Young Adults Self-Perception 1

Outside Influences Affecting Young Adults Self-Perception: A Review of Literature

Aubrie N. Arnold
University of Texas at El Paso

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Abstract
Todays modern society strictly runs on what influences certain behaviors from
outside advertisements, television, social media sites, and many other means of
information. Particularly the younger adults or youth of every generation are the ones
that seem to be affected more than any other older adult or elderly person. Although
learning new things may sound intriguing and help people gain knowledge, we must ask
ourselves if it really helps support a healthy life for a young adult. It is well known that
technology plays a very large part in creating access to certain trends such as Facebook,
Instagram, Twitter and other social sites that are available. Due to the broad amount of
outside influences taking a toll on the younger generations, it has caused potential
suicidal thoughts, or deep depression from self-perception issues, from the information
that is taken in. Whether the person does not feel that they can fit in with the newest
trends or gets cyberbullied, it could lead to issues that force a person to fall into those
thoughts, resulting in an unhealthy lifestyle. Although it could happen to anyone, people
particularly wonder why it is occurring mainly in younger adults or the youth. The
purpose of this literary review is to establish reasons and demonstrate how outside
influences can partially be beneficial for younger people but, it ultimately ruins a
perfectly healthy lifestyle.

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Self-Perception in Young Adults: A Review of Literature
Self-perception in young adults have become a major concern for parents,
teachers, and many other people. The United States continues to improve technological
development for people residing in the U.S. and throughout the rest of the world. The
creators of social media cites intend on promoting styles or trends that help influence
the way people think or feel. An unhealthy lifestyle occurs when the makers of a social
cite allow certain images or information to the public; knowing that someone in their
youth is viewing the information and will either be gullible enough to believe what they
see or do what they see. Most of a young adults life is spent learning how to act, or
portray themselves differently based off of what they learn. The trends are developed by
the simple use of technological devices that can access social media and the internet
itself. A mere example is Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social sites that affect
people particularly in their youthful years of life.
Young adults and youth have not grasped the idea that what they see is not
always true or factual. Their brains are far from mature and get ideas from the wrong
influences which could even turn into depression or suicidal thoughts. These reasons are
a crucial point in a younger persons life and solicitudes the review of four critical
questions.
1. Do social media sites promote an unhealthy lifestyle in young adults and teens?
2. How does technology influence certain trends in the younger generation?
3. Do young adults and teens that have self-perception issues, suffer from
depression and suicidal thoughts?
4. Why are young adults, teenagers and those in their youth more prone to selfperception issues from outside influences?

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Do social media sites promote an unhealthy lifestyle in young adults and teens?
Social media sights, other people, advertisements, and many more outside
matters are the prime reason for young adults behaviors. The ongoing phenomenon
possesses many qualities to an unhealthy life. Teenagers or young adults tend to
strangely be addicted to social media sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and
many more social networks. Young adults and teens are convinced by what these
influences are telling them each and every day, but the one particular idea is whether or
not these sites are creating an unhealthy lifestyle for the younger generation. Outside
influences like social media, T.V. and other sources of information create an unhealthy
environment for young adults, teens, and those in their youth.
Maya Wixted a ten year old female states I love having social media sites, it gives
me things to do when I am bored and I am on it twenty four seven. Social media is a
giant part of my life, and I wouldnt know what to do without it. (Wixted, 2015) Making
a claim that social sites can run Wixteds life, justifies that media has become an
addiction starting in her youth. Although outside influences have negative impacts,
there are beneficial aspects to these sources. Without doubt, means of communication
have drastically improved over the past years. By personal experience, useful things to
learn, were learned from Facebook and applied to an everyday lifestyle. The information
learned was a trial and error but later down the road, it always ended up becoming an
addiction and a waste of time. The mind becomes so engulfed that it feels the need to
always feed itself with the emotions of what others post, or suggest to readers of social
media sites. Due to the addiction of always feeling the need to know what is going on

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with others on social media, it causes issues with drama, the feeling of not being capable
of the new trends, self-perception issues, and the need to always fake it till you make it.
Elizabeth Hartley-Brewezs, writer of the scholarly journal What I See, Scholastic
Parent & Child, explains how people in the younger generations are experiencing
puberty, peer pressure, issues regarding body image issues, or worry with weight gain.
All of Brewezs specific choices of wording are directed towards social sites that create
an impact towards unhealthy outside influences.

How does technology influence certain trends in the younger generation?

Each day technology is becoming more advanced and also being used for every
little thing. So advanced that you can simply talk to your cell phone and tell it what to
do. Without technology, the question I asked before regarding social media and outside
influences would not be an interest as to how it creates an unhealthy life style. Every
year, new devices come out and people about bring themselves into debt just to hang
with the trend. A phone or piece of technology simply makes your life easier to the point
that you forget how to run your life without it. These ideas drive people to view
themselves differently, based off of what they see or do. Monica Flippin Wynn writes an
article titled Student Perceptions of Technology in the Classroom: A Faculty and
Student Collaboration, describes thirty participants that willingly volunteered as test
subjects that are particularly incoming freshmen for college. The purpose of the study
was to determine how students view the integration of technology in the classroom and
what technological tools they were most prone to support. (Hartley-Brewez, 2013) At
the end of the investigation, it was noted that most of the students felt that technology

