Social And Social Impact On Social Media

The examiners randomly assigned participants to a control group (offline), exposure to a mirror (offline) and exposure to their social media profile page (online). Surveyors told all participants the study was designed to examine people’s attitudes about themselves after viewing different websites and told both offline groups that they were the control group. In the social media stimuli group, participants viewed their personal profile page for three minutes. The profile pages contained self-generated content. The mirror stimuli group viewed their reflection for three minutes. The control group viewed no stimuli. After the three minutes had elapsed, all participants completed a survey designed to measure self-esteem. To measure selective self-presentation, the examiners asked the online group if they left or edited their profile page. Compared to the control and mirror stimuli groups, participants exposed to their social media profile page reported higher levels of self-esteem. Individuals who viewed only their profile page reported greater self-esteem than individuals who also viewed other profile pages. Finally, participants who edited their profile page reported higher levels of self-esteem than those who did not. Gonzales notes that social media “is a unique source of self-awareness stimuli in that it enhances the awareness of the optimal self. Thus, the

Abrams focused on the damage social media can cause on our mental health. One study that she pointed to is by the UK Disability Charity Scope. They found that of 1500 Facebook and Twitter users “62 percent [of users] reported feeling inadequate and 60 percent reported feelings of jealousy from comparing themselves to other users” (Abrams). Another study that she also points to is one by researchers at the University of

Clarissa Silva article in the Huffington Post delves into social media’s impact on self-esteem. As a behavioral scientist, her interest in the matter relates to her field. She also gets the help of other experts Dr. Jennifer Rhodes, Natalia Lusinski, and Dr. Suzana Flores to help with her research. Silva states that “social media is linked to higher levels of loneliness, envy, anxiety, depression, narcissism and decreased social skills" (1). Then outlines her research findings using rhetorical appeals.

With the proliferation of technologies, especially the Internet, social networking has become ubiquitous in the modern world. Social networking tools like Facebook, Twitter, etc. are the impetus that is ever facilitating rapid creation and exchange of ideas to promote and aid communication. Humans interact by being social, therefore sociology analyses the changes in the social trend. Understanding the sociological perspective on the effects of social media, we find that the social aspect has changed. Comparing the past and present status of our society, it is obvious that there has been a transformation which all points towards the evolution of social media. Social media has changed our culture and has impacted on the way people meet, interact and share ideas; it has changed the perception of how people should communicate with the society. Social interactions have been defined to be an exchange among individuals with the aim of strengthening the society. Social interaction is building block in every society when people meet and interact; they define rules, systems, and institutions in which they will live by. On the other hand, social media is known as a platform that allows people to network and socialize through applications and websites that have been innovated. Though social media could be used as a useful tool to communicate with friends, family and even with people you do not know, however, researchers show that social media is absolutely harming human's skills to have

"The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel."(Alexa) The more you compare yourself to others, the more you will be negatively effected. An experiment conducted by Science Direct measured womens moods after browsing through social media for ten minutes. The scientists found social media use can put women in a more negative mood where they make more appearance comparisons, making them want to change their face, hair and skin. "According

In today’s world, technology is at its peak. However, there was a time when things were getting evolved and websites were created to connect and socialize. For example, Facebook was created with the intent of connecting with people, but it rather forced people to compare each other’s live, which made some people sad. It became successful, but not completely successful. Libby Copeland’s essay, “Is Facebook Making us Sad,” addresses a key factor in how Facebook makes us sad, according to research and some expert testimony. One key factor that I would like to address in the essay, how humans compare their lives with others on Facebook, making themselves lonely and sad.

Can the excessive use of social media, specifically Facebook, be seen as a form of narcissism? Editors Edwin E. Gantt and Brent Slife of Brigham Young University present two opposing opinions to explore this topic in their presentation, “Is Excessive Use of Social Media a Form of Narcissism?”. Could the oversharing, “duck face”, and look at me virtual world be a way to reach out to each other or just a shallow attempt at self-validation? Each article expresses the author’s views, and research on the subject.

These users complete the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965) and answer questions from four measures about their perceptions of Facebook. First, participants report the degree to α = .88) and connect with other people (3 items, α = .72); then they complete a 9-item measure (α = .87) of the perceived safety of self-disclosure on Facebook compared with in person interactions; finally, participants complete a 10-item measure (α = .93) concerning the advantages of disclosing on Facebook rather than in-person (Forest et al., 2012, pp.296-297). The authors analyze the given data and find out those participants with lower self-esteem view Facebook as a safer place to express themselves than do participants with higher self-esteem. The former are also more likely than the latter to believe that Facebook offers opportunities to connect with other people, to get support and attention, and to revealing their thoughts and feelings on Facebook over in person (Forest et al., 2012,

The purpose or hypothesis of this study addresses the anatomy of the Facebook network, communication behaviors and network composition, private messages and public communication, and the psychological implications of Facebook use.

There are two possible ways that the use of social networking sites can affect a person’s self esteem. According to a study conducted by Amy L. Gonzales and Jeffrey T. Hancock, Facebook helps amplify students’ level of self-esteem. They explained in their study that when people post something on their profile, they have the opportunity to filter the negative information that they would not like to be exposed, and only publicize the information that they consider as positive. By doing this, people can build an ideal image of themselves online, which consequently increase the level of their self-esteem (Gonzales and Hancock, 2011). On the other hand, the study conducted by The University of Gothenburg in Sweden, which

Social networking has risen in popularity throughout the last twenty years and in effect narcissistic behavior has increased within society(particularly America's society) since the 1980's(Jayson 1). Studies show that the greater an individual is inclined to narcissistic behavior; there is a resulting increase in their online social networking activity(Mehdizadeh 357). Social networking sites or “SNSs” are defined as: “A web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system”(Boyd, Ellison 1).

Social media has become a prominent part of life for many young people today. Most people engage with social media without stopping to think of its influence on our lives, whether positive or negative. What will the long term effects of today's social media use be for our youth? Social media has revolutionised how most of us communicate, especially regarding young people, even in the most remote Indigenous communities in Australia youth culture is being reshaped through digital technologies. Young people are provided with a range of positive opportunities to maintain social connections and support via online social networks as well as learning and participating with a multitude of interests. Along with these opportunities there are also risks associated with social media such as social isolation or loss of privacy as well as cyberbullying and self-esteem pressures. We need to develop the opportunities offered by digital and social media to promote learning and wellbeing for our youth that is inclusive of young people’s input and ideas.

Depression is another psychological toll that has been placed on young adults as an outcome of social media use. In fact “over a third (34%) of young people have felt depressed because of something they have seen on a social network site” [6]. Young people experience depression while looking at their peers’ social media profiles because of “the link between social networking and depression [which] is called the ‘social comparison’ theory” [5]. The social comparison theory asserts that individuals evaluate themselves by comparing themselves to their peers, using their peers as a benchmark to evaluate their own self worth [1]. These comparisons can be misleading when young adults look at their peers’ social networking profiles. One person may have 50 Facebook friends whom they personally know while their peer may have over 1,000 Facebook friends whom they randomly accept and request. When using the social comparison theory the peer with

With the widespread popularity of Facebook, people worldwide are becoming more involved online and this is changing the self-perception of many consumers. With social networking sites we are granted a feeling of validation and importance through how we interact online. Facebook is one platform that does this extremely well and this may be the reason why it has attracted (and kept) so many users. Facebook allows users to belong to certain “networks”, join “groups”, “like” interests, and share their thoughts with the world through status updates. These features all help users to feel validated by their friends and others whom they connect with. This is important because it facilitates what is known as self-categorization for the user. “Self-categorization theory focuses on the set of group norms that define

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