for the study. The source is
selected because it focuses directly on negative effects of social
media on children. Unlike other studies, the current study
explore very many negative effects of social media on children.
Some of the effects mentioned include personal safety, identity
theft. The author also mentioned privacy concerns and cases
where children can get access to disturbing and inappropriate
material. There is also a mention of social isolation as another
negative effect of social media. In addition, an increase in
mental health concerns such as depression, anxiety, and poor
sleep are also highlighted.
Works Cited
Angela Barnes and Christine Laird ”The Effects of Social Media
on Children” Communication and Social Media CMST-496 /
Jeffrey Stafford, PhD, JUNE 6,
2019https://sites.ewu.edu/cmst496-stafford/2012/06/06/the-

6. effects-of-social-media-on-
Clark, Tyler. "Internet Addiction: Too Much Time On The
Internet For Kids". The Center For Parenting Education, 2018,
https://centerforparentingeducation.org/library-of-articles/kids-
and-technology/how-much-time-internet-kids/.
Nikken, Peter “ Implications of low or high media use among
parents for young children’s media use”, Cyberpsychology:
Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 11(3), article
1. https://dx.doi.org/10.5817/CP2017-3-1
Tobbi, Dyer “The Effects of Social Media on Children” DJIM,
2018, Vol. 14
1-16, file:///C:/Users/user1/Downloads/7855-14306-1-PB.pdf
Tokunaga, Robert S. "Following You Home From School: A
Critical Review And Synthesis Of Research On Cyberbullying
Victimization". Computers In Human Behavior, vol 26, no. 3,
2010, pp. 277-287. Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/j.chb.2009.11.014.
Yust Karen-Marie “Digital power: exploring the effects of
social media on children’s spirituality” International Journal of
Children’s Spirituality, 2014 Vol. 19, No. 2, 133–
143, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1364436X.2014.924908
Running Head: Research Document: Negative Effects of Social
Media on children
Research Proposal
Research on the Negative effects of Social Media on Children
Did you know that there are 3.196 billion social media users in
the world?Social media is undeniably changing the way we
communicate, finds or share information. Although it is a good

7. thing, it does not come with a manual for our children. In this
paper my focus will not only be on the negative effects of social
media on children i.e. addiction, cyber-crime, victimization,
health problems and Identity theft but also on the many positive
things our children can make use of social media. Like every
new appliance released into the market comes along with a
manual, so should the social media sites come with one but
since there is no such manuals (social media manual) Clearly,
it’s time we wrote a social media manual for our children. Not
to manipulate them, but control and guide our children safely
through the modern era where social media is a major tool of
communication.
I aim at providing some solutions for the negative effects of
social media on children by analyzing the problem and
researching online for possible solutions.
With the availability of cheap internet enabled gadgets, gone
are the days when internet was only accessible via large
computer screens. A quick lookup of the meaning of the word
“internet”, all you are able to identify from the results is “a
global village’’ a village with all manner of people and diverse
cultures. Dorothea Brande. American writer and editor once
stated that "A problem clearly stated is a problem half solved."
(Dhillon, 2018) Therefore, throughout this paper, we shall be
looking at possible solutions for the negative Effects of social
media on children.
There are two sides of every coin in everything. Negative
effects of social media are just but one side of the coin. Need
not explain, we can agree that the effects of social media on
children ranges from: identity theft which according to Stanley
M (2017) “child ID fraud or theft will affect 25% of kids before
turning 18”, cyberbullying, addiction, stress and low self-
esteem to victimization. Since “It is easier to build strong
children than to repair broken men “(Blow et al, 2018) we
therefore need to advocate for the things that will only make our
children strong and of good character, even with the risk of
exposing them to the social media rather than talking merely

