Social Media: More Harm than Good With the way the world is now it should not be a surprise to anyone that social media has literally taken over the world in this day and age. From late 2008 to early 2009 the size of Facebook users doubled from 100 million to 200 million in eight months, and was already up to 400 million by early 2010. Twitter also raised its number of users in 2009 from 4.5 million to 20 million (Zandt). These numbers just show what Facebook and Twitter have accomplished. Other social media sites that are getting more and more popular are Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr, Pinterest, and many others social media websites that people use on a daily basis. With one in four people using social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, it is no wonder that all of these social media websites are considered to be important (Whiteman). With a few clicks of a button or taps on a screen, a person can be connected to family and friends in every corner of the world. Social media can even allow people to see what their favorite celebrities are doing with their lives. According to Honor Whiteman,”Social media defines an array of internet sites that enable people from all over the world to interact. This can be through discussion, photos, video and audio (Whiteman).” Social media is a beast in its own right that is used by a multitude of people all over the world everyday for things such as updating their Twitter status for personal use to updating a company 's Facebook page on a weekly basis. Yes, there is no doubt about it, social media has done its share of very good things, but there is also an entire list of the negative things about using these websites that can really make a person question if they should even be on them. Af... ... middle of paper ... ...utside and see what the world has to offer it can end up being a negative experience. Social media is basically a place for fake relationships, a place to go for a few hours every day to look and check where one is popularity wise, and to stalk other people’s lives. Social media might not be completely bad, but the negatives at the moment far outweigh the positives. People are being driven apart by these websites that were at one time designed and created to bring people closer together. That is the crazy thing, that something made for people to be more social has made people to be antisocial to the world around them. The great idea just does not seem that great anymore and people might benefit from going outside or picking up the phone to have a real life conversation with someone. For those are the things people will most likely want to remember when they are older.
Pattakos states that through social media we are, “living alone” (211). I disagree because social media opens the door for the possibility of friendships that would have never been possible before. Before, if a friend were to move away it would be very hard to keep up with them, but now you still have the capability to connect with them. You can also connect with people that you have meet on vacation. Although it is not the same as getting to speak to them face to face, it is still something. They may live in a different state than you so you do not get the opportunity to talk to them often. I think social media is brilliant because it allows you to connect with family and friends all across the world. Life can be really busy and no matter how hard you try sometimes connecting on social media is the only way you
There are numerous studies on the impact of advancing technology on adolescents, usually leading to the conclusion that social media networks often take part in creating the teen to isolate themselves from anything other than the internet. Social media however, does allow anyone to connect to the people living on the other side of the world. It is a way to keep in touch with old friends, and meet new people no matter where they live. Social media is often used to keep up with the latest news and often informs users of what is going on before the news channels catch it. It is obvious that social media has various positive uses. While these points are important, the fact that the younger generation spends most of their time with their heads down looking at a screen rather than engaged in conversation takes precedence. An article by Morgan Hampton states that,“children and teens spend 75% of their waking lives with their eyes fixed on a screen.” Social media connects people through a screen, but cannot excuse the fact that people are being disconnected from what is right in front of
“The internet has 3.17 billion users. 2.3 billion of those people are users of social media. Every person has about 5.54 social media accounts, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter , etc. Facebook and Whatsapp handle about 60 billion messages per day” (Smith). These are just a few statistics on how many people use social media and how often they use it. I myself am an active user of social media. I have Twitter and Facebook, Instagram and other accounts even. Social media can be used for good and bad purposes, just like everything. Social media can help things like communication with distant relatives and friends, games and pastimes, having a place for all of your memories and photos, and advertisements for things a user might be interested in. Social media can also have big effects on things like businesses, education, and your everyday life. “In 1995, newsweek published the now infamous article titled, “The Internet, Blah!”
Even though social media can bring you closer to those people, it destroys the relationship with the people who are reachable. It disconnects the user from the reality. Some might oppose by saying that they can learn abundant new things from social media. Social Media is not all about bullying or insulting, but it can be about exploring new things by reading someone else’s blog or posts from a news reporter. You can learn things from it that you have never heard of.
So I ask, what is social media? Social Media is websites and applications that allow users to create and share contents or surf social networking. Social Media has its pros and cons. Some social media accounts ask a lot of questions and clarifications about your background, such as your number, email, birthday, and so on to confirm the account you want to make. Other social media don’t ask for much information, maybe just an email and number. Most social media sites say that you have to be at least 13 to make an account. It can be very addicting to people. Without social media, many of us would be bored because we don’t have that variety of didn’t entertaining or interesting things. You can post pictures on your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and so on and get a lot of likes and comments. Or if you post on snapchat, you’ll get a lot of views. Social Media gives you the control to post, like, comment, and share. It’s like having your own imaginary world that you have power over. As I said before, social media comes in all kinds of ways and everyone is dean to find something they like about it.
