...Social Media: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly Truth. The very first electronic mail was sent in 1971 but in just over 40 years, social media has become a global phenomenon. Social media are websites or applications that allow people to share their ideas, thoughts and feelings through mediums like photos, music and videos. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Ask.fm are just a few examples of such platforms. Social media has made the world a smaller place with just a click of a few buttons. One could literally do anything, such as, posting photos, making videos or exchanging ideas. Furthermore, through social media, one can also readily share ideas and easily communicate with people around the globe. With the convenience and accessibility it brings, social media may seem like a great invention, but the awful truth is that excessive use of social media can be addictive. This essay will discuss how people’s dependence of social media would cause problems like addictive behavior that are similar to drugs and alcohol addiction, antisocial behavior, and lastly, the mental state of the user. Inordinate use of social media can cause severe ramifications. However, when used with restraint, social media could be a convenient way for people to communicate easily with one another anywhere and everywhere. For example, according to CASAColumbia (2014), more than seventeen million teenagers log into social media sites each day to update their statuses or upload a photo. On average, out of this seventeen...
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...Social Media Addiction Distracts Drivers Noelyne Paet Chamberlain College of Nursing Social Media Addiction Distracts Drivers PR Newswire (2015) reported Abby Slatten, 20-years-old, was allegedly speeding at 85 miles per hour (mph) while scrolling through pictures on her Facebook account via smartphone. Tragically, Slatten plowed into another car that killed another driver who was at the elderly age of 89-years-old. The elderly victim could have been someones parent, friend, or sibling who did not deserve a fatal ending to their life. A similar story, involved a young 34-year-old woman who received a prison sentencing of 10 years with a $25,000 fine for sending a text message while driving that could not wait, in result, crashed and killed her daughter and two nieces all who were in the same car. That women will serve her sentencing but will never be able to bring back her loved ones back from the accident. The constant reminders of roadway accidents ending in tragedy, such as those police reports, are widely spread across our nation. All tragic stories are disheartening to hear and think about; a reminder to play our part in keeping our roads safer. Tragedy may effect your next door neighbor or a stranger in the local supermarket; no matter who we are or what our background is tragedy exist and does not discriminate against anyone. People can make a difference to their daily living. There are those small percentage of people who has a habit that is...
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...The impact of Social Media Addiction on an Individual’s Social Life & Mental Health and the factors that causes Social Media Addiction Anku Sherpa ACADEMIC YEAR 2014 Data Driven Decision Making Stamford International University ABSTRACT The purpose of this research is to understand the factors that causes Social media addiction and the impacts of Social media addiction on the social life and mental health of its users. The research will be conducted amongst users of Social media in Thailand and will highlight whether Socio Demographic factors such as age, gender, level of education and marital status influence Social media addiction. The respondents for the study will be chosen through non probability – convenience sampling and the research will focus on only quantitative approach. Lastly, the research study will also attempt to illustrate whether there is a relationship between Social media addiction and Human interaction and Mental health. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This Thesis would not have been completed with the continual support of our facilitator Dr. Apitep Saekow and we would like to thank him for his continued support and guidance throughout the writing of this research study. Our sincere gratitude also towards the Stamford International University for providing us with an opportunity to conduct this research and providing us with the necessary resources through the Stamford Library. Our Special thanks also goes out to all our friends who helped us...
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...In her book “It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens”, Dana addresses the idea of internet addiction head on. In boyd's chapter "addiction: what makes teens obsessed with social media?", boyd takes on the idea of addiction, or lack thereof, to the internet. Beginning with the anecdote of a frustrated teen, boyd starts off by putting forth the common idea that overuse of social media is seen by most, teens included, as an “addiction” and “…something that teens lack the capacity to maintain a healthy relationship with…” (79). However, boyd later states that this is better represented by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s term “flow” (80), or deep engagement. An interesting point that boyd brings up is the idea that teenagers...
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...Effects of Social Media on Society and Teens Tyler Clementi, 18 was a regular freshman who was passionate about playing the violin and was still very new to his gay identity. Instead of enjoying college life at Rutgers University, his first semester proved to be a disaster experiencing the tauntment of tweets and statuses from other students behind computer screens and key boards. Cyberbullying is not the only negative effect that social media has on teens and society but she shares the biggest impact. It can be used through so many ways especially through social networking sites. All media sites construct reality that has powerful, yet subtle implications. The media has the ability to influence how teens and society think, shop, dress, behave, judge people and feel about other individuals. Some of these influences cause social and health issues. Social networking is not safe enough to protect anyone that has access to the internet. Social media has become very superior to the daily lives of society that has negatively affected society because of its influences of cyberbullying, the judgement of others and the promotion of drug or alcohol. Social networking is a very common way for people of different groups, age and ethnic background to connect together. It can become more of a community online that is only on the internet. Social media sites are usally free to sign up and join with no cost to connect with others. The question may be how the companies of social media gain many...
