Impact of Social Media On Society

Impact Social Media has on Society

Impact Social Media has on Society

Jeremiah Gbason-Krah Delaware State University University Seminar II Ms, Shilpa Patel March 17, 2020

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Impact Social Media has on Society The emergence of social media in the last 20 years has changed society as we know it. Everyone has a social media account nowadays and is either posting something or communicating with other people. Social media is a very important matter in today’s world. The impact of social media is felt throughout society. Is the impact of social media positively or negatively impacting society? This paper will go through the different ways social media has impacted society and determine if it was a good impact or a bad one. First, the negative impacts will be discussed. An article called “Social Media and Mental Health” that is on the website “helpguide.org” goes through the negative impact social media has on society. The impression most people get is that being on social media more will make their lives less lonely; however, that is just the opposite. The more you are on social media, your feelings of loneliness are increased. A writer from helpguide.org states, “A study at the University of Pennsylvania found that being on Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram for long periods of time actually increases rather than decreases feelings of loneliness. Conversely, the study found that reducing the amount of time you are on social media can make you feel less lonely and isolated and improve your overall wellbeing.” Another thing social media does that impacts society negatively is instilling the fear of missing out. This idea that you are missing out will fuel you to be on social media more. Being on social media more will make you miss out on sleep at night or take risks while you are driving to check on updates. This fear will also impact your self-esteem and could possibly trigger anxiety. A writer from helpoutguide.org writes, “While FOMO has been around far longer than social media. The idea that you are missing out on certain things can impact your self-esteem, trigger anxiety, and fuel you to use your social media even more. FOMO can compel you to pick up your phone every few minutes

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to check for updates, or compulsively respond to every alert or prioritizing social media interaction over real world relationships.” Cyberbullying is another thing social media brings to society that impacts it negatively. Ten percent of teens report being bullied on social media. Sites like Twitter is a popular site for spreading rumors, lies, and abuse that emotionally scar someone for a long time. There are more negative impacts social media has on society. An article called “7 Negative Effects of Social Media on People and Users” wrote by Ben Stegner on the website “makeuseof.com” discusses 7 different ways social media impacts us. Social media sets unrealistic expectations on people. Ben Stegner states, “Most social media sites have a severe lack of online authenticity. People use Snapchat to share their most exciting adventures, post about how much they love their girlfriend or wife on Facebook, and load up their Instagram page with heavily staged photos. However, you have no way of knowing whether this is all a show. While it looks great on the surface, that person could be in massive debt, on bad terms with their girlfriend or wife, and just desperate for Instagram likes as a form of validation.” A lot of people use social media platforms to validate themselves to make them feel good, or when they are having major trouble in their personal life and is just looking for an escape. Social media makes people compare themselves to celebrities and make themselves wonder why they do not look like them. Ben Stegner writes, “Today, body image is an issue for everyone. Seeing so many people who are supposedly perfect daily makes you self-conscious about how different you look from those pictures, and not everyone comes to healthy conclusions in this situation. It is important to remember that everybody is human. No one wakes up every day looking like a model, and while many people have put in a lot of work to train their bodies, that is not the case for everyone who looks fit. Many people, in search of social media fame, have taken unhealthy routes to appear

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more attractive.” Celebrities look good all the time to keep their image alive in their fans’ mind that they are what they envisioned. They are scared that the moment they are not looking at their best, they will lose all their stardom. Lastly, the positive impacts social media has on society will be discussed. An article called “22 examples of the Positive Impact of Social Media” wrote by various experts on the website smartsocial.com discusses the different positive impacts of social media. Today, we are still fighting the affects of COVID-19. Everyone has been stuck inside their home bored and some cases depressed. Teens have been going through it the most because this is the age where they are supposed to go out with friends, work out, interact with other people, etc. Instead, they are stuck inside not knowing when everything will go back to normal. Luckily, they are various social media platforms that can help teens feel supported, connected, and relieve some of the stress. Kriya Lendzion wrote, “In the past several months, anything that can be a release and help teens laugh has felt “positive”. This includes dance videos, making & sharing memes and videos (TikTok, IG Reels) that help them laugh at “CovidLife…” Also, social media has increased the impact and knowledge of world events. Before social media, the major ways of getting news were through the newspaper or on TV. Nowadays someone can just tweet about certain things happening in the world and it can reach thousands of people in seconds. Israel Gaudette states, “Social media can be a vehicle for doing good. Giving every teen a chance of making an impact in the community is very crucial. And with the use of social media, that impact is just one click away. It exposes them to essential issues not only in their community but all over the world as well.” In conclusion, the impact of social media on society is indeed great. It impacts society greatly in both a positive and negative way. Social media has had a good impact on society

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because it has kept most of the world connected while delivering us information at a faster clip than generations before.

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References

Robinson, L. (2020, September). Social media and mental health. Retrieved February 27, 2021, from https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/social-media-andmentalhealth.htm#:~:text=The%20negative%20aspects%20of%20social%20media&text =However%2C%20multiple%20studies%20have%20found,about%20your%20lif e%20or%20appearance. Social, S. (2021, January 21). 10 examples on the positive impact of social media. Retrieved February 27, 2021, from https://smartsocial.com/positive-impact-ofsocial-media/ Stegner, B. (2020, February 04). 7 negative effects of social media on people and users. Retrieved February 27, 2021, from https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/negativeeffects-social-media/