8. talking about it.
With every new dawn, cyberbullying is seemingly evolving into
many new forms. And is becoming a problem with its ability to
make its victims experience depression and anxiety.
Cyberbullying has also been the cause of many suicides in
young people (Kowalski). It is worrying enough to know that
there are children even adolescents who are victims of negative
comments by peers. Sexual predators tend to exploit this tactic
to lure them into proving a given point by making negative
comments about the children. Many others are stigmatized by
the negative comments made on their posts by strangers and
peers (Ybarra).
Because of many parents being concerned about the above-
mentioned risks, “more children nowadays care about their
online privacy” (Young). One problem concerning privacy
issues is that “many adolescents are unaware of the privacy
policies on the social media websites they use “(Cox). Some of
the negative things that children face online include
cyberbullying, victimization, identity theft, addiction, lack of
privacy and cybercrime among others. Some of the reasons why
our children are left exposed to negative effects of the social
media would include: Lack of online activity supervision which
leaves the parents unaware of how much is exposed online about
their children or even about themselves, Parents not Joining in
on their children’s social networking sites, Parents busy
lifestyle and idleness in children.Suggested solutions
1. Parents and teachers should supervise their children’s online
activities by joining social networking site where their children
have accounts.
2. Parents can research on the impact of social networking sites
on children
3. The government should come up with a policy or a
community to rate the content of all websites and as well as
keep track of which users visited which sites
4. Talking sense to our children on potential dangers that can be
found online while using social media is the best solution we

9. can ever think of.
5. making it hard to access some of the illegal sites could be
rewarding to parents and teachers’ efforts.
However good a solution can be, if a parent has not mastered
the art of speaking to his or her children and the children cannot
confide in the parent then all the other solutions are indeed in
vain. Most of the parents are not aware of the negative effects
of social media on children. After buying mobile phones or
laptops for their children, it ends at that. The type of talk that is
beneficial is neither coercive nor lecture like it has love at the
center of it. Talking sense on issues like what is cool, self-
esteem and online bullying not only places children at a good
position to face bullies but also establishes confidence in
children to be able to approach bullies online while at the same
time creating awareness of possible dangers that come along
with the use of social media amongst children.
CONCLUSION
Nelson Mandera once said, “our children are the rock on which
our future will be built, our greatest asset as a nation “And the
best we can do to safeguard our future is by collectively
protecting our children’s presence online.
The Internet has a significant potential for providing children
and youth with access to educational information, and can be
compared with a huge home library. However, the lack of
editorial standards limits the Internet’s credibility as a source of
information. Having looked deeper into the concerns arising
from the use of social media, the best thing you can do as a
reader, other than sharing this content is to take charge and be
responsible for our children online safety. If we let the social
media handle bullies’ reports and claims, we will have failed as
a people. Suppose at least a hundred thousand accounts are
reported for bully daily? Shall the company block a thousand
accounts daily? In no time the company will have no users. It is
therefore a thing for you just as it is for me to safeguard our
children.

10. Works Cited
1. Blow, Charles. "Opinion | Fathers’ Sons And Brothers’
Keepers". Nytimes.Com, 2019,
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/01/opinion/blow-fathers-
sons-and-brothers-keepers.html.
2. Clark, Tyler. "Internet Addiction: Too Much Time On The
Internet For Kids". The Center For Parenting Education, 2018,
https://centerforparentingeducation.org/library-of-articles/kids-
and-technology/how-much-time-internet-kids/.
3. Dhillon, Mandeep. "A Problem Well Stated Is A Problem
Half Solved | Arthur D Little". Digitalproblemsolving.Com,
2018, http://www.digitalproblemsolving.com/quote/a-problem-
well-stated-is-a-problem-half-solved. .
4. Tokunaga, Robert S. "Following You Home From School: A
Critical Review And Synthesis Of Research On Cyberbullying
Victimization". Computers In Human Behavior, vol 26, no. 3,
2010, pp. 277-287. Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/j.chb.2009.11.014.
5. Nikken, P Implications of low or high media use among
parents for young children’s media use. Cyberpsychology:
Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 11(3), article
1. https://dx.doi.org/10.5817/CP2017-3-1
6. International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 2014 Vol. 19,
No. 2, 133–
143, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1364436X.2014.924908
7. Angela Barnes and Christine Laird ”The Effects of Social
Media on Children” Communication and Social Media CMST-

11. 496 / Jeffrey Stafford, PhD, JUNE 6,
2019https://sites.ewu.edu/cmst496-stafford/2012/06/06/the-
effects-of-social-media-on-