Positive And Negative Effects Of Social Media

Social media is a very popular and widely used medium of entertainment in today’s society that allows people to connect and congregate from all over the world without having to leave the comfort of home. In order for many people to relieve social isolation and loneliness, social media unravels new pathways of communication and can be used to help people open up and express their opinions (Naruse). It can give people the chance to share and express their ideas to a large audience and receive feedback. Large and small businesses alike use this platform of communication in order to relay information about their products and services faster by using promotions and advertisements on social media websites. While social media has proven itself to be helpful and beneficial in today’s society, there are many studies that show how it can take quite a toll on the mental health and wellbeing of the people who constantly use it.

Social networking sites (referred to more broadly as social media) are a collection of websites and applications that enable users to swap ideas, post updates and comments, and participate in activities and events while sharing their interests with other users. From general chit-chat to propagating breaking news, scheduling a date to following election results, gentle humor to serious research, social networking sites are used for a variety of reasons by various user communities. Nowadays, nearly every person who has access to a computer and Internet indulges in some kind of social networking on a daily basis. The introduction of social media has changed the entire dynamics of our lifestyles: the ways we live, work, and maintain our friendships. Despite its numerous advantages, social media does yield some negative effects. However, the benefits of social media greatly outweigh its negative effects.

Like technology, our species has adapted to fit modern times. Through these adaptations, we have begun to communicate through our newly developed technology by means of social media. In today’s society, we are surrounded by sites such as Facebook, Twitter, E-Mail, and various other websites that can often times consume our lives. While social media has plenty of advantages, it also has disadvantages that often times get ignored. As Internet users, it is important to examine these disadvantages and make sure we understand the negative sides to social media.

After debating whether social media has a positive or negative effect on teens, it has been concluded that social media has a negative impact on the developing teenager. Social media can be a great tool at times, by being a means to communicate with friends, classmates, and family members; It can also help spread your ideas, hobbies and life experiences. But after reading the article Studies Offer Mixed Messages On Social Media’s Effects On Young People, By The Baltimore Sun, it explains how social media has a negative effect on teens by causing them to compete (to have a better social media feed), change their body to fit into society (the ideal body shape) and the way it can makes someone feel.

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.

Have you ever consider how social media is changing your self-esteem and your relationship with the people around you? Krystine Batcho, a professor of psychology at Lemoyne College (New York), believes social media has made many positive but also negative changes in society. Everybody around us uses social media, it definitely helps communicate with people and it is a great source of information. Many people do not realize that there is also a negative side of social media. Social media does not make us happier.

Social media is a worldwide form of electronic communication in which people may share personal information, videos, and images. It is used by many people all across the world. There are many different types of social media such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Snapchat. Instagram is a photo sharing app and website that gives the user access to put their account on private mode or public mode. Twitter is an app and website in which one creates 480-character tweets expressing their thoughts and may share pictures as well. Facebook is an app and website in which one creates posts including pictures and text, unlike Twitter there is no character limit. Snapchat is a photo messaging app in which users can send each other images which will disappear in a certain number of seconds. In the earlier stages of social media, Facebook was at its peak due to its easy to use functionalities and the like button. With the rise of mobile technology, the most popular social media, such as Snapchat and Instagram rely on the capabilities of the mobile devices. Social media has become a regular part of peoples lives. For many, the first and last thing they do is check their social media. Social media can be used innocently, but the long-lasting risks it presents are extremely important to recognize and take over the positives.

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

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.

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.

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.

Typewriters to computers, telephones to smartphones, written letters to communicating through social media such as snapchat and instagram, demonstrates how times have changed with communication. The earlier generations growing up had to use their imaginations and creative minds in order to be entertained. Playing outside with friends, building forts, and playing school were some of the many favorite activities of children. Today, you see smartphones in the hands of young children, changing children's ideas of fun. Now it is a struggle to find someone that is not a registered user of some type of social media website, such as snapchat, twitter, facebook, or instagram. It is everywhere and extremely hard to get away

With the introduction of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and many other social media sites, these changed the way that we communicate with one another. Social platforms allow people to share events of their own lives, through posting photos, leaving comments, updating their status, and many others. For example, “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. Furthermore, a significant amount of people still accesses these website by computer. It is estimated that 73% of the United States accesses social media accesses social media in one form or the other and that number

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

People who use the internet have so many rights and advantages. But what happens when people are using social media too much and they are so on their devices that they don’t get out in the real world and experience new things? Read out and find how social media affects your relationship with someone. Relationships such as mean your boyfriend/girlfriend or your friends or even your family. Spend time with the people in your life because who knows if you might ever see them again. Be with the people in your life and not the people on social media they can wait.