Category: Effects of Social Media

Social media must be restricted as it leads to depression, anxiety and can sometimes make young people think about committing suicide because of cyber-bullying.

Intro

Social media and its usage have skyrocketed within the last decade or so (Perrin, 2015). This has also, unfortunately, led to increases in cyber-bullying, depression and suicide attempts (mHealth, 2016). The most common users of social media are younger people aged 16 to 24, with 91% using the internet for socializing (Royal Society For Public Health, 2018, p. 5). This can impact them in a positive or negative way and can also affect the health and wellbeing of a user, regardless of age. Whether it is physically, emotionally or mentally, there are certainly evidences showing how social media has influenced the overall conditions and state of users.

This essay will examine these effects using studies and reports to support the claims and points being discussed, as well as presenting examples of how the detriments can be overcome and how social media can be used in a healthy, beneficial way.

Body

There are several social media platforms available throughout the world today. Facebook, YouTube and Instagram are amongst the most popular social networks with billions of active users per month (Kallas, 2018). This shows how social media is continuously being used all over the globe and yet more people are becoming active on social networks. As reported in an article by Alison Battisby, UK social media usage hit an all-time high in 2018 (Battisby, 2018). It is a similar case in the US. According to a report by Andrew Perrin, 10 years ago around 7% of the population used one or more social networking sites. Now, however, that number has almost multiplied by ten to 65% (Perrin, 2015). Although young people are most likely to use social media, users aged 65 years and over have also increased within this period too. In fact, usage among this age group more than tripled since 2010 – from 11% using social media then, to 35% in 2015. This is a big jump from the 2% who used social media in 2005.

Looking at the above data, it can be confidently said that social media usage is still on the rise and relates to different age groups.

Social media since its inception then, has become nothing short of a worldwide phenomenon. But it does have its downsides. According to the Status of Mind report by the Royal Society for Public Health, users have got addicted to social media, with 5% of young people being affected. This addiction is thought to be worse than cigarette and alcohol addiction (Royal Society For Public Health, 2018, p. 6).

Social media can also lead to anxiety and depression. According to research, one in six young people tend to experience some sort of anxiety disorder throughout their lives. To put that into context, five pupils in every school class may be going through an anxiety order (AnxietyUK, 2018). Rates of anxiety and depression have also increased in the last 25 years by 70%. The fact that there is a correlation between a rise in anxiety and the introduction of social media and increase of its usage, is no coincidence. Four out of five young people have found to feel more depressed due to social media platforms. Furthermore, youngsters who use social media for more than two hours a day are more likely to suffer from poor mental health.(Office of Health Economics and The Mental Health Foundation, 2005). One contributing factor could be the ‘compare and despair’ mindset. This is when users see their friends, celebrities and their idols posting images of holidays, enjoyment and lifestyle, and start comparing these to their apparently ordinary lives. Research carried out by AnxietyUK upheld this notion, with data suggesting social media encourages feelings of anxiety and helplessness. Photos and media that may be greatly edited or altered can cause young users to have low self-esteem and feel conscious about themselves. These idealistic prospects that social media sets can encourage them to pursue preciseness, leading to anxiety disorders (Royal Society For Public Health, 2018, p. 8).

Social media also leads to depression. Research shows that there is a correlation between depression in young people and social media usage. Almost 80,000 youngsters struggle from depression in the UK (Royal Society For Public Health, 2018, p. 8). As well as this, social media usage that is carried out for more than two hours in a day has been directly linked to poor self-rating of mental health and thoughts of committing suicide. Researchers have also suggested that the power of social media promotes depression and worsening of current states. This is because young people are continuously dealing with online peer pressure while facing pressures from impractical depictions of the real world. Anxiety and depression could have very harmful effects on the lives of young people. These conditions can make youngsters feel overwhelmed, nervous and fearful. As a result, individuals may find it difficult to attend school, work, socialize or even leave the house (Royal Society For Public Health, 2018, p. 8).

The stage of young adulthood or teenage is vital in terms of growth as the brain does not reach the peak of its development until at least a person is in his or her twenties. Sleep is therefore crucial for teens. Sleep is concurrent with mental health – poor sleep can result in poor mental health, and vice versa (Royal Society For Public Health, 2018, p. 9). Therefore, young people need one to two hours extra sleep compared to adults. Lack of sleep can lead to a number of physical and mental health disorders such as diabetes, heart attack and depression (The National Academies, 2006).

Constant use of social media can play a huge part in this. Research has shown that there is a strong connection between use of social media and poor sleep, as young people tend to use phones, tablets, etc. at night for socializing. Using such devices means being exposed to LED lights which, studies have found, can disrupt certain procedures the brain carries out that allows a person to feel sleepy. This includes interference with melatonin – the sleep hormone. Feeling worried and stressed due to being unable to match the improbable goals of other social media users, can be a reason for poor sleep. This in turn, causes tiredness, which then affects day to day life. This can also result in low self-esteem and this cycle may start over (Royal Society For Public Health, 2018, p. 9).

References

1. AnxietyUK. (2018). Young People and Anxiety. Retrieved November 23, 2018, from AnxietyUK: https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/get-help/anxiety-information/young-people-and-anxiety/
2. Battisby, A. (2018). The Latest UK Social Media Statistics For 2018. Avocado Social. Retrieved November 16, 2018, from https://www.avocadosocial.com/the-latest-uk-social-media-statistics-for-2018/
3. Kallas, P. (2018). Top 15 Most Popular Social Networking Sites. DreamGROW. Retrieved November 16, 2018, from https://www.dreamgrow.com/top-15-most-popular-social-networking-sites/
4. mHealth. (2016). Associations between social media and cyber bullying. PMC.
5. Office of Health Economics and The Mental Health Foundation. (2005). Lifetime Impacts. London: Mental Health Foundation. Retrieved November 23, 2018, from https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/sites/default/files/lifetime_impacts.pdf
6. Perrin, A. (2015). Social Media Usage: 2005-2015. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center. Retrieved November 16, 2018, from http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/10/08/social-networking-usage-2005-2015/
7. Royal Society For Public Health. (2018). Status Of Mind – Social media and young people’s health and wellbeing. Retrieved October 10, 2018, from https://www.rsph.org.uk/uploads/assets/uploaded/62be270a-a55f-4719-ad668c2ec7a74c2a.pdf

Introduction

People use social media for a variety of reasons. But does anyone ever stop to think about the negative impact that social media has on a person, persons or generation? Why social media is bad? Two essays, The Onion’s “New Facebook notifications alert users when they not currently looking at Facebook” and Kat Ascharya’s “What Facebook is doing to your brain is kind of shocking” support and explain how social media impacts people in a negative way. The lack of social skills, perception of an idealized reality and increase in isolation are the adverse effects of social media.

In an era where technology is all around, it is no surprise that there is a noticeable difference in the social skills of many generations. The delay in response time on social media allows people to be reactive rather than thinking and making thoughtful responses. The anonymity of a response protects those making a comment, whether it is critical or complimentary. It is not really a method of communication, it is a method of response since there is no real communication going on because it is not face to face interaction. We don’t get to see micro-expressions that show us in-the-moment responses. Sherry Turkle, an MIT professor, argues that many of our online connections are, by design, shallow and superficial. When you are raised with social media and computers as a main source of communication it can inhibit your ability to understand body language, inflection, facial expressions or social cues.

As social media continues to be an influential part of everyday lives, it is easy to comprehend how this would create an idealized reality. Most of the population uses some form of social media which allows each person to control what is seen about their life. These sites such as, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook are all in competition to generate the most traffic and be the top social media platform. CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook stated, “We hope these helpful new alerts will improve our users’ experience by prompting them to revisit the site in the event they momentarily turn their focus elsewhere.” Social media, once a way to network and connect with people has changed from a positive tool to something more pernicious. It has allowed the public, foreign and domestic, to create any reality that they so choose. With continuous advancements in technology it is even possible to modify pictures and present a completely different image of yourself. “It’s really up to us to restore that sense of mindfulness with how we use our devices to communicate and relate to one another (Ascharya 135).”