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made their task much easier and they were more prone to accomplish what was asked of
them with it on hand. After completely diagnosing the test results, students claimed that
they had become addicted to technology in which led to web browsing, and looking
random ideas up; social sites were even used in order to obtain information from
outside influences that can make an impact on their life. Julie ODonnell on the other
hand, switches the idea of technology helping people rather than instigating that
technology is what promotes bad behavior or self-perception issues. She also explains
real world issues that are directed to low income, and a culturally diverse youth groups
with the effects of technological development. For those students that range in the low
income, they had the opportunity to learn much better and receive an education that
helped them grow as an individual. In real life experiences, when you struggle in any
courses in college, most of the time you are sat in front of a computer to complete work
on your own pace. From personal experience, being able to complete work at the pace
that is needed, is beneficial to slowing down and understanding the curriculum.
Although the system was great, students felt that they only had to do the bare minimum
each and every week in order to pass and found themselves hiding a link to a browser
that was non-school related. Technological development is beneficial but really is a
distraction to reality and influences self-perception issues with capable access to social
media sites, Google, emails, and other sources of outside influences through technology
that creates distractions and emanation with the younger generation.

Do young adults and teens that have self-perception issues, suffer from depression and
suicidal thoughts?

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Understanding that suicide and depression are very serious concepts; every
single year, thousands of people have died due to suicidal decisions. Below is a chart
demonstrating suicidal rates in turkey and the U.S. alone between the women and men.
The graph of males and females that commit suicide at a young age between 1992 and
2004 in either their youth or as a young adult.

Anita Tormoen writes a scholarly journal discussing adolescents committing

suicide at young age with mental illness. Mental illness can be developed through
childhood or can naturally be born with the condition. Regardless of the time frame or
where it began, there will always be a way for the individual to learn these certain traits.

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Caleb Merrell a nineteen year old male graduate of high school, reveals his feelings
towards suicide and depression in young adults and youth.
He addresses the root cause towards social media directly and technology as the
reason for people being able to access these types of trends. People are nave enough to
let these kinds of things consume their lives. It is the medias fault for putting a goal
thats unreachable, almost like the gold at the end of the rainbow that you will never
find. All of the people that cannot amount to the beauty standards, or those that cant
keep up with the rest of the world uses suicide as an escape plan. Corporations or social
cites dont care as long as the money goes into their pocket, it goes both ways; were
ignorant and they dont care. (Merrell, 2015) As noted Merrell has deep disclaims
towards corporations, technology and the human being itself. As a former high school
graduate, and after experiencing a few high school students disappearing due to suicide,
his social world has been pulverized into abhorrenced emotions. Merrells strong
opinions have brought him to believe that the world is a cruel place with its perks.

Why are young adults, teenagers and those in their youth more prone to selfperception issues from outside influences?
People in the younger generation are far more gullible and become wiser as they
grow older in age. Younger groups of individuals seem to be persuaded far more easily
because of their inexperience in the world, compared to someone who has been alive for
fifty plus years. Those in their youth are far more persuaded by information through
technology, social sites, and begin to act in such a way that it expresses their true self.

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Leman Pinar Tosun conducts an experiment with one hundred and forty three
university students to understand their motives for Facebook. He discovers that people
discover who someone really is while expressing their true self Ultimately Facebook
turned into a virtual lifestyle where relationships became official, or where your
thoughts could be jotted down for the world to see. Almost as if Facebook was a personal
therapy treatment to write or share personal things; you can be whoever you want or act
a certain way. As a human being grows older, so does the mind itself.
The mind grows wiser and decides when something may be right or wrong.
People learn to not to believe everything and steer around the negative influences that
attempt to create an unhealthy lifestyle. Although this may be true, some adults in their
middle age have not matured enough to understand these concepts. Paul Best writes
The benefits of using online technologies were reported as increased self-esteem,
perceived social support, increased social capital.The harmful effects were reported as
increased exposure to harm, social isolation, depression and cyberbullying. (Best,
2014) After unveiling that the continuous behavior would begin to result in unhealthy
attributes, it was concluded that over time a person will be affected drastically as well as
those around them.
When all of the information is tied together, it supports that after long periods of
time, the mental wellbeing of person could change due to the increase in exposure to
technology. From personal experience, after using Facebook for fourteen years since
2001, it has occurred how much it how influenced bad behavior, or was convincing
enough to apply what was seen each and every. From the time the sun rose to the late
midnight, Facebook was a go to whenever life got boring. Although it has caused trouble

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with life and caused relationship issues, it also has a form of motivation that made life a
little smoother when the waves got rough.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this literary review has provided an immense amount of research
in order to answer four critical questions. The literary review explains how technology
influences young adults and why the youth generation relies on outside influences in
order to keep up with certain trends. In the beginning learning new ideas or trends help
improve life, but after long amounts of exposure, technology and outside influences
begin to rule a life to the point that a person cannot live without. By encouraging the
community to set restrictions on technological devices for their young until a certain
age, it will result in a group of individuals that excel as they grow in age. For years to
come there will be people that refuse to let go of what has been their entire life, but with
the help of a community, these changes can be implemented.

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