Social media is so popular that according to a recent article published by forbes.com, “72% of American adults are currently using social media sites; that figure has gone up 800% in just 8 years”(Olenski). Social networking was originally created to simply reconnect people with old high school pals, but in recent years it has evolved into a completely different operation. When social media first originated it was also intended for adult usage, which has in recent years expanded into the usage of all ages. Social media can create a negative affect on lives because it has been proven to be a dangerous addiction, for it takes away interpersonal relationships that are essential in life, and it has been proven to prevent people from being productive in life.
“Social media, a web-based and mobile technology, has turned communication into a social dialogue, and dominates the younger generation and their culture. As of 2010, Generation Y now outnumbers Baby Boomers, and 96% of Gen Y has joined a social network” (Qualman 1). Social media now accounts for the number one use of the Internet, and this percentage is rising bigger every day (Qualman). As a consequence, people are becoming more reliant on social media, which has a led to a number of advantageous as well as unfavorable effects. The world is more connected today than it has ever been in the past, and this is all because of growth in technology. What has yet to be determined though
Social media although a great tool can become an addiction ultimately affecting our lives and state of mind. That is why we need to limit the amount of time and information we share on social networks. Although the internet is a tool full of good and bad available to everyone, teenagers and young adults are more prone to falling into the traps of the internet. People also abuse social media and overuse it every day because they are concerned with what is happening every hour. Social media is a tool not a necessity and should never be abused or used as a diary because it could result in unwanted consequences that can hurt us in the future.
Social Media is defined by Merriam-Webster as “forms of electronic communication (as Web sites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (as videos)” (Merriam-Webster), and for many Americans is a method of social interaction that is used often on a daily basis. It has been determined that one in five people use social media at least once a day and that 19% of Americans between the age of 15 and 54 are on sites like Facebook and Twitter(). It’s no longer common place to send handwritten letters or birthday cards, now writing on a wall, sending a tweet or snapping a picture is accepted. Although social media has provided todays society with instant forms of communication and ways to connect, it also created a new standard for living and has caused problems for many groups of citizens in all walks of life and has caused society to re-think its usage. There are two views about social media, either that. It is a positive addition to society and its benefits outweigh the risks, or that social media causes more harm than good and it’s usage should be limited.
Social media has caused a substantial decrease in face-to-face time, stopped people from working effectively, and has caused an increase in bullying. Social media as defined by dictionary.com is “websites and other online means of communication that are used by large groups of people to share information and to develop social and professional contacts”. People use social media for networking, education, and entertainment. Some of today’s most popular social media sites include Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Vine, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Facebook is used as a basic social media site.
Today social media has become a big influence on society. There are many different social media sites that allow people to interact with others. Such social media sites are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. There are many more different sites, but these are the popular networks that are being used today. These sites allow you to connect with anybody you want to. Social media sites can make you feel connected with others and seem like the best thing, but at the same time it can be a weakness that many of us have.
Social media has nothing but negative effects on people’s minds. Social networking can become very addicting and people can get wrapped up in the drama and excitement of the cyber world. It would only improve our society today if social media never existed to our knowledge. Our society today feels so connected with social media that it interferes with our lives making every task even harder with the temptations.
There are about one and a half billion users of social media worldwide. It can be used to meet new people, find old friends, chat the day away, join interest groups, or even to share pictures. Social networks were mostly created so people could meet and find new friends. What most users of social media don't know, are the dangers of using social media. One example is when you meet a person online, because they are not always who they say they are. If someone is not who you may think they are, who could they be? They can be a stalker or a person that wants to steal your identity; which could be done easily thanks to new developments of new technology. Also thanks to new technology it is now easier for people using your information to track you. Posting personal information can risk your family and friends lives. Social media can be used as a weapon against you. It can even lead to a kidnapping, or even someone's death. Many people use social media to help to waste time, but could also become an unhealthy addiction. Also social media can damage your future. When you are a teen you tend to post pretty much anything you want. This is dangerous because you can post too much personal information. What most teens don't realize is that what they do on social media now can affect them for the rest of their life. It can even come back to haunt you in the future. Social media is dangerous because it makes it easier to be stalked, identity theft to happen, kidnappings and murders, and also can ruin your future.
Even though people have different opinions on whether social media has a positive or negative impact on society, it can be said that social media has a positive effect on society as a whole because it lets people communicate with each other easily, it has been said to improve education among children, and has helped improve the economy in the world. One of the main reasons why social media has positively affected our society is because of how it has made communicating with people much easier. “Today, four out of five active internet users maintain at least one social media profile” (Moe, 3). Using these websites, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and etc., people talk about everything with anyone from what they are planning to do, to what they are eating and much more (Moe, 24). We can also send private messages to other users of these websites about personal matters that you just want to discuss with them.
Social Media has evolved magnificently since the first email sent in 1971. Social media is any form of website or application which enables us to share content with one another with a simple sharing tool. Social media has become an addiction for most, if you were to ask the average student if they were connected to a social networking site, about 73 percent would reply with a yes. In addition, about 63 percent of people log on to a social media site daily and on average 40 percent log on multiple times a day. Everyone has their own reasons for the use of social media, which could include shopping, research, or other personal reasons like venting and status updates.