Having the ability to connect with virtually anyone in the world should be used as a tool rather then a temporary solution to fill the void of loneliness. As humans we need in person interaction, however, there are some people who struggle with this for various reasons and rely on social media as the only means for outside connections. Even married couples or someone who surrounds themselves with people may still experience isolation and loneliness if they feel unloved or misunderstood. Although social media may be a temporary relief for the sadness someone feels, it is detrimental to a person’s mental and physical health if it is the only way they communicate with others. It also creates a lack of genuine connection when a person uses it to find anyone to talk to in order to ease the feelings of loneliness they may be experiencing in that moment. This allows someone to control the content and direction of what is said and enables them the option of simply ending the conversation if they start to feel uncomfortable. They do not have to deal with reactions, emotions or possible conflict that may arise in a group setting or face to face conversation. Though there may be an increase in isolation with the rise in popularity of social media, the feelings of loneliness start within ourselves. Genuine connections take time to build and social media is only a band aid for the deeper issues that some may not be ready to face.

Is it possible to change the negative impact social media has on world or is it too late? The world of technology has come so far, it would be devastating if the creation of something so amazing was a factor in destroying humans. Anything can become toxic when used improperly and social media is no different. The responsibility to change for the better lies within every individual on this planet. It is the obligation of those who bring new life into this world to make sure each new generation is raised to respect the technology that this world has created.

Works Cited

1. Ascharya, Kat. “What Facebook Is Doing to Your Brain Is Kind of Shocking.” Latterell, pp. 131-36.
2. Latterell, Catherine G., editor. Remix. 3rd ed., Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2017.
3. The Onion. “New Facebook Notifications Alert Users When They Are Not Currently Looking at Facebook.” Latterell, pp. 129-30.

The History of Social Media

In this essay, you will be able to find a brief history of social media from its beginning, which is dated from 1971 up until the present times. The timeline below covers only the most significant events/platforms, so feel free to explore this topic even further on your own.

1971 – Ray Tomlinson, a computer engineer, had sent a simple test message to himself. It has taken place in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where email was sent from one computer to another one, sitting right beside it. It was the first email sent ever.

1978 – The first Bulletin Board System (BBS), called the Computerized Bulletin Board System (CBBS) was created by Randy Suess and Ward Christensen. It was the first computerized system used to exchange public messages or files.

1985 – The network called “Relay” was developed by Jeff Kell of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga using the REXX programming language. Its predated Internet Relay Chat (IRC) and other online chat systems. It was set up over BITNET nodes, originally named BITNET Relay.

1988 – Internet Relay Chat was born at the University of Oulu, Finland, where Jarkko Oikarinen, an employee of its Department of Information Processing Science, has written the first IRC client and server.

1997 – Six Degrees launches as the very first social networking site. It was founded by Andrew Weinreich in May 1996 and combined popular features like profiles, friends lists, and school affiliations – all in one service. However, the lack of people connected to the Internet limited this network’s growth.

2002 – Jonathan Abrams and Peter Chin launches Friendster. It offered such features as showing how you were connected to strangers, which made meeting people less intimidating and highly addictive.

2003 – Start of LinkedIn with the goal of connecting to your network for better job opportunities. In the first week, it had only 2,700 members, while today it operates globally with more than 350m members.

2004 – Facebook was founded by Harvard University students: Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes. Initially, it was a “Facemash”, an online service for students to judge the attractiveness of their fellow students. In 2012, Facebook become the largest social network in the world, with more than one billion users.

2005 – YouTube was founded by PayPal employees, Steven Chen and Chad Hurley. YouTube domain birthday is Valentine’s Day, however, its official launch date was on December 2005. The first YouTube video was posted on April 23rd, 2005 by Jawed Karim and was entitled “Me at Zoo”.

2006 – Jack Dorsey creates Twitter. He is also the author of the very first tweet ever, which says: “just setting up my Twitter”. Twitter officially launches to the public in July, shortly after Biz Stone, a co-founder of Twitter, explains in a YouTube video what Twitter is all about.

2009 – Former employees of Yahoo, Jan Koum and Brian Acton founded WhatsApp. After leaving Yahoo, both of them were rejected for the job at Facebook, but instead of looking for a new job, they began working on their own project. That’s how WhatsApp was born.

2010 – Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger founded Instagram. Just two months after its launch, Instagram had over 1,000,000 accounts. Seeing potential in this social media platform, Facebook decided to buy it in 2012, only 2 years after its launch, and own it until today.

2011 – Three Stanford University students: Evan Spiegel, Bobby Murphy, and Reggie Brown create an image and video messaging application called “Snapchat”. Initially, it was launched as an app called “Picaboo”, however, was rebranded as Snapchat just a few months later.

2012 – Sean Rad, Jonathan Badeen, Justin Mateen, Joe Munoz, Dinesh Moorjani, and Whitney Wolfe founded a dating app, which was launched on September 12. First, it come out only on iOS and then later was added also for Android users. Tinder uses location to match members and they had popularized swiping which allows users on profile photos to swipe right to like someone or left to dislike someone.

2015 – Kayvon Beykpour and Joe Bernstein Periscope founded Periscope in 2014. They had raised a seed round from angel investors, including Adobe executive Scott Belsky. In January 2015, Periscope was sold to Twitter, before its official launch, which was on 26 March.

2016 – TikTok or “Douyin” as it is known in China, is a Chinese video and social platform launched in September 2016 by ByteDance. Due to its huge popularity in its hometown country, TikTok expanded to other Asian countries such as Indonesia and Thailand in 2017. Then after a merge with another Chinese-based video app, “Musical.ly”, TikTok entered both the Americas and Europe.

In conclusion, since 1978 when the history of social media started, up until now, a lot has happened. Many social networks have launched, some of them have failed, some have changed owners, and some have simply transformed into a new one. While it’s hard to say, which one will survive the test of time, we can be sure that a new one will be developed and launched over the forthcoming years.

Bibliography

1. First Network Email sent by Ray Tomlinson
2. Computerized Bulletin-board system (CBBS)
3. Bulletin-board system (BBS)

Introduction

YouTube is a video-sharing site in the United States that allows users to upload, share, watch and comment on videos. YouTube was founded in February 2005 and acquired by Google in November 2006. YouTube is the most popular website in the world and is used by many users every day. YouTube has users all over the world, so the site’s languages include English, Portuguese, German, and dozens of other sounds. There are many kinds of YouTube videos, including music, education, cartoons, sports, and so on, which are uploaded by individuals or companies. YouTube can not only upload videos, but also make money from them, and when your videos attract a lot of users to watch, your subscription volume will continue to rise.

User experience

YouTube creates a unique and complete viewing experience tailored to the way users watch videos. Videos on YouTube are easy for users to find, view, and share through social software or e-mail. YouTube has three major advantages: a clean design, a powerful search engine, and an intelligent recommendation system. Whether you watch a video or upload a video, this experience is always intuitive and smooth, facilitating the creation of more videos and recommending videos to users through smart systems, allowing users to spend more time on the platform.

Easy to use

When we talk about YouTube, everyone knows it’s an easy-to-use video site. The site does not require complex operations and is suitable for people of all ages. YouTube has a wide range of videos, including education, music, cartoons, games, and so on. Users can easily find the videos they want to watch without spending much time.

Clear

Clarity is the most important element of user interface design (Fadeyev, 2009). The clarity in the user interface is great, however, the home page has too much information, is dazzling, or is too simple, there is no information to convey to users, and this is not good for the site. YouTube’s home page not only keeps it simple but also conveys a lot of information to users. The home page includes a search bar, recommended videos, user subscriptions to videos, and hot videos, making it easy for users to find the videos they want to watch, rather than spending too much time learning to use and find videos, after all, time is money.

Theme

YouTube not only has a classic white theme, but it also has a dark theme. When you use a dark theme, it turns your background black to give a more cinematic look. I think this is a great and humanized design because the emergence of dark themes can allow users to browse the site, and reduce eye fatigue. This theme is useful for users with eye problems to browse YouTube because some medical conditions (e,g. photophobia) are less aggravated by dark backgrounds.

Search bar

Each site has its search bar, and YouTube is no exception. When you search YouTube for the videos you want to watch, it will give you a lot of related videos, which may not be what you want to see, and you can use the filter button in the search bar. In search filters, it has five options: upload data, type, duration, features, and sort by. User can filter their videos in more detail, which takes time, but the results may be more accurate. This feature is not often used because YouTube has many videos, most of which are uploaded by users, so it is easy for users to find the videos they need.

