How Does Social Media Affect Communication

The introduction and the spread of the Internet have revolutionized the way individuals communicate and interact with each other. According to Van and Thomas, propagation of this medium of interaction or communication makes it unimaginable to remember that only a few decades back when people had to wait for days, weeks or even months to receive letters from their friends, relatives, or various agencies (3). Today, the internet has made communication quick and cost-effective for most of the people. The latest innovation or by-product from the web is social media. There are various social media platforms, which individuals find new friends, keep

Social media is defined as websites and applications used for social networking, in other words it is a way for people to interact and express themselves without being face to face. Social media has become a large part of the life of teenagers, who make up most of the population of people who are subjected to using social media in their daily lives. Many college students are faced with balancing their social lives with school and even athletics making priorities a big dilemma for them. College students in America are affected in many ways by social media whether it be their social life, their happiness, or their grades.

College student and the social media, in many ways both good and bad a college student can be affected by the social media. It can be an opportunity to prove how you really are as a person and potentially be accepted to college, or you can be denied admittance and lose the opportunity to study at the college you have been hoping for.

Social media is a variety of platforms provided to the public as a medium for expression and communication. Seemingly, social media could be viewed as a positive contribution to society, but one must consider the underlying effects of society. Many of us don’t take into account the role that social media plays in the way we perceive things, think, and live our lives. Social media plays a critical part in societal norms. “Social norms are rules of conduct that governs interactions among individuals within a reference group. Norm violations can often provoke disapproval and loss of esteem,” (Young, 2007). People seek approval or validation by their peers or other individuals in society; in effect, societal norms are generally abided by many individuals. “People want to be accepted by others in their social environment and often end up conforming to behaviors that they believe the majority holds as appropriate,”(Power, 2011). Often times societal norms create a strong scrutiny of individuals, which in turn can create poor body image, body dissatisfaction, and more. Poor body image and body dissatisfaction can be the basis for development of an eating disorder. “ The best known contributor to both clinical eating disorders and sub clinical cases of disordered eating is negative body image and high body dissatisfaction,”(NEDA). There are various types of eating disorders; “All feature serious disturbances in eating behaviors and weight regulation,” (Eating Disorders: More Than

Social media is a platform that has the ability to allow individuals from all over the world to connect to one another, and this has created an immense network for people to communicate with each other. Technology and social media have increased connectivity among people and this has lead to stronger relationships. Social media hasn’t hindered connectivity, it’s promoted it to another level, by allowing individuals to connect to people all over the world, making communicating easier, and helping maintain relationships,

Nowadays, Social Media plays a majority role in our daily life’s, seriously we can’t live without it. Before the digital age, socializing and networking weren’t as popular, but now Social Networking Sites and Digital Social Media platforms such as vine, Facebook and Instagram has officially brought a new era for socializing and networking. However, this doesn’t simplify that this is making a positive change within our society. Even though, Social networks can

Today, the term that many people know is social media. What people don’t know is when it was created and how it has evolved. Social media are websites and applications that allow many people across the world to create and share content or even get involved in social networking. According to the Article, “The History of Social Media: Social Networking Evolution” the birth of social media began in 1997 with a social media website called Six Degrees, then blogging and instant messaging were created thereafter. About one hundred million people became socially occupied on social media in the year 2000 (4). Many people were able to use the internet from their mobile device, computer, or other electronics. In 2004, Facebook was set for students only, but is now used by people all over the world (5). Today, social media has millions of platforms. Social media icons are seen everywhere and it’s unusual to see companies or stores without them (6). Social media has impacted many people since it was created, but some question if it has put either a negative or positive impact on society today.

Are we becoming less human with the passing of each day? Have we become too dependent on technology, specifically social media? In this day and age, people have different views on social media. They question its true purpose and its effect on society as a whole. With that said, although there are many thoughts concerning the topic/trend of social media something that is undoubtedly true is that social media plays an active role in the lives of the majority of people. Whether in a positive or negative way, social media influences the lives of all people. However this paper focuses on the effect of social media on college students. It addresses both the positive and negative effects of social media on those in college; focusing on a student’s academic efficiency, social interactive skills, and overall productivity.

In this article, Malcolm Gladwell argues that in a network were loose ties are prevalent and Hierarchy is just a word, social media could never give what social change will ask for. He starts off by recalling the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement, were groups of dedicated individuals challenged the status quo, with crucially, strategic activism that led to a true revolution. Mr. Gladwell illustrates that there are a few distinctions that show between traditional activism and social media. One being that social media is not a hierarchy, instead it is a network. Secondly, his more compelling argument that social media is built on “Weak –ties” which rarely will lead to the high-risk activism that is needed.

Wouldn’t you say that online social networking has changed the way society interacts with friends, family and perfect strangers. When someone exposes themselves to these sites, they open the door to allow these people into their lives. Some of them you would have passed on the street and not even thought of befriending. These people you have chosen to interact with, whether they are in your city, another state, another country or just someone you met online have now become a part of your circle. This form of communication will eventually turn their social interaction into non-existence. Social networking has a negative effect on society impacting physical interaction with people.

Social media and social networking seems to be play an imperative part in individuals lives around the world. Not only is it part of your everyday life, but it is also about of the workforce world as well. Many can debate whether social media is crippling or in fact improving our communication skills. Perhaps sitting behind a computer communicating with our family and friends seems to be getting easier. However, what happen to the days where one would have to pick up the phone and reach out to their family friends? Rather they now use Facebook, snapchat, email or even more popular with the millennials is sending a text message to say what they want to or to ask a question. Social media may be a fun to communicate of keep up with your

Is social media a hindrance to college students or is it an advantage to have on campus and in classes? This is a debate that has been on-going; ever since social media became a big part in the way college students communicate with each other in class and out. Yang and Brown propose that “social networking sites can be instrumental in maintaining existing relationships as well as establishing new social ties. Ellison et al. (2007,2011) found that it was common for college students to use Facebook to keep in touch with old friends and to learn more about classmates or people they met socially (404).” If we allow it, social media has the ability to positively affect the way we learn.

Since we as a society are currently living in the age known as the Technological Revolution, chances are that in some form or fashion you are aware of and have been exposed to social media. Well, imagine a world where the use of social media became more structured and used to improve education as opposed to just being used for keeping in touch with friends and family, sharing pictures, and seeing how many likes you can get per post. According to the Business Insider Intelligence Report of 2014, social media is now the top Internet activity in the world, Americans’ specifically “spend more time on social media than any other major Internet activity, including email” (Business Insider). Considering this information, it is obvious that social media plays a vital role and impacts the lives of our nation on a daily basis. Some argue that its impact can be negative and a distraction to the educational experience of the younger generation. Regardless of your personal opinion, what if educators were to work with the use of social media for educational purposes. Since it is highly used, it would not only gain the learner’s interest but also would reach more people at large. Therefore, we should learn to better utilize social media in a more constructive educational manner.

Society is constantly changing and will continue to change in the future. The change is predictable because people change their ideas, routines, and views frequently. One of the topics that is typically brought up when discussing the influences on how society is changing, is social networking. There are two sides to every story. One side of the effects of social networking is that it is beneficial to society by informing people on particular situations in the world and on current important events. The other side views social networking as dangerous and drama filled. While there are benefits and dangers to social networking's effects on society, I will argue that social networking has changed society more negatively than positively.

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.