Dear Future President,

Social media has become an increasingly popular way for people to share their personal lives with their friends, family, and even the rest of the world. Even though this is an overall very likable system of communications, it has already started to cause major societal issues. The younger generation that you will be responsible for has become wrapped up in technology which has affected their view on society and themselves. Teens are becoming increasingly comfortable with sharing themselves online and this lack of privacy that they are creating is a very important issue that you need to take into consideration to ensure the rights of citizens. Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, etc.; these apps and websites are taking over how the people of the United States live and you need to ensure that this path we are headed down is a good one.

My generation of teenagers, the last of the 90's kids, was rapidly introduced to technology around middle school. We were constantly being thrown new versions of iPod's and Nintendo's. However the key was that we were introduced; we had an understanding of what it was like to grow up without technology integrated into nearly everything we do like this next young generation. This easy access children have to the internet and social media is concerning. They are being influenced by older, more popular account holders that post pictures. Kids are becoming more alert about their body image at earlier ages which can be detrimental to them as they grow up. The majority of this younger generation follows only the positive accounts and fail to realize that the society is not perfect. Some people say how television is equally as influential as social media, however these channels that they normally watch are reared towards education and learning life lessons rather than an endless feed of mainly meaningless pictures. In addition, teenagers are also being affected by the con of social media has of quickly maturing the youth. A recent survey concluded that 20% of teens have sent or posted nude photos/videos of themselves. This should be a major concern because of some teenagers are aware of the laws and dangers relating to child pornography. Teenagers are being hyper-sexualized which is dangerous at a time in their life where they are already dealing with hormones and peer pressure.

As United States citizens we are privileged to many freedoms, but how are we not allowed privacy? The Privacy Act of 1974 only touches upon the security of records about oneself. With social media this law isn’t enough to protect teenagers who aren’t always aware of the cautions. The average brain doesn’t completely develop until around 25 years old; anyone younger doesn't necessarily have the full capacity to make the smartest decisions. The Pew Research Center conducted a study claiming that 71% of teens share their town and school location, 91% have posted photos of themselves, and 33% are friends with people they have never met before. These numbers are critically high; our generation is putting ourselves at risk and something needs to be done. Teenagers like myself, need to be educated on these outstanding statistics and how dangerous it can be to open yourself open to strangers.

In conclusion, I am asking you Mr./Mrs. President to address these privacy concerns. It may not be your top priority but I can assure you protecting the younger generation from the cons of social media will eventually led to a safer country in the long run. The problem is going to get worse throughout the years with even more incoming technology. You have the responsibility to protect us and I’m calling upon you protect us from the internet.