Function bar

Let’s look at the YouTube function bar, which users can see by clicking on their avatars. The design of the function bar is simple, including managing accounts, selecting languages, switching themes, and seeding feedback. The design of the function bar is as simple as the home page so that it doesn’t take users much time to understand.

Advertisement

This is probably the biggest worry for YouTube users. There are many ads on the site, and every time a user watches a video, they must watch an ad first or include an ad in the video. It’s a bad user experience, and if users want to not look at any ads, they must spend money to become YouTube Premium.

Usability

YouTube can be used not only on computers but also on mobile phones and tablets. In Apple stores or Google stores, search YouTube, and users can download its APP. Users can watch videos on YouTube, regardless of where they are and what devices they use. YouTube also supports video downloads, allowing users to watch downloaded videos when they do not have a network or wireless network. As one of the main users of YouTube, students browse and upload many videos. Most students learn through YouTube. They will improve their studies or complete their homework by searching for relevant subject videos. Or share your academic knowledge through YouTube. For students, YouTube is usable, but for some users, they only watch videos they are interested in on YouTube, ignoring other functions. Perhaps for them, YouTube is also usable.

Social

If the most popular social software is Twitter and Facebook, YouTube must be the most popular video website today and it has users from all over the world. While you are watching the video, you can leave a message in the comments section of the video and post your view. Users can also see comments from other users and leave messages to share their ideas. Users can also upload homemade videos, share their shopping experiences, or how to cook, and so on. When other users watch your video, they give you comments or share it with others, which is a kind of communication. But the comments are not all good. Some of them are full of racial discrimination or verbal attacks, which people do not want to see, but not necessarily every user is a good person. There are always some people who leave unhappy comments after watching the video. They just want to vent their dissatisfaction and completely ignore the feelings of others. Because users come from all over the world, there are cultural differences. It is cultural differences that make the world richer and more colorful. However, some users do not respect other cultures and verbally attack users in other places. None of this is what we want to see, but it is happing. Since most of YouTube’s videos are produced and uploaded by individuals, some videos may contain vulgar or unhealthy content that will be disseminated. YouTube users also include children and young people, and if these videos are discovered by them, it is not conducive to their growth. YouTube needs to protect minors. Of course, some videos are pirated, which is bad for production companies.

Emotional aspects

YouTube always drives people’s emotions. Because there are all kinds of videos that make users feel happy or sad when user watching the video. As the largest video site, it always keeps pace with the times. In popular videos, many videos are about current affairs, because these videos always affect the feelings of users. For example, when a great man dies, users will feel sad. There will be a lot of videos about this great man on the platform. When people watch the videos, it conveys a variety of emotions to people. People will be happy about his past deeds, but also sad about his death. Or if a football team wins the championship, its fans must be happy by watching the video, but as fans of another football team will be unhappy, they will also feel sorry for their team. A video can bring different emotions to the user. If you are a loyal user of YouTube, you must know the TED channel. TED is a media organization that posts talks online for free distribution under the slogan ‘ideas worth spreading'(Wikipedia).

TED shares global knowledge; TED’s video brings confidence and hope. It encourages people to be better themselves disseminates valuable information and brings positive emotions to users.

Cognition

“Simple is the best.” Simple and easy are keys to website design success, but they are two if the most important foundational factor underlying a great user experience. The YouTube page doesn’t have too much text, but pictures match the text so that users don’t worry about too much text when they are looking for a video. They are enjoying the process of browsing the video. Instead of getting tired of seeing too much content on the home page. One of the advantages of YouTube is that it makes users understand what they see and makes them feel relaxed. So, YouTube has a lot of users, because it lets all users understand the truth, watch videos and search for videos, just open YouTube. YouTube has a powerful video recommendation function. Every time a user watches a video, the system will remember the user’s watching records and recommend relevant videos to the user. This saves the user’s time to a certain extent. Users will not spend too much time looking for videos and feel tired and sad. Instead, they have a lot of time to watch videos.

Conclusion

YouTube is by far the most successful video site; its success is not accidental. The design and function of the website are all for users to use the website more conveniently. YouTube believes that user experience is very important, so the website constantly updates its technology to better serve users. YouTube meets the needs of different ages, and people can always find what they want. On a serious note, YouTube is purely video sharing platform unlike other social media platforms, it is more professional and thus helps the public in day-to-day lives. Users make money by uploading videos and relying on ads in videos, and companies advertise themselves before popular videos. This is a win-win result, which is one of the reasons why YouTube is popular. Technology is also one of the reasons for YouTube’s success. As one of Google’s subsidiaries, its technology is constantly innovating. Because of a large number of research funds and resources, and the rapid development of the website, users can quickly experience new technology on the website and keep pace with the times.

References

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YouTube has become one of the biggest social media platforms today. Its popularity has grown immensely in a matter of a decade and still continues to pull in millions of users each day. YouTube is a site that allows users to not only watch videos, but upload their own content to gain subscribers, views, and money. The platform was not always this mainstream, but it is interesting to see how much it evolved to be so in a short period of time. YouTube, overall, has affected many people’s social practices, ways of seeing and sharing content, and continues to integrate different types of social media into one site.

The platform was created by “former PayPal employees, Jawed Karim, Chad Hurley, and Steve Chen in 2005” (Fitzpatrick, 2010). Hurley and Chen had filmed a video prior to the creation of the site and there was no way to share it at the time as the technology computers had and the websites that made up the internet then were not as finely developed as it is today, so files were large and unable to travel around quickly (Wasserman, 2015). Also, after seeing the 2004 Superbowl wardrobe malfunction with Janet Jackson exposing one of her breasts, the men felt as if there were no available ways of finding and sharing the clips, so they came up with the idea of a video sharing site (Cosgrove, 2015).

The name of the site was to target its users, hence the word “you,” and “tube” was referring to the integral piece that allowed people to watch television (McFadden, 2019). Hurley was the one to get the “name, logo, and domain trademarked on February 14, 2005” (Dickey, 2013). Once the site went live soon after, Karim was the first person to post a video called “Me at the Zoo,” which was eighteen seconds long, and he spoke of the elephants seen in the background (Jawed, 2005). The site started gaining traction a few months later after a Nike ad was posted about a “Brazilian soccer player who had received his Golden Boots;” it was the first video to receive one million views (McFadden, 2019). Google ended up buying the company in 2006 and since then, thousands of videos have been created and billions of views and users have been accumulated, especially in recent years as the platform has given opportunities for creators to make careers out of making videos. A major predecessor of YouTube was Netflix because its mail service allowed customers to rent DVD’s and it was one of the only video-sharing services around. It is interesting that even though Netflix served as a forerunner to YouTube back then, Netflix has become one of the biggest video streaming services in today’s culture, making it one of YouTube’s biggest paid streaming competitors. Other competitors include free and paid streaming services such as Vimeo, Twitch, DailyMotion, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and Facebook videos (Bhasin, 2018).

Imagine having suicidal thoughts going through your head because you are not like other people. People tell you that you are not pretty or either you look at yourself and you don’t like what you see in the mirror. Imagine if your definition of pretty comes from what you see online on social media sites. All those thoughts cause teenagers to go through a deep depression and for some of them, it has led to suicidal thoughts or the act itself. Suicide is the main factor of death among teenagers in the United States. This includes social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Myspace, and other social networking platforms that have shaped the way teenagers think, behave, and communicate with other people. There are many good factors why teenagers use social media, the main is for branding and marketing products and services to the public when they are starting their first business. It allows them to attract a larger audience of people to their business, so they can be as big as companies like Nike. In terms of why people choose not to deal with social media reasons for violating their privacy are at the top of the list. Social media isn’t a platform where you can just post and delete everything it doesn’t work like that, once you post it, it is there forever. With everything that is going on in social media and the developing brain of a teenager, it is easy for teenagers to take any negative pressure from those sites and fall into a depression or easily adopt such negative behavior and become a bully to other people themselves. Social media plays a huge role physically and mentally in a teenager’s life. So ultimately, kids are very influenced by what the media says and what people do on the platform. Many people claim social media destroys their life more than improving because of cyberbullying, self-dissatisfaction, and health problems, and some agree that it improves their life by making it easier to communicate and market products and services.

