“Did you see what Emily posted? » said a schoolgirl to her friend. “I know, she’s a real loser,” the other friend replied. In the world of social media, privacy is limited and gossip spreads as fast as you can press "POST." This can cause cyberbullying on a large scale, since it is not face-to-face. For many children, this makes them depressed and less optimistic about school. It also distracts many students from school and can be a great way for online predators to find their next victim. Although social networking sites have several advantages, their disadvantages clearly outweigh them. Social media should not be used by children under 18 and many regulations should be put in place to create a safer and more positive atmosphere. Social media can largely drag down students' grades because school is not the top priority for most students. Many children spend hours a day scrolling through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram looking for new posts and messages. This leads students to forget to do their homework and not take school seriously. Instead, they worry more about how many friends or followers they have online. This significantly increases high school dropout rates and lowers SAT/ACT scores. “The study found that first-year students spent almost 12 hours a day using the Internet for social media and checking new messages and posts, while they studied for less than 2 hours. Researchers found that much of this heavy media use was associated with lower grade point averages and other negative academic outcomes…such as lower standardized test scores” (Social Media Is Linked to Poor Achievement schools). For many students, social life is a much more important issue than school. This shows...... middle of paper...... Nov. 2013. Internet. April 21, 2014. “The Facts About Online Predators.” The facts about online predators. Np, and Web. April 20, 2014. “Social media linked to poor academic performance.” » Social media use linked to poor grades. Np, and Web. May 8, 2014. “UNL Study Shows Students Are Digitally Distracted in Class.” » UNL. Np, and Web. April 21, 2014. “What is cyberbullying?” " Home. Np, and Web. April 20. 2014. .