Social Networking and Effects on Society

Social media has become deeply embedded as a part of today’s American culture and lifestyles, changing the way people interact and communicate with one another. Americans use social media every day; to not only communicate, but to express themselves. These online media sites and blogs serve as entertainment for its users and give them a sense of a social life if they do not already have one. Some users become so obsessed with their online lives that they lose the ability to successfully communicate with people in real life. Their craving for the use of social media becomes an addiction to where they can spend countless hours on their social sites. Facebook, a popular social media cite, has been proven to cause Facebook Depression, a sickness in which a person is emotionally depressed and in self denial. Studies have shown that sites such as Facebook, are a direct link to an individual’s physical and emotional well being.

First, social networking removes a lot of face-to-face interaction among individuals. This effectively creates less social beings that rely on social networking for communication and are less competent when it comes to in-person interaction. Social networking also allows for a sense of anonymity, which creates reckless morals and gives people the ability to say harmful things with no consequence. Finally, social networking is a major distraction and a huge waste of time. Children and adults often opt to spend their time on social networking sites rather than being productive members of society. These problems continue to get worse and will escalate if they are not addressed and solved immediately

Social Networking also tends to take away from experiencing personal in person interactions. For example, in the bar scene instead of walking up to somebody that you find attractive, all you have to do is go on one of the many hookup apps out there and message anybody that you see near you and that is basically how social interactions take place in today’s society. With popular hook up apps such as Grindr and Jackd that allows on the go access and minute by minute updates that let the user have the ability to see dozens of local men who are searching for sex.

We really do not know who we are befriending on the net or the people we chose to date online. The fact that we talk to these people online and see their status updates does not mean we know then truly. These people make up facts about themselves and we can’t even see or sense. What we should know is that “all sociopaths are different, some wait for the perfect prey, others simply target someone that has previously been victimized and is vulnerable, or lonely” (Online). One thing sociopaths know how to do is sniff out trust from others and it is easier done on the internet because you can't see them, so it's a double win for them because it takes less hassle. Because you give them all the ammunition they need in your profile it because easy for them to spot their next target or should I say victim. They know your hobbies and interests, things that are important to you therefore they rewrite their own profile to match yours making them seem like the perfect partner or friend because both of you are interested is almost the exact same things. (Online). Remember they are sociopaths the goal is to lure you in so you can lose control and trust them completely. If its seems too good to be true then it most likely not

According to Syde Noman Ali, “Extreme usage of social media has reduced the level of human interaction. Besides of social networks the interaction with others has become effortless and people have isolated their lives behind their online identities.” What Syde Noman Ali actually means is that many do not maneuver the social media to interact with others; they spend hours online wasting their time. She means that many elude face to face communication. Meetings are evaded for the fact that they can now just email what they have to say. It also is an unacceptable influence in our lives because humans isolate themselves from those around. Being too much on social sites can get addicted to the point where everyone is separating from the entire world. They fall into depression and don't seek for assistant. Social media relationships can contain a positive effect on us yet it can also cause depression, social isolation, insecurity and poor self-esteem.

However, constant connections to the social media can impact real life relationships positively. Companies use virtual meetings to save time and money on traveling expenses. Politics reaches out towards social media to gain popularity and persuades young adults to vote. Communicating with strangers can improve confidence towards introverts are comfortable to become outgoing. From my personal experience, before I joined Facebook talking to strangers was a personal hassle, and worry too much about the simplest actions.

In recent years, the world has changed by modern technological developments. People in these days are living real revolution and changes that affect in somehow their life. Social media has contributed to link parts of this wide world to each other, and paved the way for all people exchange views and ideas. In addition, social media sites are considered the most widespread on the Internet because of its characteristics that made it different from other websites. Because of social media, people has become living in small town. They do not need to travel in order to getting informations or news. Social media has created easier way to achieve communication between individuals and groups.Social media websites, such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace , High Five, Tagged and YouTube have allowed people to exchange video clips, photos, share files and perform immediate talks and direct communication and interaction between the audience. Despite of advantages of social media that offer to its users, there are some disadvantages that may overcome those advantages. There are a lot of severe criticisms that social media faced because of its negative impact on individuals, families and society. Steal information, break the personal privacy, wasting a lot of time and isolation from people are some of problems that people have faced because of social media. People have divided into two group toward this issue. Some people think that social media has contributed to make their life better.