Social media platforms have all teenagers us to share knowledge, share our interests with others, like images, and follow others, this is what teenagers today call the better way to communicate with others. Our sense of individually comes from what teenagers observe because more teenagers see, like, post, and the people teenagers follow influence our thoughts in some manner or another. It is debatable that social media is both a blessing and a curse to our generation. Most people say it’s a blessing because teenagers are interacting with other teenagers would not normally communicate with or meet physically, and some believe it’s a curse because it puts teenagers at risk of being cyberbullied by sharing everything about their lives so freely. Teenagers can be bullied for their religion, hobbies, career choices, body imaging, and even for the clothing, they teenagers. Cyberbullying can happen to anyone and examples of it include when a person makes fun, causes mental and emotional harm, threatens another person, or act in an undesirable way to another person online. According to the Pew Research Center, 90% of teenagers have a cell phone and probably the same amount uses social media. This puts them at an increased risk to experience cyberbullying at some point in their teenage life. This is where teenagers should decide how much information from their personal lives to share on social media to keep people from being able to cyberbully their life that is not protecting on social media. This will put a stop to unwanted and aggressive cyberbully behavior among people on the platform. On social media there are a lot of teenagers wanting to be liked by everyone, comparing themselves to others, and even more of them creating friendships with people online rather than in person. Communication by teenagers is mainly over social media rather than in person. So much that teenagers consider their online friends as their real friends, so communication mainly happens online and over the phone rather than in person. The plus is that teenagers can meet new people and cope in a diverse environment and the negative is that this behavior increases social anxiety among teenagers. One that leads to depression, negative body imaging, unhealthy sleep conditions, unhealthy eating, suicide or suicidal thoughts, and self-dissatisfaction. Teenage boys suffer from self-dissatisfaction too, they are just better at hiding it because they feel uncomfortable about admitting it. According to Katie Hurley, “those who had spent more time on social media had 2.2 times the risk of reporting eating and body image concerns, compared to their peers who spent less time on social media putting them 2.6 times at risk for self-satisfaction”. There is nothing a teenager can do to control because on social media everyone looks perfect. Boys that don’t workout are now going to the gym to be like other guys that are fitter and girls that are not skinny are either working out or doing extreme diets to fit in. While teenagers can argue that its motivation for a healthier lifestyle, they need to consider that not everyone is doing it healthily. Teenage girls are also changing themselves by wearing extreme makeup, tighter clothing, and acrylic nails just to combat self-dissatisfaction rather than go to therapy. Social media leads to extreme curiosity for teenagers as teenagers are at that age where teenagers are growing up and figuring things out. This exposure leads teenagers to envy each other and in return that depression can lead to extreme health issues. According to Sabrina Barr, this includes extreme conditions like “memory loss, sleeping issues, attention span issues, loneliness”, and other depressive issues. To stop this problem social media should include a required quiz for young teenagers to complete regarding how to identify, fight, and report bullies to reduce health problems in teenagers using those platforms. Some people would argue that an individual should not care what others think, but not everyone is strong enough to take on this kind of attitude and just because a person may seem unbothered by this does not mean that it is not affecting their health. It has nothing to do with them being a teenager’s person and everything to do with the fact that teenagers cannot control even our brains. Social media is addictive for some teenagers and it can affect a teenager’s overall health.

While social media has some negatives, there are also many positive outcomes on social media, the main is its connectivity to the whole world and its convenience which is why it is a part of everyone’s life. Many people have chosen it’s more enjoyable to communicate over social media than the phone or in-person like I mentioned above. “Just like landline telephones enable long-distance relationships with more people, social media allow people to be connected in a meaningful way with more people than before”, says Dr. Myhr. Social media is an amazing platform for business owners to take full advantage of for their business. It is also a great way for owners to build a new audience and get to show off their personality without it conflicting with what they are selling. Social Media overall does a good job of strengthening relationships and creating a relationship between everyone it helps strengthen relationships because it is a platform that is easy to contact your friends. It helps create tons of relationships by giving you a chance to show yourself off with people getting to like your photos and follow you if they like your style. Students can learn different things from social media based on creativity and social experience. It allows kids to raise money to donate to any charity that would like, enhance their creativity, grow from the creation of their blogs, podcasts, videos, and it helps them to become more social towards our community. These factors help children to become fully independent and get a chance to navigate the world without their parents being overall their decisions.

Even though social media is very beneficial to our society, there are still a few downs on social media due to a lack of privacy practices and enforced rules. Social media does not secure private information, so a hacker will be able to hack personal information at any time without permission. And, sometimes predators get a hold of the information and social media users become victims. Many girls fear being raped, stalked, kidnapped, or killed because of these hacking situations. An online predator is a person who looks to create a relationship with teenagers on a social networking platform. They lure teenagers to them by lying to them, sexting them, and by pretending they care about them. Sexting is very life-threatening to teenagers especially over social media because it can cause emotional health issues that will later ruin a teenager’s life. Especially, since “20% of teens have sent or posted nude or semi-nude photographs or videos of themselves”. Teenagers should be prohibited from texting and exposure to sexual content should be restricted until age 18. Parents need to talk to their teenagers about inappropriate behavior online and schools should educate teenagers on the effects of inappropriate behavior. All these harmful effects on teenagers aren’t good, it might help keep us connected and be very convenient but isn’t worth dying for or use getting hurt. I’m sure the creators didn’t ever intend for their social networking platform to go down-hill and be as negative as it is today.

In conclusion, the positive is that social media helps people communicate independently, nationwide in a diverse environment, attracts a larger audience of customers and in return it allows companies to boost sales and increase profits. So many teenagers have become popular on social media and it has led to career opportunities for them, and it has led small companies to compete with large big-name companies like Nike nationwide. The downside is that social media has affected teens’ mental health and appearance outwards in several ways and it has been proven by numerous people. It affects our inner mind and makes us not appear like our normal self. It makes us very envious and wants to live others’ lives instead of loving our own. These sites can be very beneficial towards our communities but teenagers just have to approach it in ways that do not put our lives in danger while trying to enjoy getting the benefits of social media. To protect teenagers from all these harmful things that will affect them mentally and physically, parents need to monitor their children by watching what they are doing on this platform.

Introduction to Instagram’s Impact on Teens

Nowadays everyone uses instagram. Instagram is a photo and video-sharing social networking service. It’s one of the most popular social media sites. People use it for entertainment and to post pictures of themselves and their lives. They also use it to see what their family and friends and their favorite celebrities post. There is a downside to it and it’s that it affects most teens in a negative way. Social media plays a role in unhappiness. It mostly affects teen girls. Instagram causes depression, low self esteem and anxiety among teenagers.

Instagram’s Role in Teen Anxiety

In the article “Yes, Instagram Is Making You Anxious, According to a Psychologist.” by Bodyandsoulau Instagram causes teens to become anxious. According to psychologist and behavioural expert Jaimie Bloch it’s true that the blue light in our phones messes with our hormones and confuses our system especially if you’re on your phone a lot at night. There are many reasons why time spent on Instagram makes you anxious. One reason is that it comes from a fear of failure. “This is the main anxiety trigger when it comes to Instagram, and it goes hand-in-hand with anxieties related to self-judgement, fears around the perceived perceptions others may have of you, and fear of missing out,” says Bloch.

Body Image Insecurities Fueled by Instagram

Instagram makes girls and women feel insecure about their bodies and it makes them think that they are no good enough. They feel this way because people are adding filters and editing their pictures to make them look ‘perfect’. They feel they aren’t skinny enough, pretty enough, or popular. This causes them to have low self-esteem. Teen girls are going too overboard with the editing and end up looking unrealistic because they think that’s what they have to look like because it’s what they see all over social media. They see models on instagram and they ask themselves why don’t I look like that. They are looking at selfies on Instagram and not realizing that some people are using apps to change what they look like and that it is unrealistic. Most social media sites are thinking of introducing a pop-up warning to notify teens when they have been using the app for a long time and to indicate when a photo has been digitally enhanced. In the “Why Don’t I Look Like Her?” :How Instagram Is Ruining Our Self Esteem” by Cosmopolitan, Jenny Albright, who is also one half of the popular DJ duo Daddy Likes, admitted to asking her ex-boyfriend to delete a beach picture from last summer because ‘I didn’t like the way my body looked,’ she said. ‘I was leaning over in a way that makes your stomach roll. It just wasn’t a good look. Research from the University of Buffalo says that girls who base their self-worth on their appearance are likely to post more pictures of themselves on social media seeking validation. They seek validation because they want to be liked by everyone and want to be popular.

