Understanding The Positive And Negative Social Media Influencers Impact On Youth

“Don’t get distracted by the followers, get inspired by the leaders.”

• Someone

Did you know that? 

According to a recent survey, 90% of teens use social media platforms and 72% of them follow Influencers.

This is why, it is almost impossible to ignore the significant impact of social media influencers on young adult minds.

In the digital realm, they have become charismatic online personalities that can alter the decisions made by immature minds. Recent studies showed that teens trust social media influencers more than conventional celebrities on TV and other platforms. 

While this trust helps brands create their identity and brings several benefits for Gen Z, there are some negative aspects associated with it. This blog will list both of them:

Analyzing the Positive and Negative Impacts of Influence

Before assessing their influence, it would be better if you knew what is an influencer. Any person possessing expertise and authority in a distinctive area. Influencers use that expertise to divert the decisions of their audience.

Recent surveys show that 90% of teens use social media, and 72% follow influencers. Youthful kids look up to them as role models and trendsetters. So, assessing their full influence on immature minds is necessary to prevent any negative influence.

Positive Influences:

Most of the time, the influencers around the internet will promote healthy and good content. Here’s how:

• SMIs spread awareness about burning issues worldwide. They can access a broad audience, so distributing knowledge about complex aspects becomes easy.

• They motivate and inspire young minds. These famous entities are a real-time example for kids. SMIs share their success stories and gather an inspired audience.

• People use these platforms for various reasons. For instance, 62% of men focus on gaming channels, and 59% of women look for fashionistas. So, an influencer’s expertise in a particular field can help people quickly pursue a hobby or buy a product.

Negative Impacts:

Social media influencers do not always promote positivity. There are some prominent adverse effects associated with it:

• They are known for persuasive promotion, which facilitates materialistic values.

• Most of them attain unrealistic beauty standards through digital means, which damages the audience’s self-esteem.

• Influencers are generally paid to market products, compromising the authenticity of their claims.

{ Social media has several positive as well as negative effects on young minds. The below chart shows the mixed feelings of US teens about these platforms. }

Child Protection with Parenting Software

Most teens use these platforms today and gather most of their knowledge about a particular expertise from an influencer. As a responsible parent, you must take preventive security measures to minimize the negative effects on youth.

Child parenting software can help you in that regard. Eyezy is a perfect monitoring program that can help you track the smartphone activity of your loved ones without accessing the device. Eyezy installation is very easy and user-friendly. 

Here are some of its premium features:

• Dedicated Social Media Dashboard: It has a unique interface with classified platforms. So, you can easily navigate your kid’s activity in Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp in a single program window.

• Keylogger: It has a built-in keylogger that tracks and saves every keystroke from the keyboard. So, you can judge whatever they type when using the mobile.

• Storage Monitoring: This can access the mobile gallery so, you can find out what they have stored in the photos and videos.

• Invisible Mode: Its biggest perk is its invisible mode where you can monitor your kid’s phone, and Eyezy won’t let them in on the secret!

• Screenrecord: It lets you screenshot the mobile interface at any time and it helps you to track social media influencer’s impact on youth with just a click.

Did You Know?

72% of Gen Z and Millennials follow influencers on social media.

Future Trends and Influence Evolution

The digital world has been dynamically changing, thanks to the emergence of new technologies such as artificial intelligence. It helps to personalize the content for the audience, resulting in engagement. That brings new channels to influence the audiences emotionally.

Another quite important trend is platform diversification, further to Instagram and YouTube, new platforms like TikTok and Twitch attract the attention of youth. So, they are acquiring new opportunities to expand their reach to various interest groups.

Likewise, they become integral figures in moving forward the agenda of environmental awareness, mental health, and social justice. Thus, they will play a primary role in fixing several social issues.

Moreover, we might see changes in regulations to focus on transparency and protection of audiences. It will shape how influencers craft their content for followers. The further development of technology and changing user perception will give way to an influencer ecosystem that is a much more interactive, ethical, and diverse digital environment when in line with the interests and values of youth.

Also…

1 out of 4 marketers currently leverage influencer marketing. 

Conclusion

Social media influencers’ impact on youth is increasing day by day where Influencers promote positivity and facilitate a perfect social life. However, they also pose some serious social risks to audiences. 

As a parent, observing and tracking your kid’s phone activity is the only way to minimize these adverse effects. So, if you do not want your child to suffer at the hands of social media’s negativity, get your hands on an ideal monitoring app like Eyezy.

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