Is A Social Epidemic?

A photograph, painting, canvas, or drawing today is not the same as it was a decade ago. Technology has evolved to the point where we can photoshop a person into a picture, enlarge a person’s butt, or even whiten people’s teeth. At what point do those technological advances cross a line? With social media ranging from Facebook and Twitter to Instagram and Tumblr, do these media sites promote egotistical behavior? In January of 2013, John Paul Titlow discusses some of the disadvantages and advantages that Instagram has in his essay: “#Me: Instagram Narcissism and the Scourge of the Selfie” that was posted on a website called ReadWrite. Although Instagram was primarily created to simply share pictures, it has evolved to do much more than that. Some businesses use it to advertise, some people use it to share their art, but then there are some people use it to flaunt their own personal lives in the form of pictures. Titlow acknowledges that Instagram is a desirable way to share art and diverse imagery, but additionally acknowledges that it can be a place where one can promote their own self-popularity. He explains that Instagram has become remarkably important in people’s lives to the point that they cannot view life past those Instagram likes (Titlow). Ultimately, Titlow succeeds in emphasizing the issues that Instagram has created by reason of the way he expresses his text, while furthermore expressing who the audience of his essay is, and by making his overall purpose clear.

    People do not realize the immense impact social media has on their lives.  Social media first impacted people’s lives with the invention of the telephone in 1890.  Following this, the radio entered many homes in 1891; this was the beginning of social media.  During the twentieth century, computers and the Internet began the modern rise of today’s social media. UseNet, in 1979 was a virtual newsletter, which began what people think today of as modern social media.  When home computers became popular during the 1980s, such sites as relay chats took off.  Then, in 1997, the first true social media site , Six Degrees, came about: “It enabled users to upload a profile and make friends with other users. In 1999, the first blogging sites became popular, creating a social media sensation that’s still popular today” ( “Complete History of Social Media: Than and Now”). Although social media has some positive effects,  social media has changed the world for the worse because it negatively affects politics, privacy, and bullying.

Social Media is affecting our society in a negative way. From being the number one cause of divorce, ruining people’s careers, and being a haven for teen suicides, many misfortunes arise due to social media. People may not notice its damaging side effects yet it is slowly but surely proving detrimental to all involved in the game. By taking a step back and maintaining self-control, any human being immersed in the frenzy of social media can enjoy its perks without getting caught up in the whirlwind of unfortunate events.

The general intelligence of humanity is dropping. It may not be obvious to most, but the people who are smart or bright now, would have been average fifty years ago. Everything is being made easier and being pushed back, so that it is less apparent that things are understood less and to a lower degree. One has to finish college now, to get the equivalent of a high school education.

Millenials enjoy having a good self image, but more importantly, being accepted by society. These people use Facebook, and other social media sites, to look important and gain self-esteem by getting as many likes as possible on a photo. These photos posted could create an unrealistic portrait of that person, argues Soraya Mehdizadeh, but could this also be a way for people to express their identity, counters Alex Lambert? Soraya Mehdizadeh and Alex Lambert argue their reasons for why or why not social media may be narcissistic. It is a controversial subject because it can be hard to tell if this so called narcissism is a social norm now or if it is simply narcissism in itself. It is under psychological discussion because some psychologists argue it could be a disorder due to the fact that some people may be obsessed with social media and promoting a positive self image, so others think highly of them. Throughout the articles, the pros and cons of social media are weighted, and it seems that social media facilitates narcissisms because millenial’s are so prone to using it and older people only use it to keep connections with friends.

Status Updates author Alice Marwick is an experienced academic observer of American online culture who subjectively weighs in on the new era of media and where this social media phenomenon is in this country let alone the world. This book takes you on a personal journey sheading light on old and new ideas such as, dot com era, Web 2.0, self- branding, Neoliberal capitalism, the up rise of micro celebrities, and online personas. Although precisely written and full of extensive qualitative research, this book is mostly over opinionated and anecdotal. A good amount of what Marwick is preaching isn’t necessarily true and full of negative rhetoric towards men such as Gary Vaynerchuk, a self-branding guru who she actually dedicates a part of her book too along with others. Most of the book is full of her first hand experiences in northern California tech start up hotbed areas where most of her work was done by good journalism.