Instagram as the Leading Cause of Depression Among Teens

Instagram is ranked the worst out of all the major social media platforms in terms of detriments to the mental health of young adults. In the article “Study Says Instagram Is Ranked The Worst Social App For Causing Young People To Feel Depressed” published by forbes magazine says Instagram Is ranked the worst social app for causing young people to feel depressed. The study called #StatusOfMind determined that social media has been described as more addictive than cigarettes and alcohol. That is why social media use is often linked to increased rates of anxiety, depression and poor sleep. There is evidence that proves that there is a link between social media use and depression. The more time you spend on social media the more depressed most teens are. In the article “Instagram Most Likely to Cause Young People to Feel Depressed and Lonely out of Major Social Apps, Study Says” by CNBC a survey was conducted of almost 1,500 Britons aged 14 to 24, it was found that young people were most likely to associate Instagram with negative attributes and low self-esteem, resulting in poor body image and lack of sleep.

The Link Between Social Media Use and Increased Depression

In the article “Does social media cause depression?” by Caroline Miller, editorial director of the Child Mind Institute it says the level of depressive symptoms increased by 33 percent and during the same period the suicde rate for girls increased by 65 percent. Over that same time period there was a spike in reports of students seeking help at college and university counseling centers, principally for depression and anxiety. The difference between teens now and teens in earlier generations is that the teens now spend less time connecting with other people in person and spend more time connecting through social media. Because teens don’t connect in person they are less emotionally satisfying, leaving them feeling socially isolated. ‘The less you are connected with human beings in a deep, empathic way, the less you’re really getting the benefits of a social interaction,’ says Alexandra Hamlet, Psy.D., a clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute. Jerry Bubrick, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute, observes that ‘FOMO is really the fear of not being connected to our social world, and that need to feel connected sometimes trumps whatever’s going on in the actual situation we’re in. The more we use social media, the less we think about being present in the moment.’ Instead we might be occupied with worrying why we weren’t invited to a party we’re seeing on Instagram or making sure we don’t miss a single post from a friend.

The Social Isolation of Teens on Social Media

Teenage girls compare themselves negatively to those who appear to be prettier, thinner, more popular, and richer. ‘Many girls are bombarded with their friends posting the most perfect pictures of themselves, or they’re following celebrities and influencers who do a lot of Photoshopping and have makeup and hair teams,’ explains Hamlet. Instagram shows up in surveys as the platform that most leads young people to report feeling anxiety, depression, and worries about body image. ‘Kids spend so much time on social media trying to post what they think the world will think is a perfect life. Look at how happy I am! Look how beautiful I am! Without that, they’re worried that their friends won’t accept them. They’re afraid of being rejected but when they get positive feedback they start to tell themselves what if they don’t like the real me.

Physical and Mental Health Consequences of Excessive Social Media Use

When teens are on social media constantly they don’t get any physical activity or do any hobbies or activities or have fun outside. They miss out on learning a new skill or the joy being outside having fun. When you’re spending a lot of time on your phone, you have less time for activities. Now teens get a burst of joy or adrenaline when they get a notification, a friend request or when someone likes their post. Teen miss out on what’s going on around them. They talk as much because they communicate through social media. They hardly spend time with family. Social media also distract teens from doing homework or tasks that they need to do. They talk to friends through social media while they are studying which makes them loses focus. It takes away from there time for learning.

Teens lose sleep from being on social media up late or even all night. It affects their mood. Most teens look at their phone as they lay in bed trying to fall asleep. It’s the last thing they see. It’s the last thing they do. Hamlet says scrolling through social media can easily end up causing stress on teens. Once their on social media it’s hard for them to get off. They get sucked in. Teens have so much anxiety in them that it’s hard for them to go to school or do anything. Some teens even dropout because they couldn’t take the amount of anxiety they had. One teen patient, in intensive therapy for his anxiety disorder, told the Times that he “would constantly be judging my self-worth online” during high school. In the article “Social Media Is Fueling a Scary Trend for Teen Anxiety” it says that many apps, gadgets, and media platforms are carefully designed to manipulate our brains by hijacking pleasure centers, which young people have less ability to resist. Some neurological research indicates such systems may have long-term impacts on developing young brains.

Teens don’t know how much of a negative impact social media has on them. The experience is different for everyone. Social media is more addictive than cigarettes and alcohol. A study revealed that Instagram users who spend 2+ hours a day, on the platform, have higher levels of anxiety compared to those using Instagram for less than 2h a day. It not only affects teens emotinal and physical health but it affects their brains and development.

Conclusion: Addressing Instagram’s Negative Effects on Teen Well-being

There are so many negative effects that instagram has but the top three are depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. There are so many teens dealing with these mostly because of social media. It harms teens and most of them don’t even know it. We need to have checks and balances in place to make social media less harmful when it comes to young people’s mental health and well-being.

Work Cited

1. Bloch, Jaimie. “Yes, Instagram Is Making You Anxious, According to a Psychologist.” Bodyandsoulau, Bodyandsoul.com.au, 27 Sept. 2017, www.bodyandsoul.com.au/wellbeing/yes-instagram-is-making-you-anxious-according-to-a-psychologist/news-story/21ceda1767e2b7ef648b4fa75a0e85b4.
2. Chowdhry, Amit. “Study Says Instagram Is Ranked The Worst Social App For Causing Young People To Feel Depressed.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 31 May 2017, www.forbes.com/sites/amitchowdhry/2017/05/31/instagram-depression/#5b962c0a7453
3. Fleming, Olivia. “’Why Don’t I Look Like Her?’: How Instagram Is Ruining Our Self Esteem.” Cosmopolitan, Cosmopolitan Magazine, 7 Oct. 2017, www.cosmopolitan.com/health-fitness/a8601466/why-dont-i-look-like-her-how-instagram-is-ruining-our-self-esteem/.
4. Gilchrist, Karen. “Instagram Most Likely to Cause Young People to Feel Depressed and Lonely out of Major Social Apps, Study Says.” CNBC, CNBC, 19 May 2017, www.cnbc.com/2017/05/19/instagram-most-likely-to-cause-young-people-to-feel-depressed-and-lonely-out-of-major-social-apps-study-says.html.
5. Morris, David Z. “Social Media Is Fueling a Scary Trend for Teen Anxiety.” Fortune, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2017, fortune.com/2017/10/15/social-media-teen-anxiety/.
6. Miller, Caroline. “Does Social Media Cause Depression?” Common Sense Media: Ratings, Reviews, and Advice, www.commonsensemedia.org/mental-health/does-social-media-cause-depression.

Essay on Social Media – Essay 1 (100 words)

Social media has become an integral part of our lives, revolutionizing the way we communicate, share information, and connect with others. This social media essay encapsulates its double-edged nature.

Its platforms have provided us with unparalleled opportunities for networking, expressing our opinions, and accessing a vast range of information. They have facilitated global conversations, bridging distances and promoting cultural exchange. However, the addictive nature of social media and the spread of misinformation pose significant challenges. It is crucial for users to exercise caution, verify information, and maintain a healthy balance between virtual and real-life interactions.

While social media brings numerous benefits, its responsible use and critical thinking are essential for navigating its potential drawbacks effectively.

Essay on Social Media: Advantages and Disadvantages – Essay 2 (250 words)

Social media has become a vital part of our lives, transforming the way we connect, share information, and engage with the world. While it offers numerous advantages, it also carries several disadvantages. In this essay, we will explore the pros and cons of social media and its overall impact on society.