According to Cheryl L. Coyle & Heather Vaughn (2008) in their article Social networking: Communication revolution or evolution? suggests that social networking is scrutinized as a “configuration” of people connecting with one another based upon “interpersonal” factors. These sites exist due to people needing to be social butterflies and that the human race is dependent on interactions with others to survive. Furthermore, a researcher discusses that “technology-mediated communication fosters connected presence” and is a direct link to the failing face-to-face connection with peers (pg. 1).

Technology has grown tremendously over the last years. This growth has brought with it different ways that individuals can use to communicate and keep in touch with each other. Social networking is one technology that has allowed people to share, keep in touch, and communicate. Social networking has also had an effect on business, society, and politics. It has been adapted and embraced quite quickly, which has brought numerous changes to the world. Unfortunately, not all these changes are for the better. There is little research regarding the effects that social networking is having on human relationships. People have been denied the opportunity to have meaningful social interactions with each other. Social networking has removed the need for physical interaction between people ADDIN EN.CITE Phillipson2004276(Phillipson, Allan and Morgan)2762766Phillipson, C.Allan, G.A.Morgan, D.H.J.Social Networks and Social Exclusion: Sociological and Policy Perspectives2004110 Cherry StreetAshgate9780754634294http://books.google.co.ke/books?id=hBaxP_FnB8wC( HYPERLINK l "_ENREF_3" o "Phillipson, 2004 #276" Phillipson, Allan and Morgan). People are now communicating more on social networks that they do in person. There is also the potential of people pretending whom they are on social networks. This would make them seem popular and interactive, though this is not the case in real life. It is clear that social networking has contributed

Social media has become a huge factor now in everyone’s life. Social media has made an impact in society in both negative and positive ways. A lot of teen and even adults have developed depression because of social media. Social media has set the standards very high for everyone to fit in because people are judged. Not even that but people have started to live in such a bubble because they are so envious of someone else’s life or want their life to be like someone else’s. It makes people so concerned of what they look like, how they speak, even express themselves feel bad if they do not meet the standards of how people accept on another. There has been research done to support this claim. It can be said that people that use social media encounter a decontrol of emotions and it increases the chances of getting depression. The people that are constantly on social media are more likely to have more serious causes of depression. If people stop using social media it will lower depression.

People live in a world today where most communication takes place through a technological mediator. One of the most common forms of these mediators is social media. According to an article by Patricia Reaney, 62% of the population of 26 countries, including; the United States of America, Russia, Japan, Indonesia, and South Africa use social media. That means that more than half of everyone in some of the biggest countries in the world uses social media. The United States alone has over 300 million people, 62% of that being 186 million people. Anything that is part of the livelihood of that many people should be looked farther into for any hidden dangers or benefits. How does this much impersonal conversation affect what people’s real world interactions are? How does it change their mental thought processes? From message boards and private Skype calls to public posts and forums, how do all of these affect everyone? There is no inherent good or bad to social media’s affect on everyone, it is purely situational and what people themselves make it to be.

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.

In modern times, technological advancement has greatly improved the social benefits within society. A vastly growing percentage of young people across America are growing more proficient in using the internet for communication across their country to international regions. In the year 2009, a national survey was conducted for individuals between the ages of eight to eighteen years, where the average time adolescents spent on any form of social media was more than 7.5 hours of a day. Once the average time of multitasking was calculated, such as listening to music and web surfing, the overall average time amounted to 10 hours and 45 minutes. (Brown & Bobkowski 2011)

Magazines and advertisements are full of beautiful women that do not appear to have a single flaw. These women are constantly portrayed to be popular, happy, and have it all together. Many adolescents viewing these ads or reading these magazines are constantly comparing themselves to these women. It feels almost impossible to be just like these models. This is most likely a result of these women being airbrushed and enhanced to appear to be exceptionally more flawless than they actually are. The standard of body shape that the media presents influences how people view themselves, and can possibly lead to long term health issues.

Social networking (the use of websites to interact with people) has dramatically changed the way society communicates, all within in a period of 20 years. What used to take weeks can now be done in a matter of seconds. Essentially all limitations as to whom a person can talk to, even if that person lives thousands of miles overseas, have been demolished. Social networking has fashioned a more convenient and controversial life for those who have access.