A Research On How Social Networking

In his article, “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?” Stephen Marche argues that Facebook is the vital cause for loneliness and is luring people away from social capital. According to Marche, social networking isolates individuals and creates distance, mostly amongst family members. For some, it is not only isolation but rather social loneliness. The author claims that health can also be effected by loneliness. Nowadays, due to very little verbal person to person communication, he writes that people have never been so separated from one another because of social media. Facebook users, Marche argues, have an addiction to profoundly visit their account constantly leading to the feeling of loneliness and in most cases depression. The author claims that social networking, instead of demolishing isolation, is unknowingly spreading it. Ultimately, However, Stephen’s argument fails to convince due to his abundant false assumptions and the articles confusing organization.

Social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) offers infinite connections and the ability to express oneself to the world. But are these connections and images of self-based upon fact or fiction? Through selective self-presentation, people often present the “ideal self” instead of the “actual self” in the online environment to achieve the feeling of positive self-esteem. In “The Way We Live Now: I Tweet, Therefore I Am”, Peggy Orenstein writes of how her Twitter posts reflected an idealized version of her life. Two studies support the hypothesis that such editing can have a positive effect on personal self-esteem. “Mirror, Mirror on my Facebook Wall: Effects of Exposure to Facebook on Self-Esteem” by Amy Gonzales presents a study demonstrating

In the last ten to fifteen years accompanying the dawn of social media, means of communication among friends and strangers have been easier than ever. Since its creation in 2004, Facebook has grown into the largest social media site on the Internet with 30 million users and counting. The ability to catch up with former high school friends who are now across the country or see how an aunt in Pittsburgh has been doing since the birth of her son are now as simple as the click of a mouse. However, the amount of “friends” acquired on social media may not be an accurate reflection of how many close relationships one truly shares. In an article from Bigthink.com titled “Do You Have Too Many Facebook Friends?”, Steven Mazie gathers research from Pew Research Center about statistics surrounding Facebook

There is debate over these social networking sites; do the benefits outweigh the dangers? Some people argue that social networking sites promote increased communication with friends and family, familiarize people with valuable computer skills, and allow contact and interactions with people from around the world. Others argue that these sites expose children to predators, increase vulnerability to computer viruses, lower worker productivity, and promote narcissism and short attention spans. Social networking sites entice people to spend more time online and less time involved in face-to-face interaction. On an average day it is said that American’s waste about 17% of their day on the internet interacting on social media and networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and MySpace. The popularity of these sites has more than

In her article “Social Media’s Impact on Self-Esteem” Clarissa Silva analyzes the effects of social media. She is able to show how disconnected people have gotten because of being online. Which is causing many to suffer from the paradox effect and vanity validation, that has also contributed to negative impacts in many relationships. Different sets of data are used as evidence, the percentage of peoples fear of missing out (FOMO) being a prime example. Social norms have shifted from face to face conversations to online discussions. Silva demonstrates how it plays a big role in self-esteem because of the decrease of social skills. She sheds light on the issue to decrease the irresponsible use of social media without knowing

Ellison et al believed that Facebook is a ‘rich site’ for research into the quality of relationships due its ‘heavy usage patterns’ and the mechanics of how it is more about offline to online relationships due the nature of the creation of the site, for university students to communicate. Facebook in incredibly different from other CMC as many users actually know most their ‘friends’ in real terms on the site.

First, social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace have become high in popularity, one would wonder how these websites would affect our mental health.The internet has provided a medium for communication; however, with social media people are able to communicate as frequently as they want. Social media researchers Boyd and Ellison have created a three-part definition for social networks: they provide a forum where they can create a profile; they can create a list if friends or connections; and they observe their connections and the connections made by others. Author David Resalvo writes how social networking affects identity and the importance of an investigation on how social networking affects the addiction, narcissism, self-esteem, and loneliness.

The purpose or hypothesis of this study addresses the anatomy of the Facebook network, communication behaviors and network composition, private messages and public communication, and the psychological implications of Facebook use.

There are two possible ways that the use of social networking sites can affect a person’s self esteem. According to a study conducted by Amy L. Gonzales and Jeffrey T. Hancock, Facebook helps amplify students’ level of self-esteem. They explained in their study that when people post something on their profile, they have the opportunity to filter the negative information that they would not like to be exposed, and only publicize the information that they consider as positive. By doing this, people can build an ideal image of themselves online, which consequently increase the level of their self-esteem (Gonzales and Hancock, 2011). On the other hand, the study conducted by The University of Gothenburg in Sweden, which

With over one billion Facebook users and 255 million on Twitter, there is no denying the expansion of social media uses. There is no denying that college students are not directly connected socially at all hours of the day. The rise of smart phone usage leads to a demand for a growing social media market. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin shows there is a positive relation between avid Facebook users and social satisfaction and acceptance (Valeenzuele et al. 894). Thus showing, those who engage more on social media, such as Facebook, find their connection to the world more meaningful because they can easily engage with others on

This study focused on trying to prove the social enhancement hypothesis, which means that socially confident (extroverted) people that are popular in real life have the most to gain from social networks and the social compensation hypothesis, which means introverted (shy/reserved) individuals are more likely to use social networking sites because it must more easier to make friends online than offline. The study consisted of 614 surveys of people, ranging from age and graduation dates, from an urban in the Midwestern United States, The authors used Rosenberg Self-Esteem

Social networking sites are increasing as a communication tool of choice with 58% of individuals using social network sites at least once a week, an increase of 14% from the previous year. Notably, 100% of individuals surveyed under the age of 24 spend time online (Kowalski et al., 2006).

Social networking has risen in popularity throughout the last twenty years and in effect narcissistic behavior has increased within society(particularly America's society) since the 1980's(Jayson 1). Studies show that the greater an individual is inclined to narcissistic behavior; there is a resulting increase in their online social networking activity(Mehdizadeh 357). Social networking sites or “SNSs” are defined as: “A web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system”(Boyd, Ellison 1).

Some say people who use social networking sites are prone to social isolation. Despite opposition, I am convinced that social networking helps people who are shy and socially isolated to connect with other people. This concludes that social networking can help people who have low self esteem other than lowering their self-esteem any more.Although many argue that social networking can exacerbate feelings of disconnect and put children at higher risk for depression, low self-esteem and eating disorders,I believe otherwise. According to my research, I have found that more than 25% of teens report that social makes them feel less shy, 28% feel more outgoing, 20% report feeling more confident,in which 53% of teens were identified as being shy (5 Boroughs). This means that social networking brings out a better person in most, and makes them feel better about themselves other than feeling bad inside.

As people use social networking sites more and more, psychological symptoms, such as social anxiety and depression, can begin to develop overtime. Feinstein’s research found that “depressed individuals also tend to engage in specific interpersonal behaviors, such as excessive reassurance seeking, that account for their greater likelihood of being rejected.”  Other social anxiety symptoms that can be triggered from excessive amounts of social networking include becoming less assertive, avoiding conflict, and expressing less emotion.  Results from Feinstein’s research also found that users directly felt a “depressed effect following interactions with romantic partners” and an “anxious effect following interactions with romantic partners” depending on how much time they spent on social media outside of their relationship.  Not only can the amount of time we spend on social networking affect us now, but it can also cause and make an individual more vulnerable to possible psychological problems in the future (Nauert).