Advantages

Firstly, social media provides a platform for global connections, enabling individuals to stay in touch with friends, family, and acquaintances across borders. It facilitates relationship maintenance and updates, while also creating networking and professional opportunities. Social media engagement, through likes, comments, and shares, can further strengthen these connections and expand your reach to a wider network. Platforms like LinkedIn have become crucial for job seekers to showcase their skills and connect with potential employers.
Secondly, social media serves as an excellent medium for instant information dissemination. It allows access to news, updates, and trending topics worldwide, keeping us informed and aware. Social media also fosters creativity and collaboration, as it encourages the sharing of knowledge and ideas.

Disadvantages

However, social media has its drawbacks. Excessive use can negatively impact mental health, leading to feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem due to the constant exposure to carefully curated content. It can also contribute to addictive behaviors and a lack of real-life social interaction.

Moreover, its platforms have become hotspots for the rapid spread of misinformation and fake news. This can significantly impact public opinion and decision-making. Additionally, privacy concerns arise from the collection and usage of personal data by social media companies.

Conclusion

In conclusion, social media offers advantages such as improved connectivity, information sharing, and networking opportunities. However, it also presents disadvantages, including negative effects on mental health, the spread of misinformation, and privacy concerns. To harness the benefits of social media while mitigating its drawbacks, users must be mindful of their usage, critically evaluate information, and take steps to protect their privacy.

Essay on Social Media – The Benefits and Drawbacks – Essay 3 (400 words)

Social media has become an integral part of our lives, revolutionizing the way we communicate and stay connected. In this essay, we will explore the benefits and drawbacks of it and its impact on individuals and society.

Is Social Media Causing You to Accelerate?

The advent of social media platforms has undoubtedly accelerated the pace of our lives. These digital platforms have changed the way we communicate, share information, and interact with the world, creating an environment that is always connected and frequently updated.

Benefits of Social Media

The benefits of social media are manifold. At the top of the list is the ease and speed of communication. With just a few clicks, you can connect with someone on the other side of the globe, share ideas, and engage in dialogue. Social media also serves as an excellent platform for learning and knowledge exchange, fostering a culture of collaboration and mutual growth. Utilizing high-quality images from sources like Depositphotos can further enrich educational content, making complex ideas more accessible and engaging to a broader audience.

Moreover, social media is instrumental in activism and raising social awareness. Movements like #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter have relied heavily on these platforms to disseminate information and rally support. Furthermore, businesses can leverage social media to reach a broader audience, enabling even small startups to compete with larger corporations in the global marketplace.

Drawbacks of Social Media

However, the accelerated pace of life driven by social media also has its drawbacks. The impact on mental health is a major concern. Studies have shown a correlation between excessive use of social media and heightened levels of anxiety and depression. The culture of instant gratification and the pressure to constantly portray an idealized version of oneself can lead to feelings of inadequacy and stress.

Privacy is another significant concern. Personal data can be exploited on these platforms, leading to breaches of privacy and instances of cybercrime. Additionally, the spread of misinformation or “fake news” poses a serious drawback, with the potential to sow discord and influence political events.

Furthermore, social media often acts as an echo chamber, leading to increased societal polarization. Users can find themselves in social media “bubbles” where they’re only exposed to views that align with their own, preventing them from gaining balanced perspectives.

Conclusion

While social media has revolutionized communication and brought immense benefits, we must also acknowledge its drawbacks. It has accelerated our lives, made us more connected, but also brought with it a new set of challenges. Therefore, it is crucial to adopt a balanced approach to the use of social media, maximizing its benefits while being mindful of its potential pitfalls.

Essay on Social Media: Importance, Effects, Pros and Cons – Essay 4 (1000 words)

Introduction

Social media has undeniably revolutionized the way we communicate and share information. These digital platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, have become a cornerstone of contemporary society. With millions of people around the world actively using these platforms daily, social media has become a vital element in our lives, touching various aspects like communication, business, education, and more.

Importance of Social Media in Our Life

Social media has a significant impact on our lives in various ways. Its primary importance lies in the ease of communication it provides. It has made communication faster, easier, and more efficient by allowing users to interact with each other irrespective of geographical locations. Not only personal communication, but businesses also rely on social media for promotions, customer engagement, and feedback.

Education has also reaped the benefits of social media. Platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook provide a hub for students and educators to share resources, discuss ideas, and even facilitate remote learning. This interconnected network has made knowledge more accessible than ever before.

Furthermore, social media acts as a global platform for social activism and the sharing of critical information. Campaigns, petitions, and social movements have found a new home on these digital platforms, reaching a wider audience and facilitating collective action on a scale never seen before.

Effects of Social Media

Social media’s effects are profound, reaching into various aspects of society and individual lives, and these effects can be both positive and negative.

On the positive side, the primary effect is the facilitation of communication. Social media has drastically enhanced our ability to interact with one another, both personally and professionally. It enables instant sharing of ideas, opinions, and feelings, thereby nurturing relationships and creating a sense of global community.

In the world of business, social media has emerged as a powerful marketing and networking tool. It promotes business growth by providing companies a platform to reach and engage with customers in a cost-effective manner. Real-time interaction, customer feedback, and the ability to tailor marketing strategies based on consumer behavior are some of the unique advantages that social media offers to businesses.

Social media also has a significant impact on education, providing immense learning opportunities. It has democratized knowledge, making it possible for anyone with internet access to learn from global experts, research on various topics, and even earn degrees online. It has also facilitated collaboration between learners and teachers across the globe, paving the way for a more interactive and comprehensive learning experience.

Furthermore, social media plays an essential role in social activism. It has provided activists with a platform to voice their concerns, organize movements, and garner support on a large scale. From raising awareness about climate change to promoting racial equality, social media has become a vehicle for driving social change.

However, along with these positive effects, social media also brings a host of negative impacts that warrant our attention. A significant concern is the potential for social media addiction. The constant availability of social media and the ‘fear of missing out’ (FOMO) can lead to excessive use, which in turn can impact mental and physical health, sleep patterns, and overall productivity.

Cyberbullying is another harmful effect of social media. The anonymity and reach of social media have unfortunately made it a platform for harassment, leading to significant psychological distress for victims.

Pros of Social Media

The advantages of social media are manifold. Firstly, it fosters global connectivity and communication. It eliminates geographical barriers, enabling people from different parts of the world to connect and share ideas. This global reach also benefits businesses by providing them with a platform to reach potential customers worldwide.

Secondly, social media can serve as a potent tool for learning and education. It provides access to a vast amount of information and resources, aiding self-directed learning. It also supports collaborations, discussions, and online classes, enhancing the learning experience.

Lastly, social media is a powerful platform for social change. It helps amplify voices that might otherwise be marginalized or unheard, facilitating social justice movements and driving societal change.

Cons of Social Media

Despite its advantages, social media also has its share of drawbacks. The first major concern is addiction. The constant urge to check updates, notifications, and feeds can lead to compulsive behavior, impacting productivity and overall well-being.

Privacy and security is another significant concern. Social media sites collect vast amounts of personal data, posing potential risks to user privacy. Instances of data breaches and misuse of information highlight the vulnerability of users on these platforms.

Furthermore, the prevalence of misinformation and fake news on social media poses a significant challenge. It can lead to misunderstandings, fuel conflict, and even influence public opinion or elections.

Additionally, social media can inadvertently promote unhealthy comparisons and unrealistic standards of beauty or success, leading to negative psychological impacts, such as anxiety, depression, and body image issues.

Conclusion

Social media has become an integral part of our lives, transforming the way we communicate, access information, and engage with the world around us. While its importance cannot be understated, it is crucial to be aware of the effects, both positive and negative, associated with its use. By understanding and addressing the challenges posed by it, we can harness its potential for positive change while mitigating the risks. It is essential for individuals, policymakers, and society as a whole to navigate the world of social media thoughtfully and responsibly, ensuring that its benefits outweigh its drawbacks.