For years and years, the internet has progressed so much. So much that communication and our lifestyles have reached a whole new level. One of the many revolutionary inventions is called social networking sites or social media. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and many more, are where people gather on the internet, create a personalized profile about themselves, and interact with other people around the world. Social media can help contact friends, family, and other people long distance. However, our priorities have completely changed to “life isn’t measured by the number of breaths you take, but by how many likes you get on Instagram.” With social media, people seem to lose touch from reality. This whole “me, me , me”

Since the invention of the Internet, people have become indulged with its copious functions, from making advanced programs to learning how to do new projects to social media. Social media has evolved over the years, from Friendster to Myspace to Facebook, since the late 1990s, and people have incorporated it into their lives. It is the modern way for people to connect and communicate with anyone and everyone across the globe. Plus, social media is everywhere; people utilize it when they are on the bus, at the checkout line, and even when they are using the restroom. In Peggy Orenstein’s “The Way We Live Now: I Tweet, Therefore I Am,” she propounds that social media has altered society. Social media has changed society’s priorities, characteristics, and mentality.

About 5 years ago when social media really began to take off, researched noticed that almost 80% of things posted on social media were very self-oriented. Not too long after this realization, two researchers from Harvard decided to investigate about how these self-oriented posts impacted the human mind. Ultimately, they found that sharing

IT’S no secret that society’s perception of the world and ourselves is strongly shaped by social media. Popular networking sites such as Instragram, Facebook and Tumblr monopolize any current trend, magnifying it and making it widespread and visible.

Recent research has documented how technology, and social networking sites (SNS; e.g., Facebook, Instagram) in particular, have given rise to a growing obsession with impression management and self-presentation online. Whether it’s searching for the perfect Instagram photo filter or carefully crafting a humblebrag Facebook status about a recent publication, users frequently engage in selective self-presentation strategies to portray an ‘ideal self’ through social media (Chou & Edge, 2012; Manago, Graham, Greenfield, & Salimkhan, 2008). In turn, we seek out social approval and positive feedback in the form of comments and likes.

“Tweet that!! Post that pic on Instagram!! Slide in my DMs!!! Add me on Snapchat!!!” These are the phrases our generation love to use when we try to interact with one another. Social media is a great way to open up opportunities and can assist us with getting our merchandise/business/art promoted or advertised for the world to see. However, there are numerous ways that social media can ruin people’s reputation/careers/future in getting a job. Today I am going to provide the positive and negative features of social media.

As a teenager associated with the “technological revolution”, it has only been fate to be consumed by the constant social media that surrounds our society. With a phone always in hand, and a new app ready to be downloaded, the people of the current generation are being mind-blocked by the tweets and posts of their numerous friends. As I walk down the hallway of my high school, I see the tops of my classmates heads. Resembling a kangaroo, they are hunched over, arms bent with an iPhone glued to their faces, eager to catch up on whatever tweets they haven’t seen. Eager to see what “selfie” their favorite celebrity has posted on Instagram. The constant mentality of, “ Oh that would be a good tweet”, or “ Lets post theses pictures on

Women lurk on a man’s page seeking for their materialistic items such as cars, money, and the way a man dresses. Instances such as these causes low self-esteem of individuals who do not portray these specific items or lifestyles on social media. USA Today asked 23 Chicago college students about social media and 20 out of 23 students believed social media caused anxiety or added stress to an individual’s life. One female college student believed that social media adds a lot of pressure to be the perfect person, because that’s how individuals can make themselves look online. A lot of women on social media with low self-esteem issues show their skin and wear revealing outfits to feel “better” about their own body by taking into account how many likes on Instagram or Facebook they receive. The college students have realized it was easy to portray a different version of them on the internet. Individuals believe the number of likes on Facebook/Instagram or retweets on Twitter is used as a tool for verification for acceptance within their group of peers. This can cause a domino effect of problems on an individual’s self-esteem. An individual will post photos that are outside their character just to seek approval through the likes from their peers. This may boost an individual’s self-esteem temporarily, but once he or she logs off social media their self-esteem really hasn’t improved. Valkenbur, P. M., Peter, J., & Shouted, A. P. (2006). Friend

Of the many diseases spread by insects, none are actually caused by the insects themselves but by other organisms passed on when they feed or bite. Insects are capable of spreading diseases caused by many different types of microorganisms including bacteria, viruses, protozoan and others. Mosquitoes have earned the title of "the most deadly creature on earth." This is due to the fact that they spread serious epidemic diseases such as Malaria, Yellow Fever, African Sleeping Sickness, and West Nile Virus.