Impact Of Social Networking On Society

Social media itself is a huge danger to society. It causes many suicides within the world because of the cyberbullying and spreading of rumors. “Recent studies have shown that one out of four teens have been the victims of cyberbullying and one out of six have admitted to having cyberbullied someone” (Trautner 1). The internet and social media is supposed to be used to communicate with friends and for searching information, “Kids use technology different than their parents do. Sometimes it is hard for adults to understand that this can even be a possibility” (Trautner 1). It is not supposed to be used to bully someone, especially not to the point where the victim would think about suicide. “One of the statistics that has been highlighted within this news coverage is the threefold increase in the suicide rate for girls ages 10 to 14. The rates for girls in this age group increased from 0.5 to 1.5 per 100,000 during this time period. The increases for boys in this age group were not as high, climbing from 1.9 per 100,000 during 1999 to 2.6 per 100,000 in 2014” (Olsen

Rebecca Sedwick, a 12-year-old girl, committed suicide after being repeatedly cyberbullied by 15 girls for many months. Once again, cyberbullying through social media has led to the suicide of a child. (“Phillips, Suzanne”) Social media allows hundreds of ways to communicate with others with electronic devices. Sometimes communicating with strangers, and sometimes unanimous. This idea of constant messages, notifications, and texts can be very dangerous when it comes to cyberbullying because the victim feels like they have no way out, or nowhere to hide. Social media for kids and teens ultimately has only negative effects because it leads to cyberbullying, a decrease in education, and suicide.

Cyberbullying has been more popular now than ever, with many children and teens worldwide affected by it. Cyberbullying has negative effects and consequences to the mind and can cause depression. Many people are affected by this, and according to studies, “more than one in three young people have experienced cyberthreats online”(Cyberbullying Statistics). This research shows that bullying may harm countless people under the age of eighteen who use the media. The results of cyberbullying can have negative impacts to people of all ages throughout their life and may lead to stress, rash decisions, and even suicide.

In one article it states, "Over the last decade, the percentage of young adults ages 18 to 29-years-old who use SNS (social network sites) has dramatically increased from only 9% in 2004 to 89% in 2014" (Gahagan et al, par 2). This argument is significantly important because bullying is a serious topic especially for young adults who are the predominant audience of social media and texting. The advancement of technology has created a world of cyber bullying, causing an increase rate of suicide among college students due to the lack of prevention of cyber bullying, lack of communication between the university and the bullied, and the psychological problems that cyber bullying can

Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin, the authors of “Bullying Beyond the School Yards”, define cyber bullying as “willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones and other electronic devices” (Hinduja 5). Cyber Bullying began when the use of electronic devices began, but it became more common when social networking sites were invented. Over the years, social networking has become a place where what people write is something they would never say in person. Because people have become so naïve of the power of their own words, feelings are hurt. Online, teens have an opening to indirectly say what they want and a lot of the time they are victimizing people and putting them down by either commenting or blogging about a person’s secrets or beginning hurtful rumors. This form of adolescent aggression can be given the term “social sabotage” and is most common among girls (Hinduja 93). Cyber bullying in some cases can be more hurtful than bullying itself because

Facebook and other social media platforms have brought communication across the world to a whole new level. The rise of social media has created a place for children to communicate with others in both a positive and negative manner. Although it has made a positive impact on American youth, it has also contributed and exacerbated bullying in our schools. This new form of bullying, often referred to as cyberbullying, has created an around-the-clock atmosphere where bullying can occur even when school is not in session. Many professionals have sought to address the negative aspects of social media and have worked to develop a solution to bring cyberbullying to an end.

Social networking has become a major part of society. Many people wake up each day and check social media websites specifically throughout Twitter and Facebook first thing in the morning instead of reaching for a newspaper. Since people are spending such a large amount of time surfing social networks, it is important to point out some of the positive and negative effects that social networking can have on a society. The positive effects of social networking sites are allow people to create new relationships and reconnect with friends and family. Increased communication, even online, strengthens relationships. And the other   is social networking sites make people share everything that they want and   bring people with common interests together, offer exposure to new ideas from around the world, and lower inhibitions to overcome social anxiety.

Despite the positives, there are many negatives associated with social media. Using social media can make a person more vulnerable to predators and cyber bullying. In this age, “Cyber bulling is quite common, can occur to any young person online, and can cause profound psychosocial outcomes including depression, anxiety, severe isolation, and tragically suicide” (“American Academy of Pediatrics”). Cyber bullying impacts society in a negative way because it is harming young teenagers’ minds. Bullies, torment, threat, harass, and even embarrass their victims by using different forms of social media. Using social media can also decrease privacy for an individual. People often give out their personal information not knowing who can see it. To average internet users, “A false sense of security may leave social networking site users vulnerable to security attacks such as hacking, leaking sensitive information, and sending viruses” (“ProCon”). Furthermore, Social media can also lead to brain disorders and can cause people to have a hard time interacting with people face to face. “Social networking entices people to spend more time online and less time talking to a person face to face.” (“ProCon”)

