The Negative Effects Of Social Media

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.”

Many students walk around campus with their eyes on their phones checking up on the new trends or pop culture. Is social media affecting college students in a negative way? Yes, their grades drop, become less focused in their daily lives, and social media can make someone less social. When do you see a full classroom with no people on their phone for the whole duration of the class? The answer to that is rare to never happening. Freedom is a huge reason for the amount of people on social media.

Once upon a time, folks were able to create small talk with one another with ease, even if they were complete strangers to each other. Eye contact and showing that you were engaged in what someone was speaking to you about was not an issue. Fast forward to when electronics such as Personal Computers, Smartphones, and Tablets started to distract society by becoming prominent products of daily usage and with the birth of social media (which is accessible through these devices), they are now taking over for the worst. Those once normal abilities to mingle and get to know one another with comfort is now on the backburner, and it has been there for a while now. In light of technology and social media’s effect on people’s social skills, the argument can be made that with its growing prevalence and usage, it indeed having a negative effect on us. The negative effect being our basic social skills rotting away and the issues of social media literacy and the distinct difference between this generation and our parent’s generation also surfaces.

As technology editing tools have become even more prevalent, many feel the need to excessively use photoshop before they share an image online. In a pervasive world where images of unrealistic standards fuel the media on how one should look, social media has one of the most significant impacts on body dissatisfaction in today’s society. Throughout the last decade, social media has become one of the most common and favored ways for people to communicate, connect, and share. Thus, there have been many debates and discussions on whether the media has a positive or a negative impact on the way an individual perceives him or herself. As the rapid growth of smartphone usage among adolescents and adults has increased, social media has become an essential part of one’s daily life. Today, when most adolescents and adults turn on their smartphones, often times, the first thing they will refer to is a social media site. It has become a place where they are exposed to news, images, and expectations. Often times, these images, ideals, and expectations are ingrained in their brain and bombarded with what is considered to be beautiful in today’s society. Moreover, these unrealistic standards will often lead to a form of comparison, influencing them to take extreme measures. Although social media serves as a platform where people can connect, communicate, and share, it has a negative impact on one’s body image, because it can lead to a lack of self confidence and severe health conditions.

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.

With the development of technology, the social media has become an obbligato part of our life. In the 19th century, people still used the newspapers as their main source of information about their city; in the 20th century, with the popularity of electricity, people started to listen to radio and watch television to know the event of their country; in the 21st century, computers and mobile phones gradually become popular, people enjoy the convenience and comfort of internet. However, does the social media usually give people a positive impact? Just like Allcott and Gentzkow said, “American democracy has been repeatedly buffeted by changes in media technology.” (211) Social Media creates a negative effect on today’s world by influencing the presidential election, disrupting politics, and controlling the business. Some people use social media to spread rumors and satisfy an own personal desire, and the biggest and the nearest effect of our daily life is the 2016 presidential election of the United States.

With the growth of Social Media, the way society communicates 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.

In modern times, there has been increase in the usage of social media in communication. The platform such as Twitter and Facebook has been employed in marketing, where marketers target the users of the social media. Through the social media, individuals have been in a position to reach a high number of friends and family members.

As social media continuing to rise for the past 10 years. So, has the concern on the effect on people. A college student name Alexandra Tendler wrote an article about how social media make us anti-social and how the world evolves their lives around social media. Though social media has now become one of world’s biggest resources, it’s now affecting people on how they deal with things going on in the real world. This arguments contains visual evidence and insights to support their claims and it’s also contains a flaw or two. It’s not that Alexandra misworded or miss the point of the arguments, but this is indeed an opinionated topic and its misses the reality of things and how people actually deal with it.

Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram are just a few examples of social media that our society revolves around. From hate posts to videos of dogs eating ice cream you can find pretty much anything you want with a touch of a button. Everyone has their different opinions and it is much easier to share those through that little thing you cling onto as if it somehow protects you. We have adapted to being able to type whatever we want and post it for everyone to see instead of confronting the problem face to face. Social media provides a mostly negative effect on not only our generations but past and future generations as well. There could be the best thing for America today and you will find someone who disagrees and changes that into a bad thing that should have never been introduced, self esteem is determined by how many likes you got on your last post and lastly, these poor kids can’t have their own thought process they have to go along with the “status quote.”

With the rapid rise in technology, it brings about a new growth in the current culture. Technology, like cell phones and computers, brings on a newer form of communication that can be both private and public. Before the rise in technology most of our communication was face to face. Social platforms (like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and etc.) were not commonly used as they are today. These social platforms became more relevant because they allow many to interact with each other on an instant level. It is easy with these platforms to keep a brief conversation with short messages; for example, with Twitter each tweet is 140 characters. Often, the person behind the messages have “followers” (they, who in a sense, are subscribed to a person) that they can leave an impression onto. Some people use their platforms for positivity while some use their platform for criticism.

How many hours a day do you think you spend using social media? Some people spend hours on hours of time on social media. When people spend so many hours on their phones and computers looking at social media it tends to make them lazy and anti-social. People end up getting addicted to social media and it affects their work performance, the employees would be on their phones looking at Facebook and other social media platforms instead of doing their work. Social media is also the reason for social standards, and people, mainly teenagers, think poorly of themselves and how they look to others. There are many negative effects of social media, it makes people hate the way they look, making teens lazy, and it also can hurt people’s chances of getting a job or keeping it.

Peter Drucker is best known for being the Father of Modern Management, as well as being the author of several books and articles about innovation, entrepreneurship and strategies for dealing with the world. Drucker once said, “The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said” (Drucker). Social Media has an had enormous effect on the world today. Everyday people are posting cruel comments and inappropriate posts about others without thinking about the effect it can have on that person. Although these sites provide us with easier ways of connecting with the world, they also have a negative impact on how people can view themselves. Social media sites such as, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram cause negativity all over the world today.

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.

Being a student, I guess the penetration rate about the social media for me is almost 100 percent. At least me and my friends use it every day. We probably used it to translate the words or chat with others. Even more, we use it for fun. Everyone use social media. Undisputed, social media is another way for us to keep communicating with each other. However, it could bring the negative and the positive effects for us. According to my personal experience, I think the social media is harmful for the students and It can bring a lot of negative effect for me.