Negative Effects Of Social Media

The past seven years have seen the rapid adoption of social media platforms by users all over the world, today there are more than 2.46 billion active social media users in the world . Social media enables users to consume timely news inexpensively, and allows them to further comment, share and discuss the news with other social media users, making news consumption on social media attractive to a large portion of these users. For example, a recent study by Pew research center found that 67% of American adults get news on social media . However, compared to primitive news media like radio and television, news in social media is easy and less expensive to produce and distribute and it is not fact-checked or filtered by a third party prior to dissemination. This has made social media a very attractive platform for fake news creators, i.e. news that is deliberately created to deceive the reader to believe something that is not true.

Many people enjoy using social media sites but again this, at times, create a risk to society. The fact that people can share photos, videos and messages via social platform, causes these tools to be misused by some individuals. Pornographic platforms have been developed whose uploads have resulted in ruining the younger generation who end up being involved in sexual activities at early stages in their life (Ahn, June. 2011). The fact that the younger generation can interact with older generation, exposes them to sexual predators. Malicious people take advantage of the innocence of children and entice them resulting sexual abuse.

Social media has a lengthy list of cons and downturns which in return I fear will degrade and decrease youth’s minds and lifestyles in general as social media has become such a significant way of functioning on a day to day basis. Few aspects of this would include privacy and safety, Internet sex crimes, cyber-bullying, personality and brain disorders in children, possibility of depression and anxiety and self identification. This makes it difficult for users to fully comprehend the consequences of a world where social media can take over. I will discuss why I believe social media will produce negative effects in youths and adolescence in the future.

Approximately 81% of the United States population is reported to use social media sites on daily bases (Statista). Social media is specific to websites and applications such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and the alike. Each of these social media sites have their own effect on different kinds of people. For instance, older people are more likely to use Facebook than Snapchat, where younger generation is more likely to use Snapchat and Instagram over Facebook. Many of these social media sites are created by individuals as a free enterprise economy; this means the individuals that created social media sites want people to use it in order to make money. Although some people might believe that using social networking sites increases cyberbullying and online predatory behaviors, in fact social networking sites only helps people increase connection with friends and improve life satisfaction.

In this day and age, media plays a gigantic role in the lives of everyone in society. Along with television, video games, movies, and the internet, social media plays a role in kids’ lives as well. As of 2017, 81 percent of people in the U.S. use or have a social media account, according to Statista, the Statistics Portal. However, this may not seem as great as one may think. Media has a large negative effect on the behavior, actions, and mindset of todays’ youth, portraying both male and females in a negative matter.

Have you ever been left upset or had the feeling of unacceptance due to using social media? Using any social media of any kind can negative effects on you, these can be, low self- esteem, bulling and your social skills.

Media has become more accessible and free of restrictions as time goes on. Media continues to grow and has become a major part of our everyday lives; especially, our exposure to social media. Young girls have better access than ever to ads, images, and videos that depict distorted body images. The effects of these images and people have had a negative effect on a lot of young girls' lives. Things such as social media are showing young women what they should look like, but those ideas are not realistic. Most of the thing girls see on a day-to-day basis are posed, edited, and altered to show what our society views as 'ideal' and 'average', when in fact it is the opposite. Young girls today are being exposed to more and more media of the same body type. Fashion and modeling industries have been rising in popularity. Young girls are seeing these models and wanting to be like them. They want their lives to look just like the models’ lives they see on their Instagrams. Many girls will become disappointed with their lives and bodies because they are not seen as the best. Young girls are also seeing Internet stars and celebrities who have this body type and they are being idealized as what is perfect. Young girls idolize them and want to be just like them. Exposing girls to overly sexualized media so early in their lives, and at such a vulnerable time, is very unhealthy for both their mental and physical state of minds. For many people it becomes an unhealthy situation and a

Almost every parent and doctor claims that social media is a waste of time or a health issue. However, it strengthens or creates relationships through events or gatherings in a community, which social media promotes, as well as spreading the word on problems and issues throughout the whole world.