The Role of Social Media in Shaping Political Discourse and Civic Engagement – Essay 5 (2800 words)

Social media has taken over the world, it has taken a hold of our every day lives. It is at that point that we get all your information from Social media sits such as Facebook, twitter, snap chat, and Instagram. Our world has turned into a world where everyone posts everything online from their personal lives to what they see happening in the world around them. Social media has affected what we think, how we communicate and how we learn about things that are going on in someone’s life or the world around us. Social media dose have some benefits such as being able to create friendships and to help friends and family stay connected, but at the same time it does bring up some concerns about the harms that is can cause such as addiction, depression, and political polarization. Times and things have changed so much from the days of reading a newspaper, to a book to watching the local news to find information out. We have become a society has is has become so dependent on technology that we are glued to our computers, cellphone, and tablets. The problem with that is anyone can post something online and its all about the amount of follower, likes and shares that fuel what is posted online. Social media has gotten so big that it has become a resource where younger generations get their voice heard and news read. Social media has taken over our lives, to the point where a lot of the younger generations get their news from places like Facebook and twitter. Social media has taken away everyday person to person interaction with other people, all they must do now it get online and follow and message others with out ever meeting them in person.

It has become a way for people to voice their options where anyone and everyone can see it. While social media can be used for good it can also cause harm and have a negative effect on people. Social media has also become a place where when you post something online anyone can comment on it and sometimes its positive, but it can also be negative. Social media at times has turned into a place where someone can get cyber bullied by people that do not even know or has no idea who the person is they are commenting on but they do it just to be a cyber troll. I would like to talk about the positive and negatives that social media has had on our society: also the studies that I have looked up shows the role that social media has played in the spike in suicide rates. Social media has become such a mainstream way of life that the United States has had to create laws to help protect users from being required to give employers their online names and password to their accounts. Law to protect people from being cyberbullied and harassed. At the same time while Social Media can have a negative effect on our society it can also have some positive effects on our everyday life. In some cases it can help bring awareness to causes such as cancer research and helping friends and family that might live far away from one another the chance to stay connected and find out what is going on in others lives and how they are doing. With COVID-19 going on Social media today has been the only real way a lot of people can stay connected in a safe way.

In 2012 Maryland become the first state in the United States to create social media laws. “Senate Bill 433 on May 2, 2012, Governor Martin O’Malley made Maryland the first state in the nation to legally prohibit employers from requesting or requiring an employee or job applicant to disclose their user name or password to access a social networking account.1 Many states have passed, or are currently considering passing laws to protect employees from being forced to provide their usernames and passwords to social networking websites, commonly referred to as “social networking laws.”2 As of October 2013, social networking laws have been instituted or are currently pending in thirty-six states.3 Additionally, efforts to ban the practice nationwide have gained traction in Congress through such legislation as the Social Networking Online Protection Act (SNOPA) and the Password Protection Act.4 Maryland’s social networking law does not explicitly resolve several major issues surrounding the use of social networking in the context of the employer-employee relationship.” (https://digitalcommons.law.umaryland.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1221&context=jbtl)

This law was created to help employees to help keep their social media accounts privet so employers could not force employees to give them their usernames and password to their personal social media accounts. In 2014 Ohio introduced a law against cyberbullying under the Ohio telecommunication harassment law. Anyone that has been convicted of cyberbullying in the state of Ohio maybe face fines or ever imprisonment or they could face both depending on the severity of the crime. First time offenders in Ohio can be charged with first degree misdemeanor and could face up to 1,000 dollars in fines or up to a maxim of six months in jail. After that if you are convicted of doing it a second time in Ohio it will go on your record as a fifth-degree felony with up to $2,500 fine and up to a year in jail. The reason this type of law was created it because people are being bullied and harassed online and some have even been cyberstalked online.

Literature Review

Proposal I would like to write a paper on the effects of Social media and what it has done to our society. Social media has taken over our lives, anyone and everyone can post information online. From myspace to Facebook, snapchat, twitter and Instagram just to name a few. Social media has gotten so big that it has become a resource where younger generations get their voice heard and news read. Social media has taken over our lives, to the point where a lot of the younger generations get their news from places like Facebook and twitter. It has become a way for people to voice their options where anyone and everyone can see it. While social media can be used for good it can also cause harm and have a negative effect on people. Social media has also become a place where when you post something online anyone can comment on it and sometimes its positive, but it can also be negative. Social media at times has turned into a place where someone can get cyber bullied by people that do not even know. I would like to talk about the positive and negatives that social media has had on our society. The study also shows the role that social media has played in the spike in suicide rates. She also turned to Dr. Michael Rich who as a professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical school who is also a director of the center on media at child health at Boston’s children’s hospital. He contributed to the study by comparing social media and suicide to video games and violence. That some children maybe using social media in a problematic or dangerous ways, they are reading and heading about things that happen in the world or to them and they might get influenced by what they see or read on social media. What today’s youth see online can have an effect on them, some see something embarrassing about them posted online or they post a picture of something and just about anyone can comment on it or post something about it which can have a negative effect on someone’s life and lead to cyber bulling which in effect has led to suicide rates going up, eating disorders and other phycological issues.

I feel that this article alone is a great example of what I want to discuss how social media is affecting our life’s as a society. While things can go wrong on Social Media, it can also be used for good as a platform to bring notice to a cause such as cancer awareness or how cyber bulling can effect someonehttps://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/well/family/teenagers-social-media.html

A study in 2018 states the over three billion people a little over 40% of the worlds population us on or uses some type of social media such as Facebook, twitter, and snap chat at almost two hours every day. That is a lot of time people are spending checking out what is going on online rather than spending real time with friends, family, and other love ones. While studies on the effect of social media are new a study came out that said that social media has contributed to high stress levels among women that women are stressing out over posts on social media than men. It has also caused a few people to have much higher anxiety levels as well, causing people to worry more and have trouble sleeping. That same study found that depression is also something that has increased among students causing many of them to feel worthless and hopeless.

In another article that I found quote from the Mayo Clinic “ social media use can also negatively affect teens, distracting them, disrupting their sleep, and exposing them to bullying, rumor spreading, unrealistic views of other people’s lives and peer pressure.

The risks might be related to how much social media teens use. A 2019 study of more than 6,500 12- to 15-year-olds in the U.S. found that those who spent more than three hours a day using social media might be at heightened risk for mental health problems. Another 2019 study of more than 12,000 13- to 16-year-olds in England found that using social media more than three times a day predicted poor mental health and well-being in teens.” (https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/tween-and-teen-health/in-depth/teens-and-social-media-use/art-20474437)

Social media has also turned into an addiction where people are so consumed over what is going on in the cyberworld that they can lost track of time and reality. Someone can just shut everyone out around them and have no human interaction with anyone outside of the cyberworld. Which has led to people having low self esteem issues as well. For example some females see the pictures online that have been taken of other women, whether they are real or photoshopped a study shows the some women wish they could be or look like the pictures they see of other women online which leads to them feeling unattractive in their eyes. In 2016 the University of Penn State did a study that showed that females have lower self-esteem because they compare them self’s to someone else’s selfie and think that they need to look, act or dress like that in real life which can make someone less happy and confident in them self’s.

These numbers all around are disturbing on what social media has done to us as a society from a negative standpoint. The face that it seems to cause so much harm to many of us in causing depression, anxiety, and stress among us as a society it is disturbing. The fact that social media has taken over us and we care so much what people think about us and how many likes, comments and shares has become such a big deal that when it comes to interaction with other people in person has almost become nonexistent.

While social media dose has some negative effects on our society it can also have a positive effect as well. In some cases, social media has had some positive effects on peoples lives as well. Where in some cases it has increased someone’s self confidence by posting a picture and receiving positive feed back from others. It is a good way to also stay in contact with friends and family to makes sure that the people that they care able but might not be living in the same city or state as them a way to still stay connected even in long distance. It can help bring people closer together or even help them make new relationships or even friendships with people that they might not even get the chance to meet in real life. It is a way to people to create profiles to connect with others and see what is going on in today’s world. It has become a way for people to stay connected with what is going in the world around them without having the media telling them what to think or how to feel. It is a way to get in some cases a nonobjective point of view of what is going on. It is also a way to get awareness out to the world to let people know what issues are important to you and how you feel about an issue that is going on to see what others think or how others handle it. It has also helped with people how are feeling lonely, it gives them a way to connect with the outside world without being judged on who they are. It gives people a way to meet others that have the same interests and point of view as them and a way to express it. While its dose cut down on every day in person interaction its dose keeps people social with one another in some way shape or form. For example, I use social media to stay connected with friends that I have made over the years in different states so we can stay in communication with one another to stay in contact. With what is going on today with Covid-19 social media has become a great way to spread news and a way to love ones and friends to check in on one another to see how they are doing while playing it safe and making sure they keep contact levels down with people that have compromised immune systems or at high risk of contacting this virus.

