Last Halloween, my younger sister took one of my brother's old black T-shirts, fringed the fabric, and tied it around of the lower half of his face like a makeshift beard. . She went trick-or-treating in October as her favorite YouTube vlogger, Shay Carl. She's been following the "Shaytards" channel for five years, and her dedication to family shines through in the Shaytards products she owns, in her Twitter feed (consisting mostly of Shay Carl's tweets), in the way she sings "I Got.” My Socks On” around the house like it was a hit song she heard on the radio. Although my sister is not as radically fanatical as I have made her out to be (mostly jokingly), she genuinely adores the Butler family. When she drew me to the Shaytards, I immediately understood why: amid all the noise, ruckus and wild horseplay, an unfiltered affection permeates the entire house. At the same time, though, I wondered what kind of impact this would have on the lives of the Butler children, growing up in a household so saturated with technology and with sites like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter so accessible. Many celebrate social networking sites as the natural result of an evolving society, tools that can be harnessed to make great progress. However, I argue that the scales tip towards the negative side of social media, particularly when children are involved, due to the deleterious effects that an addiction to this technology can have on relationships, mental health, self-esteem and the academic performance of a developing young person. Our family, our friends, our classmates, our work colleagues – the relationships we have with these people contribute enormously to our overall life satisfaction. In fact, Abraham Maslow defined love and the need to belong as fundamental and...... middle of paper ...... the detrimental effects of digital communication on today's young generation as she enters adolescence and early adulthood. How might ten-year-old Gavin's relationships be impacted in the future because technology is integrated into every facet of his life? Will eight-year-old Avia face problems at school that she wouldn't have had if vlogging and social media hadn't been such an essential part of her education? What about six-year-old Emmi, who has already started creating her own short vlogs and dreams of starting her own YouTube channel? For someone who has an admirable passion for family, considering the deleterious effects of digital communication is essential to ensuring the best quality of life for their children as they transition into adolescence, as their own use of these social media platforms could increase..