Question

Just over a decade ago, the thought of making money from social media was absurd: Instagram hadn’t been conceived yet, and YouTube only had 160 million users. Nowadays, social media influencers are able to reach a wider audience than prior to 2008 and make more money. According to CNBC, with enough followers and views, a popular social media influencer can make $100,000 in just one year and reach millions of people with just one post.

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33 percent of teenagers spend between 4–8 hours a day on social media and 29 percent of teenagers spend over 8 hours a day on social media, according to Common Sense Media. Due to this large amount of time on social media platforms, influencers can have a significant impact on teenagers.

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The idea that social media influences teenagers the most out of all other age groups rings true for sophomore Kaavya Baliga. “In general, I feel like social media affects teens or children more because they are still in a place of a lot of growth, as opposed to older folks […] If you are brought up [thinking that] you don’t look like the people you look up to, it’s hard to have confidence or feel a sense of belonging,” Baliga said.

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Sophomore Amory Healy also agrees that social media influencers have the most reach over teenagers. “Teens with moldable brains are really the highest impact group for social media […] Especially since most teens don’t have good enough support systems set up to protect them from negative influence, the social media influencer impact is usually detrimental,” Healy said.

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Healy also believes that many things that social media influencers share online don’t accurately reflect their day-to-day lives. “The majority of social media contains people trying to put out the best version of themselves, so the audience doesn’t get to see the flaws and the real deal,” Healy said.

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Senior Marshall Seligson believes that influencers can impact teenagers in more casual ways. “Beyond products they endorse, social media influencers often affect topics of conversation and even the way my friends and I talk to one another,” Seligson said. Seligson states that some phrases that teenagers frequently use are taught through social media influencers.

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According to freshman Julia Capasso, social media has a mixed impact on teenagers. “I think that there are some [beneficial influencers] … [b]ut I do think that there’s the opposite side of that spectrum of people that rose to fame and tend to promote negative concepts to young audiences.”

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Like Capasso, junior Reese Weiden believes that the impact social media has on teenagers depends on several factors. “I think a lot of [social media] can get negative and that a lot of influencers will use Photoshop to alter their images, which creates unrealistic standards for teens, especially who might not generally be exposed to other stuff,” Weiden said. “But, positively, I think that it can promote healthy lifestyles […] It just really depends on what kind of influencer you’re following.”

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According to Seligson, the posts that influencers produce can be beneficial for their audience, as he believes that channels like “Yes Theory” have encouraged teenagers to become more empathetic and compassionate citizens. However, influencers’ overall impact truly depends on how each influencer chooses to handle their fame. “I think social media can be a great outlet for people to express themselves, but social media influencers with large audiences have a responsibility to promote values that they believe in,” senior Marshall Seligson said. “It’s truly up to the viewers to decide what content they interact with and what content they want to see more of. The good and the bad.” ❧ Social Media Influencers Impact Teens
Andrea Li | Argument Answer the following questions.
Analyze Does the author successfully support her claim with reasons and evidence?
Evaluate What, if anything, could she add to strengthen her argument?

Answer 1

Short answer: Partially. The author provides some relevant evidence and a range of student perspectives, but the piece relies heavily on anecdote and a few general statistics rather than on rigorous, representative, or causal evidence. That makes the claim plausible but not strongly supported.

What the author does well
- Uses relevant statistics (Common Sense Media on teen screen time; CNBC on influencer earnings) to show scale and stakes.
- Includes multiple student voices and perspectives (positive, negative, mixed), which illustrates nuance and makes the piece relatable.
- Notes different types of influence (body image, language/phrases, consumer behavior), showing the topic’s complexity.

Main weaknesses / gaps
- Overreliance on anecdote: the core evidence for impact is student quotes from a limited sample (presumably one school), which cannot establish how widespread or strong the effects are.
- Unsupported causal claims: the piece implies influencers cause changes in teens’ attitudes/behaviors but provides no studies or experimental/longitudinal data to back causation rather than correlation.
- Limited, lightly related sources: CNBC’s earnings stat shows influencer reach/market size but doesn’t document effects on teens; more directly relevant research (mental health, self-esteem, purchasing behavior) is missing.
- No expert voices or peer-reviewed research to corroborate students’ impressions.
- Lack of specificity: claims about “reach” and influence would be stronger with numbers on audience demographics, engagement rates, or examples of measurable outcomes (e.g., sales, challenge participation, changes in reported well‑being).
- No discussion of mechanisms (algorithms, sponsorship disclosures, platform design) or of counterevidence and limitations.

How the author could strengthen the argument
- Add peer‑reviewed research and reputable reports that address teen outcomes. Useful sources include Pew Research Center, Common Sense Media (already used, but could be cited more extensively), academic journals (Pediatrics, JAMA Pediatrics, Journal of Adolescent Health), APA reports, and longitudinal studies on social media and adolescent mental health.
- Bring in expert voices: interview psychologists, media scholars, pediatricians, or marketing researchers who can interpret studies and explain mechanisms (e.g., how algorithms amplify content or how parasocial relationships form).
- Provide representative or quantitative evidence linking influencer exposure to specific outcomes — e.g., studies showing associations with body‑image concerns, anxiety/depression, consumer behavior, or risky online challenges.
- Use concrete case studies or documented examples: high‑profile influencer campaigns that changed purchase behavior, or documented instances where an influencer’s message led to measurable social effects.
- Clarify causation vs correlation: cite longitudinal or experimental studies if available, or explicitly acknowledge limits and avoid overstating causal claims.
- Expand the sample or describe methodology: if the piece relies on student quotes, report how many students were interviewed, selection method, and whether their views are indicative of a larger population.
- Explain mechanisms and context: discuss platform features (algorithmic feeds, sponsored content disclosure rules), and note how these amplify or mitigate influence.
- Offer solutions or recommendations (media literacy education, parental guidance, stricter ad disclosure) and cite programs or studies showing effectiveness — this strengthens the piece’s practical value.

Bottom line: The article makes a credible, intuitive case that influencers matter to teens, but to be persuasive beyond anecdote it needs stronger, more directly relevant evidence, expert analysis, and clearer documentation of how the claims were supported.