Conclusion

While we all might have our own options of social media and what we think of it and how we use it, we do have a choice to believe what we want and control how much we are on it. While it has being known to cause mental and health issues depending on how you use it or read into things and it has caused a lot of debate of whether or not social media is to blame for high suicide rates or causes people to have metal issues over what they see or what they read online. Only time will tell in that aspect on how social media has effected our lives or if it is going to become something that is just going to be the norm and they laws are going to have to change to adjust with the times or if the way we communicate with others online is going to be the new norm and that everything that is going on in the social media world is going to be apart of our everyday lives and that society is just going to except it and look at all of the negative things online as just a cry for help. Personally, I do not take things that I see online personal, unless you attack someone I care about. I am not one of those people that take everything seriously, I look at it as it is a way to help others in their time of need. Some people I know post everything online and a few have used it as a cry for help in which I reach out to them and say hey I saw what you posted online are you doing okay and that I am here for them if they need me even if I am in another state or a few hours away from them that if they need me I am their for them. I am also one of those people that I don’t care what others that do not know me think of me only those that know me can judge me and that if someone has something negative to stay to me online than that means they can say it too my face and if they choose to hind behind a keyboard and screen than they are just cowards who are just out their to get a rise of me or someone else. People do use social media to trash talk someone they do not even know just to get them to say something back. In the case of famous people, someone online will say something to someone famous just to get a reaction out of them just so they can have their 15 minutes of fame.

Resources

1. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180104-is-social-media-bad-for-you-the-evidence-and-the-unknowns
2. https://www.ncsl.org/research/telecommunications-and-information-technology/social-media-privacy-laws.aspx
3. https://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/cyberbullying-laws-ohio.htm
4. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/tween-and-teen-health/in-depth/teens-and-social-media-use/art-20474437
5. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/03/well/family/teenagers-social-media.html
6. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kalevleetaru/2019/04/21/why-do-we-blame-social-media-for-being-addictive-instead-of-ourselves/#13721799397b
7. https://scholarworks.bgsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=writ
8. https://www.abingtonhealth.org/healthy-living/health-news/library/articles-related-to-general-health/are-instagram-and-other-social-media-bad-for-your-teens-mental-h/
9. https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/is-social-media-good-for-you

Social media has become a ubiquitous part of our lives, and it can be used for numerous purposes, including communication, entertainment, news, and even education. The average person spends more than two hours a day connecting with people and staying in the loop with what’s happening around them. However, while many people understand the value of having information at their fingertips, they may not know all the advantages that social media can offer.

In this social media essay, we will explore some of the main benefits of using social media for high schoolers and business owners.

The Benefits of Social Media for High Schoolers

One benefit of social media is that it provides a platform for self-expression. This is especially true for high schoolers who are just starting to figure out who they are and who they want to become. Social media gives them a place to express themselves without pressure from parents or teachers. It also allows them to connect with others who share similar interests or experiences — a powerful tool for young adults trying to find their way in the world.

Another benefit of social media essays is that it helps users stay connected with family and friends — even when they can’t physically be together. For high schoolers, this means being able to stay in touch with friends even if they move away or go off to college. It also allows them to keep tabs on what their family members are up to while they’re busy at school or activities. And given how busy teenagers are these days, having an online connection can be invaluable.

Furthermore, social media can actually help high school students become better learners. With access to so much information at their fingertips, students can quickly research topics that pique their interest! Moreover, many educational institutions now offer courses on popular platforms like YouTube and Instagram, making learning more accessible than ever before.

Exploring the Benefits of Social Media for Business Owners

By the way, social media is a powerful tool for small business owners and entrepreneurs. In fact, if you want to grow your business and get more customers, social media marketing is essential.

The most important thing you can do is make sure your business is set up properly on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google+. You need to have a consistent presence on each site so that people can find you easily when they search for businesses like yours.

One of the biggest benefits of social media for business owners is that it gives you the opportunity to connect with your customers in real time. You can provide support, answer questions, and provide feedback on their concerns. This is especially helpful when it comes to customer service.

Once you have a presence on these sites, it’s time to start following other businesses that are similar to yours. This way, when people search for businesses like yours in their area or niche market, they will see yours in the results. This will drive traffic to your website, leading to more sales leads and better visibility for your business overall.

Social media offers advertisers and marketers a powerful platform for promoting products and services. By combining traditional advertising with social media campaigns, businesses can reach potential customers who may not be aware of their brand or offerings. This allows them to expand their reach without investing in costly ad campaigns or SEO optimization. Social media also provides an ongoing opportunity to stay engaged with customers and build relationships, creating a valuable asset to any business.

Conclusion

Social media has become an essential part of everyday life for millions of people worldwide, from making new connections with like-minded individuals to providing businesses with an effective way to reach out to their target audience.

Furthermore, research has also shown that regular use of social media can lead to improved mental health outcomes — so why not give it a try today? We hope this essay helped shed some light on why social media is so beneficial for high schoolers and for business owners!

Unsurprisingly, social media has become a large part of our everyday lives. From Twitter to Instagram, Snapchat to YouTube, we’re constantly surrounded by various platforms that have both positive and negative effects on our society. In this essay, I’ll be exploring the pros and cons of social media. Let’s dive in!

The Pros Of Social Media

One of the most notable pros of social media is its ability to connect people all over the world. With just a few clicks, you can instantly connect with family members or friends who live thousands of miles away. Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter allow us to keep up with our loved ones in real time. We can share news and events that are important to us, comment on each other’s posts, and even reminisce on old memories with ease.

Furthermore, it’s also a great way to stay connected with your community and stay up-to-date on news and events in your area.

Additionally, social media essays can be used as an educational tool – students can use it to research topics for essays or projects, follow experts in their field of interest, or even find online courses to further their education.

Besides, it can also be used as a platform for creative expression – whether it’s through blogging about a specific topic or creating art pieces for others to enjoy.

Some people keep journals or diaries to express their feelings and thoughts. Some people write poetry or short stories as creative outlets for their emotions. Social media allows individuals to share their interests with others through status updates and comments on posts they like or find interesting. This helps them feel less alone in their interests while also connecting them with like-minded individuals who share those interests through shared posts or comments on those posts.

Social media is an excellent way to get your name out there, whether you’re just starting out or you have been in business for years. It is a great tool for connecting with potential customers and building relationships with them.

By the way, social media makes staying up-to-date with current events easier. It’s also an excellent platform for discussing these matters with like-minded people passionate about them.

The Cons Of Social Media

Social media also has its drawbacks – one being its potential for cyberbullying and harassment. Unfortunately, it’s too easy for users to hide behind their screens while making hurtful comments or spreading malicious rumors about other people online.

Besides, too much time spent scrolling through feeds or engaging in heated debates can take away from more productive activities like studying for exams or pursuing hobbies outside of digital platforms.

You can easily get addicted to checking your phone or computer every few minutes to see if you have gotten any new likes or comments on your posts. If you’re constantly checking your phone for updates, then this is a sign that you may be addicted to social media and should take steps to reduce how often you use it for now.

There are even mental health concerns associated with overuse or addiction to social media. Studies have found connections between excessive time spent on these sites and depression or anxiety symptoms, so it’s essential to be mindful when using them.

Although it is possible to have meaningful interactions online, many people live comparison-based lifestyles as they compare themselves constantly against others’ “perfect” profiles instead of appreciating their unique qualities and experiences.

Yet, many people use these sites as an excuse not to engage in real life social activities – instead opting for hours spent scrolling through posts rather than spending time with friends in person.

Conclusion

Overall, there are both positives and negatives associated with using social media. While these platforms offer great opportunities for connection and creativity, it is essential to remember the potential harm that they can cause if abused.

Therefore, we must remain mindful when using these sites, ensuring we are not engaging in cyberbullying or allowing our mental health to suffer from overuse.

It’s true that how much time one spends on social media is a highly personal decision. Nonetheless, it’s important to be mindful and honest with ourselves when evaluating our relationship with these platforms, so we can make the most of them while avoiding any potential pitfalls associated with excessive use or inappropriate activity.