Negative Impact Of Social Media

The mass media play a significant role in a modern world, by broadcasting information in fast pace and giving entertainment to vast audiences. They consist of press, television, radio, books and the Internet. The latter is now the most developing medium, however, TV also has a wide field of influence. By creating a certain type of message, media can manipulate people’s attitude and opinions.

It has become extremely common for an individual to sign into their Facebook account, and see a picture that they feel exposed a little too much. Check into their Instagram account, and regret letting everyone know what their location was. Feel uncomfortable, or bullied by a tweet that a person posted to their Twitter. Per Farheen’s article on negative effects of social media “participating in social media sites such as these can make you feel more connected” (Sagheer 1). It is not okay for individuals to feel victimized due to the negative effects of social media. Social media tends to distract, humiliate, and destroy one-self through entertainment. If people would donate more time to things more supplemental to their growth, and limit their use of social media, then maybe people would stop walking over the harm that social media presents to our community. Monitoring the time invested into social media will help eliminate most of the detriment, privacy issues, and bullying flowing through today’s society.

The media is an important part of our daily lives. It shapes and molds the lens through which we see the world. It controls everything you see, read, and hear. Media also determines what is said, who said it, how it can be said, and who can hear it. The news for a lot of Americans calls them into action. Depending on what is being discussed it can really sway your emotions. The News can make you happy as well as make you sad or angry. Contrary to popular belief manipulation does not require a device or hypnotism; we are being brainwashed right before our eyes. Television is that most sophisticated media of worldwide communication and viewers are completely susceptible to the media molding their opinions and attitude; as well as influencing what is acceptable and what is not. There is an unconscious “groupthink” mentality that taints news coverage and allows only one side of a debate to receive a fair hearing.  When that happens, the truth suffers. In this essay, I will discuss the types of bias and manipulation, how it affects us, and the ways to prevent it.

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.

Media has been changing drastically since its inception. While print was the main form of media for the longest time, when radio and television became major forms of media they brought something with them that words could not do. People who were tuning in to the radio and watching television were now exposed to marketing campaigns, visual violence, sexuality, suffering and relief, and the start of celebrity idolization. As technology expanded and matured, the electronic age began. Since that time mass media has multiplied exponentially, information can be accessed faster and faster, more and more information could be circulated and accessed. As well as information circulating, marketing

Postman (1987) claims that television is an evil that destroys the purpose and complexities of public discourse. He argues that important issues are oversimplified and drowned in a sea of irrelevance. Chaffee and Metzger (2001) confirm this assumption by remarking the evolution of print and radio into television and television into new media. Establishing the similarities between Postman’s chief complaints about the television medium and the new media then rearing its ugly head. Chaffee and Metzger indicate the shift in the denotations of mass, media, and communication. With technological advancements, it is impossible to ignore the new media and its impact on modern culture.

"The media's the most effective element on earth. They have the ability to make the guiltless blameworthy and to make the liable honest, and that is force. Since they control the brains of the masses" (Thinkexist, 2010). The broad communications, including news, motion pictures, magazines, music, or other excitement source has turned into a piece of every day life for some individuals. As the quote notice broad communications and its energy are equipped for impacting individuals' psyche and conduct. Substance in the media acquainted with youngsters make it troublesome for them to recognize what is genuine and what is not, therefore empowering disarray and visually impaired impersonation. The broad communications assumes an essential part in

With the rise of media within the past few decades, media gained the power to shape society. Everyday, millions and millions of people engage in some sort of media; they spend their time texting, calling, or just browsing the internet looking up information, but mostly they utilize it for entertainment. Media plays an important role in how everyone lives their daily lives, as they share information that their audiences might relate to. A wide variety of audiences are consciously and subconsciously influenced by whatever the media claims. As media only shows what they believe their audience wants to hear and see, many become naive. Alongside the power that comes with media, many people eventually turn to slaves to media. They blindly follow and believe what the media says; it unknowingly forces them to remain ignorant. Consequently, the media can be a distressing influence to individuals.

Society today receives almost all of its information from the media. Since the media is mostly owned by just a few companies, views and ideas can be shaped by what one sees on the internet, television, and in newspapers. Because of the monopolizations from those few corporations that own what is viewed and read, it becomes fairly easy for the general public to instantly believe what is seen just because “the newsman said so.” Mass media not only has a huge and dangerous impact on the way society views politics and members of society, but also how media can affect the youth.

“Americans are the best entertained and quite likely the least-informed people in the Western world.” (Postman, 1984, p. 2) While this statement is painfully ominous, its message is one that has been debated tirelessly since the dawn of technology. The influence of television in politics is one with strong advocates and opponents. There have been many studies and investigations into the effects of technology on the political world, and yet no conclusive evidence has come forth. (Rannay, 1985, p. 3) Despite this, it is no

Popular opinion credits media with great power to shape not only what the average individual thinks about, but also how they think about those subjects. Recent research in the fields of Political Science, Psychology, Economics, and Communications supports this opinion.

Today’s society revolves around the media. It is in sync with the clicks of a keyboard and with the voices on the television. Every day individuals find it arduous to stroll down the street without hearing the latest presidential or local controversy. Most toon into the news every morning and night, like clockwork. Some cannot function without technology and media for extended periods of time. Over generations, the media has been shaped by the social environment of the time period. For example, the climate of 2017 has made audiences question the media. Nevertheless, even though it may be unreliable and dishonest, the media is still necessary for the intent of keeping the public informed and entertained.

Finally, our society uses mass communication and media as a form of education via research. Initially, I was unaware of the information I consumed on a daily basis from varying media sources; however after reviewing my journal of media usage, I became acutely aware of just how influential media is to my education and understanding of the world. For example, I spend a large amount of time doing research for my homework- from required research to looking up the meaning of a word or phrase. I am often exposed to hundreds of sites- functioning as informational sources-with a simple click on a URL or hyperlink. Our culture is influenced through various mediums of media, and educated on various topics including, culture, opinions, and people. However, we must be cautious of the validity of the information we obtain and use, because the media is constantly attempting to sway or manipulate public opinion.

Throughout history, mass media coverage, which is most common in developed nations, has been a key benefactor, among several factors, that has influenced science, public policy, knowledge, and aptitude. A poll conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People and Press found in the United States that television ranks number one as the leading source of daily news followed by newspapers, radio, and the internet. Knowledge has never been so easily accessible than it is now, with the latest news being available to us, whenever and usually wherever. We are able to communicate with others on opposite hemispheres and learn about another country’s values and customs without actually going there. Regrettably, due to the media’s extensiveness and accessibility it inevitably bears certain problems as it reports information that is inadequate or creates bias. As a society, we should rethink some opinions and investigate numerous perspectives before making judgments in order to avoid prejudice.

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