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...Negative Effects of Social Media Christine M. Boyd University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Social media is something that has become a part of the lives of millions. Every day we see people constantly posting on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Some think that these media outlets unite people together, but I’m beginning to think the contrary is closer to the truth. It’s common to see multiple people in a room glued to their phones instead of actually engaging with each other. In this paper, I will investigate why people have developed an obsession with social media, how social media creates a false reality, and how social media can be harmful to our mental health. There are a variety of reasons why people have developed an obsession with social media, making it harder to cut ties with it. According to the article Technology Addiction in Adolescents by Vivek Agarwal and Sujit Kumar Kar, “Companies making mobile phones, made them compatible for other technologies like – games, videos, internet browsing and many other applications which facilitate their wide circulation and making them more addicting objects” (pg. 171). When people have constant internet access through their smart phones, it makes it extremely difficult to avoid social media. Smart phones usually vibrate or make a noise when you get a Facebook or Twitter notification, which can increase your likelihood of checking the application. Along with constant internet access, excessive social media use has been linked...
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...world has evolved in many different ways. New inventions have created diverse ways for the whole world to connect and improve the world. Out of those inventions, social media is by far the most phenomenal. Social media are a group of websites and applications that allow individuals, companies and users to create and share contents with other social media users.This includes widely used Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. These social media websites have allowed the world to connect and create a space for meeting new people from all over the world. In fact, there are more than 2.67 billion users online today! It has undeniably brought benefits. However, social media have also had bad influences and caused a lot of problems...
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...destruction not through traditional media outlets, but through social networking sites. Through Facebook and Twitter, Oxfam International raised $110,000 in “Help Earthquake Survivors in Haiti Cause” and raised awareness emergency relief efforts. Management Sciences for Health (MSH) used social networks to attempt communication with and locate missing staff members. Social media exerted its power, as MSH was able to account for all staff members. Social media has become a potent force in the realm of science and medicine; it has revolutionized disaster relief and medical treatment globally....
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...------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- Summary The internet plays a huge part of our everyday lives. As far as giving a typical definition it’s kind of difficult to give the internet one meaning. Unlike any other technology, the internet can be whatever we can make it. We can shape it however we may choose and the best part is how affective it’s used to connect to people, communities and countries all over the world. In the early days when the internet was still considered new, most people just used the internet to search for information. Most traditional communications media, including telephone and television, are being reshaped or redefined by the Internet, giving birth to new services such as Internet telephone and Internet television. Newspaper, book, and other print publishing are adapting to website technology, or are reshaped into blogging and web feeds. Today the internet is constantly altering itself to better provide more amazing varieties of...
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...studies have examined how the internet, specifically social media sites, such as Facebook, have impacted society and our behaviors. Many of these show, that excessive social media use can have a very negative outcome on various levels. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or D.S.M. recently added “behavioral addiction,” to its classification of addiction. Behavioral addiction includes internet addiction. (Markel, 2012) As more and more uses of the internet become available, users find themselves on the internet more and more, specifically social media sites. Many mindlessly log on to Facebook or Twitter now without even giving it a second thought, it’s just something to do to pass the time. It seems harmless, but how much time is being wasted, and how much can this affect our comprehension and attention spans? Life at 120 characters, and constantly updating status updates takes away from the brains capacity to focus on actual important information. It makes it easier to lose focus and ignore the actual life going on around us. In a recent Pace University Study, researchers asked 218 undergraduate students to self-monitor Facebook usage and meaningfulness in their daily lives. Results suggested the greater amount of time spent on Facebook/status updated the lower the self-esteem, and higher cases of loneliness. (Schwartz, 2012) Based on these results, conclusions can be drawn about the impact social media can potentially have on...