Social media is defined as “forms of electronic communication (as Web sites for social networking and micro blogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content.” (Merriam-Webster, 2004). Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube have the attention of millions of users. With just a click of a button, users are able to create their own profile that relates to themselves and are able to share their personal information by adding friends on these social media sites. Today’s generations of teenagers have become technologically dependant. A study done by Pew Research Center found that, 92% of teens reported going online daily, 56% of teens reported going online several times a day, and only 12% reported once a day. (Lenhart, Amandra, 2015). With the vast amount of social media that is so easily accessible and greatly depended on, it has made bullying so much easier on teenagers today. This bullying is referred to as “cyber bullying”. Cyber bullying is when a person uses technology to target another person by harassing or intimidating them in an aggressive nature. The bullies often use social media site to spread their message about or to their victims. Although these social sites can have positive interaction for teenagers, the negative effects of

Society is constantly changing and will continue to change in the future. The change is predictable because people change their ideas, routines, and views frequently. One of the topics that is typically brought up when discussing the influences on how society is changing, is social networking. There are two sides to every story. One side of the effects of social networking is that it is beneficial to society by informing people on particular situations in the world and on current important events. The other side views social networking as dangerous and drama filled. While there are benefits and dangers to social networking's effects on society, I will argue that social networking has changed society more negatively than positively.

Social media has evolved over the years and continues to evolve nearly every month with new updates. Although most see technology and social media as a positive thing, it’s not. Social media has led to an increase of cyberbullying and suicide attempts each year. According to John C. LeBlanc, “There have been 41 suicides since 2003 involving cyberbullying in the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom, but most of the victims were also bullied in school and many suffered from mental illness, including depression” (CBS New). Technology will continue to become a bigger epidemic which will not help reduce bullying and suicide attempts and successes. Kids and young adults strive to be what social media deems acceptable through deceptive imagery. Women of all ages struggle with self-consciousness, whether they are too

Socially media is a generally new wonder that has taken the world by storm during the previous decade. Though social media has provided us with unlimited capabilities to connect with people around the world and access to unlimited information, while it does provide several benefits it also provides a major downfall, cyberbullying. Cyberbullying normally refers to when a kid or juvenile is deliberately and repeatedly focused by another kid as dangers or disturbances or mortified or humiliated by methods by mobile phones or Internet advances, for example, email, messaging, social networking sites, or texting (Luxton). In a recent research approximately 2,000 middle school students, who were selected randomly from one of the most populated school districts in the United States, 20% of students reported seriously thinking about actually attempting suicide. Two common types of cyberbullying that were reported were victimization and offending. The most common form of bullying offending reported by respondents was: “I called another student mean names, made fun of or teased him or her in a hurtful way” while the most frequently cited form of bullying victimization was: “Other students told lies or spread false rumors about me and tried to make others dislike me

Every day, millions of people spend hours on various social media accounts such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Individuals use these internet sources, as well as email and chat rooms, to communicate with each other in an extremely fast and efficient manner. Most businesses, colleges, schools and workplaces use email to communicate and many organizations have a Facebook page or other forms of social media, in order to keep their customers up to date with everything going on in the company. While the internet has made life easier for many people all over the world, it has also created a simpler way for people to insult, threaten, stalk and harass others by using anonymous user names and fake identities. This type of bullying has affected teens more severely than other demographic group. It has very different effects on teens based on its type and severity, but all of its victims suffer from some type of detrimental consequence. Cyberbullying can lead to depression, insomnia, anxiety and even suicide among teens if not caught and stopped in time.

Pre-teens and teenagers are living in a world which is so focused on social networking which causes their lives to revolve around it. With people’s lives being connected in social networking, this leads to people wanting to have a social rank. In recent studies cyberbullying rates have found that about 1 in 4 teens have been the victims of cyberbullying, and 1 in 6 admit to having cyberbullied someone (Cyberbullying, 2016). More than have half of teens surveyed that have felt abused through social and digital media. Cyberbullicide is suicide indirectly or directly influenced by experiences with online aggression (Hinduja & pAtchin, 2009). This leads to there being a connection between cyberbullying and suicide. Youth who are bullied, or who bully others, are at an elevated risk for suicidal thoughts, attempts, and completed suicides (Baldry & Winkel, 2003; Mills, Guerin, Lynch, Daly et al., 2004; Rigby & Slee, 1999; van der Wal, de Wit, & Hirasing, 2003). In research shown, there has been a connection between cyberbullying and pre-teens and teenagers having suicidal thoughts and committing suicide because of a repelling effect that takes place.

As adolescents and adults growing up during the advent of the new Millennium we have ourselves been privy to many of technological advancements. A slew of devices and modern conveniences have become integral parts of our day to day lives and have for the most part been a welcome addition to our lives. Of these various modern conveniences we have witnessed and in a sense played a role in the evolution of communication by way of smartphones and the Internet. A key component of this change is the manifestation and development of social networking and the various outlets that are its counterparts. Websites that have essentially become mainstays of our day to day lives and outlets for our thoughts and feelings such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and the like have played a crucial role in the redefining of social norms in many spheres of our lives and interactions with our peers.