Negative Side Of Social Media

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People from the 21st century might think that life before the internet was impossible to survive, but believe it or not, people survived. The majority of people are very dependent on what the internet provides. Using their cellular devices to search up the nearest restaurant, find an address, and even answers to a test are available through the web. All these answers can easily be found by just a click away, but not everything about the internet is good. Cyber bullying, child pornography, internet addiction, and even social media are a few of the powerful things that can be considered the downside of the internet. People are able to see how far the internet has come across history and the improvements it has made in all aspects of society, …show more content…

Actors, politicians, athletes, and even the president are involved in social media as well. The problem that people have with social media is the effect that it has on teenagers more than anything. The article, “The cloud: Semiotics and the New Media” by Maasik and Solomon, address this problem by stating, “ The addictive nature of digital technology, the way that its users suffer something like drug withdrawal when they are deprived of it, is a powerful testimony to the deep appeal of socializing in the cloud” (Maaski and Solomon 389). Maaski and Solomon elucidate the fact that social media has become drug to some users that can cause them to miss being social, but in social medias and not real life. It affects them in a way where they feel left out and antisocial because they aren’t surfing the web or knowing what other people are up to. The fact that social media users are so influenced by these websites, it can have an effect in their actual social life according to the article called,” Students Addicted to Social Media” by the International Center for Media and the Public Agenda. Journalism professor Susan D. Moeller conducted a study with students to give up their cell phones for 24 hours and this is what one of the students from the study said,”’ Texting and IM-ing my friends gives me a constant feeling of comfort… when I did not have those two luxuries, I felt quite alone and secluded from my life. Although I go …show more content…

According to S. Craig Watkins in the article, “Fast Entertainment and Multitasking in an Always-on World”, Watkins talks about how the internet has made the younger generation better multitaskers, “But the young and the digital are widely viewed as masterful multitaskers, capable of managing several technologies, screens, and conversations fluidly and simultaneously. They multitask habitually and according to many observes, they also do it instinctively” (Watkins 397). Watkins is admiring the talent that this generation is gaining due to the internet and technology that is around them. All these young people are able to do three to four things all at once, while back in the 1970’s or 1980’s this was something that seem to be impossible. They are able to do this because they need to get stuff done fast with little time, or they might need some type of side activity that can help them relax as they do work. Not only has the internet helped develop this amazing talent of multitasking, but it has also brought fast entertainment in the last four to five years. Watkins states,” No matter where we are, fast entertainment is generally just a click away. I liken the efficient delivery of digital media content to another staple in the daily American diet: fast food. Like fast food, fast entertainment is easy to get. All around us, and typically cheap, but not always good for you” (Watkins 393-394).

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