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...The Effects of Social Media on Generation Y Abbigail Bronkema Chamberlain College of Nursing Abstract This paper explores the effects of Social media on today’s Millennials. Social media has created an environment that allows for communication and sharing posts with friends and even someone unknown. This paper also explores three published books and three articles that report on the effects of Social media on social and personal behavior. In the first section of this paper it examines the difficulty of interpersonal communication, that has been created by Social media, for Generation Y. Keller (2013) suggests that we are more social and more interactive with other but the style of communication has changed. This paper also looks at the ability to interact with anyone through different media sites. Cabral (2008) reports that younger generations are changing how the society communicates on many different levels. The last section of this paper examines the fulfillment without delay that Social media provides to Millennials. Alsop (2014) supports that social media supplies instant gratification whenever Millennials need it. Keywords: Social media, Interpersonal communication, Instant gratification The Effects of Social Media on Generation Y There are many influences that shape today’s Millennials lifestyles and behaviors. Families, friends, and environment are the main factors that shape a person as they grow, but today social media has begun to make its mark...
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...Social media has been considered a positive factor for many as it helps people stay connected with family and friends. When it was invented, the inventors of social media networks would never have dreamed of the impact social media would have on people. Although social media is indeed a positive thing, it can become an addiction and affect the daily lives of many people. For example, when a person does nothing but log online and stay connected on Facebook or Twitter, it disrupts their daily lives. This is addiction, and it is a psychological problem. Many people, who are addicted to social networking, spend time making sure their lives are perfect set up to post online. For example, if every waking minute is designed to perfection, so that it can be reflected on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, this is a sign of social media addiction. If a person considers how or what he or she does and where he or she goes and how it will reflect on social media, this person is so addicted to social media it is time to take a step back and consider the consequences. Gone are the days when things private were kept…. private. Every aspect of a person’s life is on Facebook or Twitter from the time the person wakes up to the time the person goes to sleep. Many people upload themselves painting their finger and toenails, having a crisis in life, even a funeral! This is called social media addiction. If a person is unable to do a single thing, without recording it on social media, this person is...
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...TO: Prof. Goerge Cuevas FROM: Chua, Marielle Ann S. EN212/01127 Cosme, Chen A. Dulce, Nairadeth A. Dumulong, May Ann E. Ildefonso, Rachel A. SUBJECT: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE DATE: October 04, 2010 Aryn Karpinski, a researcher from Ohio State University says that students who use Facebook are underachieving in exams. Instead of spending time doing the assignments and work, students would rather to sit, face on the screen and checking updates on Facebook. Study shows students who spend more time on Facebook spend less time in studying. User students spend time for five hours studying while students who are non-users studied eleven to fifteen hours per week which has significant that Facebook users have an averaged of low grades rather than those non-users. Karpinski added that there may be other factors that can affects the study habit of students such as personality traits that link Facebook use and lower grades and some students would still find other ways to avoid studying that still get lower grades. Sharon Gaudin from ComputerWorld Company says that college students have always had study distraction from video games to parties and other entertainments. But Facebook really takes distractions in the study. Bored students can spend hours updating accounts, check new updates, looking at pictures and playing games or any applications on the site. And because of modernization, mobile phones and mini laptop with wifi source which presence of Facebook can go...
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...Is social media beneficial in all the ways Social media has become an integral part of our lives. The widespread use of the social media has allowed critics to emerge and talk about the negative influences of it. As far as, it is something very obvious that excessive use of one thing can lead to a variety of problems; it is always recommended to stick to moderation. For this reason, moderation is also the key to balancing the effect of social media. “I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots” (tech-surpass). If we look out our surroundings, we can witness that the day has come. I have four hundred and eighteen friends, yet I am alone. This is a new type of loneliness where...
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...Browsing social media has become an addictive habit for teenagers around the world. It is by far the most common recreational pastime among teens and children and is teetering towards to the brink of addiction in some cases. These social networking sites, in example, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc, are creating unsafe environments for young children due to the sheer amount of content and information, bad or good, easily and readily available for them to see. Adults rarely suffer with social media addiction, and should be able to monitor their use appropriately, while teens and children struggle with this concept. Social media websites offer a service in which one can connect and interact with classmates and friends. It allows you to meet new people around the world, but because of the youths non-existent capability to self regulate, the dangers that come with impressionable minds, such as bad behavior, bullying, sexual interest and social awkwardness develop at a much earlier age. The possibility of internet addiction and in serious examples limited sleep due being constantly connected are also eminent. Unfortunately some kids and teenagers use social media to bully and to create hostile environments on their peers Instagram photos and Facebook posts. People have interpreted social media as a platform to show how much better another persons life is than anothers. Likes on Instagram are now more important than getting complimented in real life, followers are more important...
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