Social Networking : The Negative Effects Of Social Media

According to the Pew Research Center, “41% of social media-users have experienced at least one negative outcome as a result of using a social networking site.” In this article, Norton uses logos, pathos, and ethos to explain his standpoint to his audience. Logos are used when Norton brings up the legal issues of social media such as privacy concerns. Bringing the reader into Norton’s own personal experiences of abuse and name-calling uses pathos. Finally, ethos are used indirectly in the article due to the fact that Norton is a writer and has experience with social networking and the negative impact it can have. Norton uses logos, pathos, and ethos by establishing evidence and logical points in his article to persuade his audience against using social networking.

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are commonly used among the younger generations, but can the excessive use of these apps cause mayhem? According to a new study conducted by the Family Technology Education Non-Profit Group, teenagers are spending nearly 9 hours a day on social media. The excessive use of social media is a bad influence on adolescents because of the negative impacts it has. Social media can cause direct impacts to the mental health, safety, and lives of its users. Teenagers need to ensure that they are being cautious and responsible while using different social media networks.

73% of teenagers use what seems to be harmless, social media. Although it’s main function is to provide online communities for friends to interact on the internet, social media is a direct link to developing mental illnesses. Mental health is a very important issue, especially in the millennial generation, because it can impact a life drastically. Mental well-being is at risk when using social media because it flaunts what society considers “perfection” to be, can become easily addictive and social net workings can be a hostile environment. All of these issues that are promoted by social media or that exists there can seriously deteriorate mental health and drive illnesses forward.

Social media has become a part of our life, and no one can imagine living without it. Social media has grown a lot over the several years. Young individuals have always thought that social media is a marvelous piece of technology, but they never think about the negative effects of ‘like’ culture, which contributes to conformity and other negative consequences. The article, The Insidious Evils of ‘Like’ Culture, written by Neil Strauss, tells us about to what people can go to get more “likes.”

One in 12 high school students has attempted suicide in the past year due to social media (Rosen 2). The problem with social media is that, it's causing changes in eating and sleeping habits (Rosen 4). Depression is also taking a major role in this negativity (Rosen 3). Social media is said to be the leading cause of depression and anxiety (Ring 1). Teens are being diagnosed with disorders due to social media (Rosen 3). 10,000 adolescents showed that almost 1 in 3 teens have an anxiety disorder (Ring 1). Social media is destroying teens

Social media seems to be one of the many hot topics of discussion recently, and consequently many people have the false sense of security that they have a profound knowledge on how it affects the health of the teenage population. A sedentary lifestyle, decreased sleep, as well as other physical health conditions seem to come to mind when one links health and social media. However, there is a much bigger problem that can go unnoticed because it can be impossible to see: the impact it has on mental and emotional health. These branches of health are just as important, and even arguably more important than physical health is. Social media can be utilized to connect with distant friends and express oneself; however, teenagers should refrain from the overuse of social media due to its detrimental effects on their mental and emotional health.

Growing up in the age of internet and being millennials, social media is as natural to the people of today as breathing or drinking water. Social media is a “series of websites and applications that have been designed to allow people to share content and communicate with each other quickly and efficiently” (“What is Social Media, 2017). A few people have a more confined perspective of social media likening it to mean the same as social networking on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others. The power of social media is such that, the number of people using it worldwide is expected to reach 2.95 billion by 2020, which is a third of the world’s entire population (Facts, 2017). Social media has been described as being more addictive than even cigarettes and alcohol because it has entered so deeply into the lives of young people that it is almost impossible to stop using it every day (Winefield, Gill, Taylor & Pilkington, 2017). Today, social media can serve as a helping tool in changing a person’s life but at the same time it could also lead to a conflict which might have a negative impact on a person. As summarized by Huppert “Psychological well-being is all about the lives going well. It is a dual combination of feeling good and functioning effectively” (2009, p.137). Social media affects our psychological well-being in many different ways, both positively and negatively. Due to the broad nature of this topic, this essay will focus equally on both the pros and cons

Scientists as well as prominent Facebook associates and employees are questioning whether or not it’s remotely possible for social media to ever fade away. The question is just as valid as a challenge to early suggestions some ten years ago or less that social media would merely be a fad. They question this, though, only because they fear that it might be best for everyone if an end to the social media era did come to fruition because of the litany of adverse effects it’s been proven to have on people. New research finds that children as young as 10 years old fit the psychological profile for addicts with regard to social media and that their happiness directly correlates with how many likes they get.

