Social Media Experience : The Rise Of Facebook

In his article, “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?” Stephen Marche argues that Facebook is the vital cause for loneliness and is luring people away from social capital. According to Marche, social networking isolates individuals and creates distance, mostly amongst family members. For some, it is not only isolation but rather social loneliness. The author claims that health can also be effected by loneliness. Nowadays, due to very little verbal person to person communication, he writes that people have never been so separated from one another because of social media. Facebook users, Marche argues, have an addiction to profoundly visit their account constantly leading to the feeling of loneliness and in most cases depression. The author claims that social networking, instead of demolishing isolation, is unknowingly spreading it. Ultimately, However, Stephen’s argument fails to convince due to his abundant false assumptions and the articles confusing organization.

Millenials enjoy having a good self image, but more importantly, being accepted by society. These people use Facebook, and other social media sites, to look important and gain self-esteem by getting as many likes as possible on a photo. These photos posted could create an unrealistic portrait of that person, argues Soraya Mehdizadeh, but could this also be a way for people to express their identity, counters Alex Lambert? Soraya Mehdizadeh and Alex Lambert argue their reasons for why or why not social media may be narcissistic. It is a controversial subject because it can be hard to tell if this so called narcissism is a social norm now or if it is simply narcissism in itself. It is under psychological discussion because some psychologists argue it could be a disorder due to the fact that some people may be obsessed with social media and promoting a positive self image, so others think highly of them. Throughout the articles, the pros and cons of social media are weighted, and it seems that social media facilitates narcissisms because millenial’s are so prone to using it and older people only use it to keep connections with friends.

In Stephen Marche’s article, “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?” points out many reasons to which social media is making us lonely. One reason why social media is making us lonely is because we are so focused on the internet and we forget what is going on around us. Another reason is because we can see how our friends on Facebook are having a great life and we become lonely because our life is not as interesting as theirs. Even though I disagree with the author’s conclusion that social media is making us lonely, there is ample evidence to support my belief that the internet can also be a tool for communication.

In her article “Social Media’s Impact on Self-Esteem” Clarissa Silva analyzes the effects of social media. She is able to show how disconnected people have gotten because of being online. Which is causing many to suffer from the paradox effect and vanity validation, that has also contributed to negative impacts in many relationships. Different sets of data are used as evidence, the percentage of peoples fear of missing out (FOMO) being a prime example. Social norms have shifted from face to face conversations to online discussions. Silva demonstrates how it plays a big role in self-esteem because of the decrease of social skills. She sheds light on the issue to decrease the irresponsible use of social media without knowing

In Stephen Marche’s article, Facebook is a reason people are becoming move lonely and standard. The relationship between technology and loneliness is strong. According to the article people who spend their time on devices and social network sights are finding themselves lacking in the ability to communicate in person. One effect that is brought up throughout the article is loneliness, in which is made the more often one drowns themselves in social media. Facebook in particular, is the

Firstly, there have been significant links between our online presence and other aspects of our mental health, which has inspired the subject matter of many recent research studies around the world. There are many psychological and physical factors that affect our mental well-being due to the impact of social media. Depression and Body Dysmorphia being the leading causes, due to the content the individuals are exposed to while online. Even though researchers coined the correlation between social media use and depression as complex. Data was collected from a sample of 340 first year college students, and the findings were that the increase use of Facebook have been associated with higher levels of loneliness. Also the extensive use of Facebook has been associated with higher rates of disordered eating and body image insecurity.

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.

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.

Throughout the years, numerous of researches are conducted to see the connections between social media (namely, Facebook) and narcissism. University of Michigan conducted a research to find the relationship between social media and narcissism. For the first part of the study, the researchers recruited approximately around 486 college undergraduate students with the median age of 19. Meanwhile, 93 adults, mostly white females, with an age mean of 35 years old, were asked by the researchers to complete an online survey for the second part of the study. Participants have to answer questions about their social media use and a personality assessment to measure their level of narcissism (Swanbrow, 2013). Based on the results obtained, Facebook users that scores higher on the personality test tend to have more friends, tag themselves more often in photos posted and update their status more often (Firestone, 2012,

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).

