Children today are introduced to technology and media from an early age. Research conducted among Norwegian teenagers showed that on average they spend 3.5 hours on the Internet (TEDx, 2015). Children also watch TV and films, read magazines or play video games and are therefore constantly exposed to the flow of media. As a result, the media has a great impact on young people and the way they perceive the world. For example, in commercials or other types of media women are portrayed as less independent than men, much thinner and prettier looking than the average woman actually is. They are highly sexualized and stereotyped based on hair color (TEDx, 2015). This has a lot of effect on girls. They do not yet have such a strong and adult character and their perception of reality could be lost due to this pressure. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay They constantly see a stereotypical image of a perfect woman's body that reduces their self-esteem. Girls begin to care more about their appearance than their health and education. Some of them starve and even get anorexia while trying to be as thin as the models in the commercials. The media is actively used to advertise different products and services, not only directly through commercials, but also using hidden product placement in the most popular Internet blogs. As a result, children and teenagers begin to beg their parents to buy expensive items, which the media convinces them they really need. This could be high-end branded clothes, expensive toys, or technology. Social media seems like a fun form of entertainment, yet we don't often think about it deeper, to see the full picture and understand how something so harmless can cause mental illness and even bring a fatal end to someone's life. Teens and younger generations often become addicted to their phones and constantly check/post on their social media pages. This could actually have many hidden effects that most people don't think about. It has been proven that likes on social media like Instagram can have a huge impact on a person's self-esteem. It may drop due to lack of attention from colleagues or, conversely, become too high. Often, teenagers become addicted to taking selfies and constantly posting something. In a desire to get more positive feedback or more likes, some start Photoshopping or lying about their lives in their blogs. Overall, the Internet and especially social media have created an alternative reality that may be more appealing to younger generations than real life. Teens often prefer social media chats to real-life communication, which can create problems in their “offline” lives”..