The Importance of Limiting One's Use of Online Social Media

For years and years, the internet has progressed so much. So much that communication and our lifestyles have reached a whole new level. One of the many revolutionary inventions is called social networking sites or social media. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and many more, are where people gather on the internet, create a personalized profile about themselves, and interact with other people around the world. Social media can help contact friends, family, and other people long distance. However, our priorities have completely changed to “life isn’t measured by the number of breaths you take, but by how many likes you get on Instagram.” With social media, people seem to lose touch from reality. This whole “me, me , me”

Social media has consumed our society. 47% of American adults used social networking sites in 2011 like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter; up from 26% in 2008(quoted from procon.org) the aspects of social media both have a positive and negative impact on life. Social networking sites promote interaction with distant family and friends. Social networking sites can demonstrate opportunities to strengthen existing relationships and to develop new friendships as well. The downfall of social media sites prevent less face to face communication. Also, social media has been known to be more likely to spread false, and even potentially dangerous information. Questions come about quite often about social networking sites, and if they are good for our society. As a member of our society social networking can have a positive influence in school, relationships, promoting business, and self-expression. While others may view social media as a negative influence, for me, the issue hinges on how social networking sites are being used and displayed accordingly.

Social media and social networking sites are undoubtedly a large part of youth’s lives, and growing rapidly throughout generations and cultures. Between the significant number of Facebook users and millions of Instagrammers, it’s reasonable to conclude that these technological advances play a role in shaping my generation and future generation’s lives. Whether it’s decreasing quality time, creating a façade of our lives, or, enticing potential danger-social media gets a bad rap. There is confusion proceeding the implications that social media has in

Within recent years the Internet and computer technology have made great advancements, allowing for the age of social media to be born and subsequently shaped into what it is today. Social media has become so largely desirable to modern day society due to its large and easy accessibility amongst citizens. However, social networking sites such as Facebook have been found to have negative impacts on individual’s social and psychological well being including things such as basic empathetic social skills1 (Chan 2014). Social awareness and the ability to communicate with one another makes up the crux of what it means to have social well-being. However, through the often anti social aspect of social media, physiological issues and issues of social well-being are being brought to light through research and studies investigating the truly negative effects of social media. Some of the risk that are highlighted through research into the effects of social media includes the risks of addiction, ‘Facebook depression’, ‘sexting’, cyber bullying and online harassments as well as associated privacy risks of all forms of social media2 (O’Keefe 2011).

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.

Today, social networking is a popular way of communicating with family and friends all around the world. It is among the top communication methods, even surpassing the telephone. Although for a lot of people social networking is a positive thing, it comes with many risks. Social media’s apparent advancements may cause harm to an individual in many ways: including loss of privacy, cyber bullying, as well as distraction. In the past there were party lines, which not many people remember, but social networking has many similarities to these party lines. Individuals who use social networking must be aware that what they say is available to the public, and the whole world is watching due to these advancements in technology. Just like those old party lines: everyone can see what is being said.

Social networking sites are largely used all across the globe. Being more accessible and reasonable, people rely on these sources to stay connected with their kiths and kins. Today, social networking sites have become a bandwagon, turning all other sources of media obsolete, as they are easy on the pocketbook and give freedom of speech to express one’s views. But, think about the negative impacts which social networking sites impose on children and adults. As everything has pros and cons, so do these websites – they affect people from all walks of life as they are always at hand. Although we might not acknowledge the fact that they tend to affect our lifestyle, but they certainly do, directly or indirectly. This essay topic discusses the

The invention of social media has changed how cultures define social interaction and community. Modern society has evolved from closed communities to more open and impersonal groupings because of socializing through technology. The membership of community in modern society is much more flexible, freer from personal allegiances, and relations tend to be more impersonal, as social status and interactions are determined by functional considerations instead of geographic location (Memmi, 2014). There is a very good chance that people on social media have either friends or followers that they have in fact never met and never will meet face-to-face. Because of this, people are relying less and less on personal relationships in the world that physically surrounds them and more and more on the relationships they form over the Internet. People have learned that they can portray themselves in any way they want which helps them to feel empowered and superficially better about themselves. However, this type of social interaction generally leads to greater feelings of overall

