Social Media And Its Impact On Society

In a twenty-four-hour day, internet users will have communicated online at least once whether it is writing to a classmate on a message board, posting pictures on Instagram, or responding to colleges via email. It is possible that a different username and identity are used for each of these online communications, each username constituting, in effect, a separate “personality.” These online personalities may be a part of one’s authentic self or a separate identity altogether. In The Times article, "Internet 'trolls' ignore social rules: Expert: Online disinhibition effect means many people feel invincible online," the anonymous author states, “This is your brain in cyberspace: while in warp-speed from forum to

With so many people posting to social media what makes one individual stand out against the rest? There is always the chance that one doesn’t get the job they are looking for. All that time and effort that individual put into creating their image online reaped no reward, no money, and no health insurance. Regardless if one gets the desired job or not they have to look at everything it asks of them. Posting about everything and anything one does in a day takes a toll on one’s personal life. Sharing intimate details with sometimes millions of followers comes with risks. There starts to be a lack of privacy once one posts about every meal they make and every time they have a family get together. Still many are lured into this vicious cycle with the promise that someday they will have all the fame and fortune one could want.

Social media can be seen from completely different aspects and points of views. A major role in these different opinions plays mostly the age of the beholder, because social media made an enormous change in the last 50 years. One very important aspect in our today’s society is to get as many information as possible in a very short time period ("Impacts of social media”) Through social media and especially social networks such as twitter and Facebook, the information gets spread extremely fast. There are for example reporters who search on those networks to get information for their news and articles. (“Impacts

Social media are the online means of communication, conveyance, collaboration, and cultivation among interconnected and interdependent networks of people, communities, and organizations enhanced by technological capabilities and mobility. Like traditional media, social media include several channels, and within each channel there are specific vehicles. (Solomon 2013,25)

This is where the freedom of speech the internet allows comes into full practise, the abundant unregulated content of the internet as no limit. The internet has evolved to give people this sense of freedom, which inevitably results in abuse.. This is perfectly explained by David Gauntlett’s Web 2.0 theory. Web 2.0 has enabled all kinds of people to be creative, to share the things they've made, and to collaborate with others. Gauntlett argued that Web 2.0 as allowed us to become our own producers and create our own identities and even influence other people just as celebrities do. A great example of this is the story of Justin Beiber, a now worldwide superstar followed by many, started by using the web 2.0 to the fullest by regularly posting creative videos of himself on YouTube, another powerful mass media median. The freedom allowed by web 2.0 allowed him to reach an audience without strong support from television and radio. This lifted him to superstar status. Take for example the twitter accounts of such a celebrity like Justin Beiber, who is effortlessly portraying a persona of a super loved mega star on twitter by having over 37 million followers, however new research claims out of his 37.3 million followers, only 17.8 million are linked to real accounts. The website Socialbakers found 47% of the singer's followers on Twitter were genuine fans.

In 2006, Megan Meier, a Missouri teen, committed suicide after a fake account made by an adult male befriended her on Facebook, initiated a relationship, and broke up with her (Hawkins). There are many cases similar to this where people change their identity online to accomplish goals. Megan was involved in a “Catfish” where the befriended profile formed a relationship under a false name. These are possibly the most common crime when it comes to changing your identity. There is even

While many people put off and ignore the issue of social media and its downfalls, others say that people should think about how our lives are being affected by this advancement in technology, including, lack of human contact and precious time being lost due to consumption with social media. Social media is currently a highly controversial topic in which numerous people have mixed feelings. Society has typically viewed new advancements in technology as beneficial and a sign of success within their country. But, has it solely caused successful outcomes, or are there downfalls to these advancements?

Premise 1: You have easy access to social media nowadays with it being on phones, laptops, and tablets makes it easy for people to access and get involved in things that may later lead to trouble.

Social media is any website that allows social interaction. Social media is growing rapidly throughout the world. More adults and teenagers are joining sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter to interact with friends, family, and strangers. The introduction of social media has changed the world in many ways. It affects each individual in different ways. Today it can be used as a very helpful tool in changing a person’s life, but at the same time cause such conflicts which can negatively impact a person. While there are some negatives associated with social media, the positives in communication all around, has made the world stronger and a better place to live in.

Social media can be defined as websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or participate in social networking. As a phenomenon of only the past couple of decades, it has certainly changed the way we live our everyday lives. Whether socially or professionally, it opens the door to incredible amounts of information; most of which is freely shared.

Everybody who is anybody has a vast majority of social networking sites where all their fans and followers can see what they are doing, seeing and thinking whenever they post. This is why it comes as no surprise that the nation’s youth is so involved with social media and making sure they stay up-to-date with the latest and greatest social networking sites. Many times famous people will have multiple accounts made in their names across a plethora of social networking sites making it difficult to distinguish whether the information that is being released is in fact the truth or just outright falsified. Even though this may sometimes be the case with our youth they still want to be just like the stars, making sure that everyone can keep tabs on them and know exactly what they are doing at any given moment in time. Not that it is always something that everyone may want to know, but a certain individuals close friends may want to have that as a way to keep in touch when it is not always practical to contact that friend by other means.

The term ‘social media’ has become a broad-term to describe a large number of online systems that serve as a platform for the generation, and distribution of user-generated content. Social media creates a virtual social space, where a large number of users come together and interact with one another. These interactions can be either structured, such as responses that are moderated on blogs, semi-structured, such as a discussion between an extended network on Facebook, or unstructured, such as the anarchial functioning of Twitter.

Social media. We have all heard of it. We have all raved about it at some point in our lives. There is no doubt; it plays an imperative part of people’s lives today – users are reliant on social media. It is great that Mark Zuckerberg reminds us to say, “Happy Birthday” to our friends. Yet, we have all seen the dangers it can cause. From identity fraud to cyberbullying - we become exposed to the dangers of the internet. Not only is it hackers and frauds that cause destruction, but social networking posts. Every day, you scroll through Facebook, or Instagram - liking, sharing and commenting on posts. What people don’t see is how words on a ‘status’ or ‘tweet’ can hurt someone. They can’t see that a person’s feelings behind the screens on a computer have been destroyed, because they can’t see what they don’t want to see.

The online world is often referred to as a virtual stage, a theatre. This is why it is believed that, “social media surely change[s] identity performance” (Jurgenson). Opening and being active on multiple accounts is like putting together a whole showcase with each account being a separate performance. Those of us who are connected to the online world are, “aware of being an object in others’ eyes” (Jurgenson). Because people know that they are always being watched, they are predictable; their online behavior is scripted in the way that they might either want to look their absolute best in front of the world’s eyes or they might hide certain aspects of their lives. This paranoia is said to, “provide a very real disconnection from the real”

There are dangers of online communication such as social networks where users can lie about who they are [4]“Megan thought she was being abused by 16-year-old Josh Evans, she was actually talking to Lori Drew, the 49-year-old mother of one of her former friends who, it is alleged, had set up a fake profile to taunt Megan.” in social networking sites it is very easy for people to