How does social media change the way children express themselves

How do Internet memes become the main culprit of the verbal crisis among primary and secondary school students? The expression of online discourse has become a major stumbling block for teenagers to view things, play with them for fun, and even harm their physical and mental development. It also dealt a heavy blow to quality-oriented education.

In an article on Internet addiction published by Bernama in 2019, a survey on social media usage revealed that 85% of teenagers under the age of 16 use the Internet. The Internet penetration rate among minors has reached 94%.

A teacher named Lee, who works in the teaching profession, complained, "Nowadays, class management is not as simple as it used to be." Many students apply the vulgar language they have learned online to their classroom studies, exam compositions, and even when talking to their teachers during lectures, they blurt it out. Such behavior makes it difficult for teachers and schools to restrict it, and it even takes a lot of time to guide it.

Figure: Memberpress

Social media has become the mass medium of the digital age and an important medium for minors to obtain information, enjoy culture, entertainment and leisure rights. Internet memes were originally a kind of online cultural phenomenon. However, as more and more people come into contact with and imitate them, and apply them casually in various occasions, they have become a kind of verbal provocation that affects social atmosphere and disrupts the order of the occasion. At the same time, some online expressions that are aggressive, mocking or even vulgar not only affect the communication methods of teenagers, but may also weaken their ability to think independently and make correct value judgments. It has become a potential problem affecting the physical and mental development of teenagers, and at the same time poses new challenges to language education and quality-oriented education in schools.

As social media gradually becomes an important platform for teenagers to obtain information and build social relationships, Internet memes have become a malignant tumor that affects people's language ability and values. It will gradually become a popular term as people repeatedly browse the Internet, and then further take root in the minds of netizens.

Teenagers generally lack cognitive and judgment abilities, and these vulgar and hot memes have become a bridge for their communication. Up to now, some countries have begun to generally bring the phenomenon of online behavior that harms the physical and mental development of teenagers under the jurisdiction of law. Some countries have issued Cyber security Laws (ONSA) : restricting users under the age of 16 from using social media platforms. 

However, in the face of the rapid spread of Internet buzzwords, relying solely on laws and platform supervision may not be able to fundamentally solve the problem. How to ensure the right of teenagers to use the Internet while guiding them to establish correct language expression habits and media literacy still requires the joint efforts of families, schools, social media platforms and people from all walks of life to reduce Internet buzzwords and provide a healthy online environment for teenagers.