Social media has impacted society in countless ways. It's a convenient tool to use when sharing ideas or speaking to friends and family. Social media allows individuals to grasp information and current issues that are going on across the world. Generation X and Baby Boomers see social media as an alternative for their kids to stay home from the dangers that they may encounter outside. However it can become problematic and cause severe consequences. An unfavorable post can cause an individual to take their life.

Even though social media allows social interactions between family and friends most believe that it should keep them from feeling depressed. Without thinking about this American dream, they paint for families and friends, think realistically most families are waiting for you to mess up or fail in life and being associated with you on social media is just a way for them to keep up with you. Social media has been becoming more useful; it's been changing a lot of families in a very negative way (Medrano 1). This proves that since social media had been made into a big deal today its ruining almost everything and everyone that is associated with it. Even though it can be used to keep in touch it’s terrible because it causes stress on people by making them believe everything they post must be perfect or their family member will talk badly about them. It also keeps competition between friends and that just ruin their relationship maybe even be the cause of those friends never talking again. Watching other family member and friend’s social media account can make someone feel less of person or make them feel like they didn’t accomplish enough because the other is posting so much successful stuff. Following those family and friends on social media brings nothing but headaches and depression.

Modern society is in grave danger because of the media. Different forms of media have emerged over time, including newspaper, books, radio, television, and now the internet. Numerous studies have proven a link between poor self-image and the media, and this trend has worsened with time. It seems the more access individuals have to the rest of the world, the more self-obsessed they become, and the results can be deadly. Many psychologists have discovered a connection between media (social media primarily) and one’s self-image. Unfortunately, this connection is often a negative one, as social media has been claimed to be “more addictive than alcohol or tobacco” (Fox, para 1). There are several factors that contribute to this trend of social media negatively impacting body image, many of which are scientific and should potentially be treated as a disease like other addictions are. Society’s “ideal image” of an individual has evolved as social media has become increasingly popular, which is damaging individuals’ self-images and causing body dysmorphia in some cases. Social media and exposure to other factors such as reality television should be limited in order to prevent unrealistic body images.

“People are spending 1 out of every 7 minutes on Facebook when online. Facebook users typically are spending 10.5 billion minutes (almost 20,000 years) on the social network. And, that’s excluding mobile devices.” This clearly demonstrates the problem with our society, the ease at which we fall blindly into the influence of our surroundings, in specific social media. According to Merriam-Webster, social media is “forms of electronic communication (such as websites for social networking and micro blogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (such as videos)”. Social Media platforms have become such a powerful and dominating advancement to human culture, that as a society we have become oblivious to its ramifications. Social media has impacted us negatively through the obstruction of our social capabilities, and is destructive to an individual’s mental health/behavior. This detriment can be therefore prevented if we become aware of these consequences, and continue to progress with a depth in comprehension, allowing for the control of ones growth.

With the emergence of Facebook, the way people communicate with each other changed forever. A social network allowing users to share the events of their lives through posting photos and status updates, to monitor the lives of their friends, and to communicate directly via a built-in messenger has revolutionized Internet communication, causing millions of people all over the world to share all kinds of information about themselves. There were, of course, other social networks before Facebook, but none of them garnered such a significant user base, remained as persistent, and continued to act as an effective form of communication as much as Facebook did. Along with Facebook, currently there are many other social networks, each with their own features and purposes; what unites them all, though, is the idea of sharing. Seemingly, this should positively impact the communication skills of users, since it allows communication even for people far away from each other, or who are unable to communicate live. However, there have been numerous research studies proving the opposite: social media platforms not only impair a user’s ability to share thoughts, but distort communication processes, creating more problems than they solve.

Growing up in the age of internet and being millennials, social media is as natural to the people of today as breathing or drinking water. Social media is a “series of websites and applications that have been designed to allow people to share content and communicate with each other quickly and efficiently” (“What is Social Media, 2017). A few people have a more confined perspective of social media likening it to mean the same as interacting on sites like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and others. The power of social media is such that, the number of people using it worldwide is expected to reach 2.95 billion by 2020, which is a third of the world’s entire population (Facts, 2017). Social media has been described as being more addictive

Todays teenager spends nearly nine hours a day absorbing social media. From smartphones to laptops teenagers can access any form of social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Snapchat. Spending about one-third of their day browsing the internet it has changed teenagers behaviours and viewpoints. Narcissistic personality disorders have emerged as technology has improved leading to the absorption of teens time. The use of social media has led to an increase in cyberbullying affecting teens mental progress. From the effects of these social media networks, teens are becoming more depressed and in particular, Facebook depression has become a new disease. Social media is the leading cause of many mental health issues for