Some say people who use social networking sites are prone to social isolation. Despite opposition, I am convinced that social networking helps people who are shy and socially isolated to connect with other people. This concludes that social networking can help people who have low self esteem other than lowering their self-esteem any more.Although many argue that social networking can exacerbate feelings of disconnect and put children at higher risk for depression, low self-esteem and eating disorders,I believe otherwise. According to my research, I have found that more than 25% of teens report that social makes them feel less shy, 28% feel more outgoing, 20% report feeling more confident,in which 53% of teens were identified as being shy (5 Boroughs). This means that social networking brings out a better person in most, and makes them feel better about themselves other than feeling bad inside.

Social Media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube are web-based activities that provide individuals access to build a public or a semi-public profile within a confined system, connect and find users that they share a connection with as well as view and navigate the list of connections that are made by other participants of the systems (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). Social media is widely used by young adults contributing to about 84% of the total usage (Smith, 2011). Some of the popular reasons for widespread use of social media are staying in touch with near and dear ones especially with friends and family, making new friends, following famous politicians and celebrities and also in search of potential relationships (Smith, 2011). However as the use of social media becomes more widespread, we cannot help but express concerns over the effects that social media usage may have on our behavior. Over the past couple of decades, research has strongly linked social media usage with negative behavioral outcomes and is known to affect one’s overall well-being. This essay will begin by discussing some of the behavioral issues that result from social media usage, followed by criticisms of this argument. The recommendation will then highlight some ways by which the behavioural problems could be dealt with, acknowledging that self-monitoring and self-regulation are the main ways to tackle the issue.

Narcissism is often perceived as any other disorder, employing too much of something; committing excessive amount of time on the internet. However, narcissism disorder is not merely a problem of unmoderated usage, rather it’s the illusion of perceiving reality in false lens architected by vanity and superficial relationships over social media. In Dr. L.D Rosen publication titled Is Facebook creating iDisorders? The link between clinical symptoms of psychiatric disorders and technology use, attitudes and anxiety, Rosen stated “younger generations… born in the 1990s…show a strong urge to report their activities and believe that their social media audience cares about them, two symptoms central to the diagnostic criteria of narcissistic personality disorder” (Rosen 1244). Rosen statement offers a new insight to the effects of extreme social media behaviors on narcissism. Through her work as a social psychologist, Rosen has discovered surprising new information about social disorder. Instead of seeing technology itself as the problem, Rosen thinks, the problem is located "in the relationship between what takes place on screen and off in someone’s ability to shift frames or genres (Rosen 1243)." Rosen

As technology progress, humans evolve to the advanced technology and enhance our lives via technology. We connect to our families, friends and others through social media such as Facebook. Social media takes up a huge part in our lives. Social media infest us with information that are relevant and irrelevant to us. Marry Marrow wrote, “It was Facebook that changed the face of e-communication; in fact, it was the first electronic social media” (para 1). She assumes that Facebook is playing a huge role in electronic communication. In the journalist Maria Konnikova, “How Facebook makes us unhappy?”, Konnikova divulges many aspects of people on social media through researching and experience, and finds how social makes us unhappy. I agree with Konnikova findings after reading her article. In addition, she concludes that if you are engaged, active, and creative you will not sorrowful on Social media, however if you are passively browsing and defuse to engage, you will be depressed.

In the age of information and technology, we are connected to our family, friends, and strangers in an instant through social media. As a result of being easily connected, we are becoming disconnected with each other socially and then disconnected to ourselves emotionally. We got so wrapped up in our Facebook wall that it increases our levels of narcissism. Stephen Marche blames this incline in loneliness to Facebook. Marche’s use of the life of Yvette Vickers, and of statistics, persuades the audience that Facebook is connecting us socially, but disconnecting us from ourselves.