With the help of technology, we can spread information faster than any other media source. From natural disasters, a famous figure passing away, or other shocking news; it only takes seconds for a friend to post it on their social media page, along with their reaction. With that in mind, because we live in the information age, the abundance of data we are exposed to can easily cause weariness (Kelly). As not everything shared is of interest to some individuals due to the information can be truthful, untruthful, or an opinion of the writer. Truthful information oftentimes becomes difficult to ascertain. While social media has allowed thousands to have a voice and spreads information that the user feels is important, a side effect is the spreading of false information distinguished as the truth. According to a website called Statista, eighty-one percent of U.S. Americans have had a social media profile, which is a five percent growth to previous years (Peng). While those numbers can be helpful while spreading news of a lost child on social media, negative results can take place as well. I have experienced firsthand how social media can spread news like wildfire, but in the process, the information gets twisted and changed becoming no longer truthful. Despite the previous viewpoint on the positives of social media, there are noticeably more negatives that imperil individuals.

You know the device that is constantly with you at all times? How much time do you spend on it? In the last nine years, the online world has changed substantially. Because of the invention of social media, individuals in society are capable of swapping ideas, feelings, personal information, photographs, and vlogs in the blink of an eye. To many, the attributes of social media are internalized as assets, however, this quick, efficient, and easy platform, which enables us to connect with just about anyone in the world, has the potential to lead to various harmful effects. As of today, there are a little over 322 million people that live in the United States, 64% of whom own a smartphone. This means that approximately 206 million people have access to social media, anywhere at any time. (final inquiry project). It is because of our ability to use these online applications that we as humans are more susceptible to cyberbullying, inferior social skills, and a tarnished reputation.

Having social media in our upcoming generation has become one of the most popular sources of communication. Young teenagers growing up in today’s generation with social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter have provided pictures and videos that have become the first thing people look at in the morning, and the last thing they see before bed. These pictures have provided unrealistic standards as to what is considered beautiful in today’s society. By establishing unattainable standards of beauty and bodily perfection, the media drive ordinary people to dissatisfaction with their body images. The dissatisfaction can results in resorts to drastic measures, and even disorders of behavior, as people try to achieve these unreachable goals.

To begin with, mental health can be greatly affected by social media. Mental health issues have gone up in the last century as the social media hype has grown. According to child psychotherapist Julie Lynn Evans, the rise in numbers of anorexia, cutting, and depression, all stem from the effect of social media (Liu). From all the pictures posted online, it can pop different thoughts into a person's head. Feeling left out, feeling like you and your life aren’t good enough, or comparison and jealousy are all things that come up when speaking of social media and mental health. A study conducted by the University of Houston found that social media is linked to isolation and loneliness, due to comparison behavior (Liu). Scrolling through feeds of different social media platforms tend to always

Tweng (2017) questioned the connection between smartphones and the apparent psychological distress this generation of adolescents is experiencing. One can question if the psychological distress that many adolescents are experiencing when they communicate on their social media sites is not depression. Since social media is a primary source of communication used today, one questions how it affects society and especially the adolescent. Therefore, this research study wants to enrich the existing findings of how rapid communication done thru social media can evoke internalizing symptoms leading today’s adolescents into major depression.

The Internet, nobody can touch it, eat it, or see it, yet it is such an integrated part of society. The internet allows people to shop for anything they need, and talk to people through websites, forums, blogs, but most commonly social media. Social media is a noun referring to websites and applications (most commonly referred to as app/s) that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking. Social media allows people from all over the world share ideas, works of art, or their talents through bodies of texts, or even a video. But just like a new, harmless cough, there are new symptoms that have yet to develop. In short social media has revolutionized communication, allowing people to make friends with

Our lives seem to be more and more consumed by technology as great advances in this area have continue to be made, especially when it comes to social media. Many researchers have begun to notice that depending on how much time individuals spend on these social media sites, they can negatively affect their daily lifestyle in very significant ways.  For example, social networking has become a huge distraction for students and it can affect their grades depending on how often they check their various accounts while doing class work.  Researchers have also come to find out that social media can contribute to the development of psychological symptoms