Relationships are put on the line due to social media. The Pew Research Center says that overall reports have shown that “young adults are more likely to report tension in their relationships over technology use” while just “one in ten online adults 65 and older say the same” (Lenhart & Duggan). A girl will not have a good first impression if a guy is on his phone the whole time while on their first date or vice versa. Family relationships and trust will have a hard time growing if a parent communicates with their child or a child lets their parent know something through social media. Words are exchanged that normally would not be exchanged in person. Since social media is at our fingertips, it is easy to “write impulsively and based on emotions which may be temporary” (Siegel). Soon, what was once our personal life

Have you ever had someone run into you while you were walking down the street in the mall or in the hallway only to notice them have their face buried in their phone? It has happened to all of us. In 2019, it is estimated that there will be around 2.77 billion social media users around the globe, up from 2.46 billion in 2017. Social media is quickly beginning to take over the lives of people, especially teenagers. There are many different types of social media platforms that display what people are doing, where they are and basically their entire life is being advertised to people all around the world. Social media is impacting people in many ways which include, their privacy, cyberbullying and their mental health and social skills.

Most of us use social media to communicate with our family, friends and our loved once. Since almost all of my friends live 8000 mile away, I use Facebook, Instagram, and viber to keep in touch with them. Bur recently I started noticing it has become more than a means of communication. I start posting a picture and obsesses about how many likes I get, checking other peoples Facebook just to see if they have more friends than me, believing every post without questioning if it’s a fact and funny enough I start sending friend request for people I don’t even know. Christine Rosen, a senior editor of the New Atlantis and resident fellow at the Ethics and Public policy Center in Wessington, D.C. on “In the Beginning Was the World”, she wrote how technology is affecting the society’s critical reading ability. Peggy Orenstein, an author and a contributing writer for the New York Times, on “I Tweet, Therefore I Am” she talks about how social media is distracting as from fully live in the moment. Even though the development of technology have increased the quality of life, it also brought undeniable challenges to our society. The constant use of social media and internet has increase society attention-seeking, Distracted, and decries critical reading. The use of social media has increased dramatically throughout the years.

In the world today, we as a society have contoured our lifestyle in order to grow more accepting of socialized platforms. With the simple help of different networking tools and various applications, people have been able to develop an online persona. The way one presents themselves through social media may differ from how they are portrayed in a public setting. Internet sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have acted as a tool for self-expression and individuality. Although social media has proven to be very effective, it has also condoned a more detached and artificial lifestyle for some. Through the use of social media, people have grown more insecure, distracted, and have worsened their social anxiety.

The use of social media sites has increased with this generation of teens and young adults. These sites have become even more accessible to people now more than ever with the use of smartphones and tablets. Most social media is made with good intentions, from reuniting with old friends or keeping up with distant relatives. But as the saying goes, too much of a good thing can be bad for a person. Social media has opened up many beneficial avenues and opportunities for this generation to enjoy that weren’t there before, such as staying connected with friends or raising awareness for social causes like the ALS ice bucket challenge. As much as social media can benefit us, though, the misuse of it can have a negative impact on different aspects of someone’s life, including health, social interactions, and employment.

More recently than in years past, digital technology and social media have grown to become a part of our everyday lives. The recent rise in those who own smartphones allows this everyday use of digital technology and social networking to be easier than ever before. At any time and any place, we have the ability to “socialize” with nearly anyone—even celebrities who have no idea most of us even exist. The continuous consumption of digital media has altered once personal face-to-face communication to just that, digital. More and more people seem to be living in what Sonia Maasik and Jack Solomon call “The Cloud”. “The Cloud” is a seemingly alternate universe of which communication is altered from personal to digital. This universe has led to debates over whether or not these online communities are real or whether social media is actually social. Various digital media sources also encourage users to create individual identities, of which may or may not actually be real. It seems as though our reliance on digital technology and social media have allowed the determination of certain aspects of our lives. Although social media allows us to connect with nearly anyone at any time, Americans have taken advantage of its use, and their attention has been drawn away from real life interactions to digital ones. The ramifications of such influences reflect the hidden insecurities of Americans and, ironically, emphasize our inclination to boast about ourselves by allowing others to see the

It is thought that social Media is a way to portray yourself and your life online so that others can easily access it; to comment, like, or share your life events. It is a way of being social without truly seeing that person. According to Rosen, social media resembles a modern manipulation, in a way that we portray what we want others to see and can distort the true essence of our being. The easy accessibility of social media it has allowed our culture to flourish in ways it has never before. Providing that technology has become so easily accessible, it has allowed one to effortlessly alternate and updates their social media. But this accessibility has caused a social anxiety in its user, causing a need to be like others; to be cool, or known. This idea of fame has made our generation of social media users monotonous and analogous.