Like technology, our species has adapted to fit modern times. Through these adaptations, we have begun to communicate through our newly developed technology by means of social media. In today’s society, we are surrounded by sites such as Facebook, Twitter, E-Mail, and various other websites that can often times consume our lives. While social media has plenty of advantages, it also has disadvantages that often times get ignored. As Internet users, it is important to examine these disadvantages and make sure we understand the negative sides to social media. As social media has become the easiest way to communicate, face-to-face interaction is slowly becoming a thing of the past. Many people, especially those in the Digital Native generation, draw back from real life interaction and have found a safe haven behind a computer screen. Here, they feel that they can be whoever they want to be and say whatever they want to say. While this can have some benefits, the cons outweigh the pros. It is no coincidence that in the last five decades, suicide rates have increased by 60% around the world (World Health Organization). It is likely that technology and social media have influenced this number, especially just within the last 10 years. Bullying is a major cause of suicide. Often times, bullying can be included in face-to-face interaction, but sometimes, these acts can be taken in to the cyber world. Websites that have anonymous message features like Tumblr can be used for bullying. Some users receive daily messages filled with hatred. In the past, students were able to escape their bullies by going home after school. There, they could have a night free of bullying. Now that these websites exist, bullies are ... ... middle of paper ... ...rain, Behavior, and Media." Psychology Today. 29 Mar. 2012. . Martin, Michel. "Does Social Media Encourage Violent Teen Behavior?" Interview. Audio blog post. NPR. 15 Jan. 2013. . Messina, Emily S., and Yoshitaka Iwasaki. "Internet Use and Self-Injurious Behaviors Among Adolescents and Young Adults: An Interdisciplinary Literature Review and Implications for Health Professionals." CyberPsychology, Behavior & Social Networking 14 (2011): 161-68. Tunick, Rachel A., Lauren Mednick, and Caitlin Conroy. "A Snapshot of Child Psychologists' Social Media Activity: Professional and Ethical Practice Implications and Recommendations." Professional Psychology: Research & Practice 42 (2011): 440-47.
Malcolm, T. Teen Violence: Does Violent Media Make Violent Kids? National Catholic Reporter. May 28, 1999 v35 i30 p14.
Cyberbullying cannot remain denied as an issue in schools, at home, and in neighborhood communities because research displays increase in suicide and incident rates are caused by bullying. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year, according to the CDC. For every suicide among young people, there are at least 100 suicide attempts and over 14 percent of high school students have considered suicide, with almost 7 percent already attempting it. (Bullying and Suicide, 1) According to Bullying Statistics, over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, and about the same number have engaged in cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying has a big challenge when compared to traditional bullying. Because cyberbullying is an indirect none verbal form of bullying, adolescent are more exposed to repeated harassment through hate messages and much more. For so, they increase the rate of suicide by adding feelings of isolations, hopelessness… Social media also contains websites in which those victims rely on, which take advantage of the victim’s vulnerability to provide detailed information on how to commit suicide in order to kill off their
“Social media, a web-based and mobile technology, has turned communication into a social dialogue, and dominates the younger generation and their culture. As of 2010, Generation Y now outnumbers Baby Boomers, and 96% of Gen Y has joined a social network” (Qualman 1). Social media now accounts for the number one use of the Internet, and this percentage is rising bigger every day (Qualman). As a consequence, people are becoming more reliant on social media, which has a led to a number of advantageous as well as unfavorable effects. The world is more connected today than it has ever been in the past, and this is all because of growth in technology. What has yet to be determined though
Senate Committee on the Judiciary. “Media Violence Causes Youth Violence.” Mass Media. Ed. William Dudley. Farmington Hills, MI: Thompson Gale, 2005. 121-130.
Social media has changed the way people communicate with each other and in turn, has affected our ability to empathize in both negative and positive ways. One of the most harmful consequences is the rise of cyber-bullying. Another negative issue has been the trend of trolling in comments sections of websites, chat rooms, and other online venues of communication. In spite of this, there have been constructive consequences due to social media such as the ability for family and friends to keep in touch on a regular basis. Because of social media, many people are finding support and resources to help them when they fall on hard times or experience tragedies like death and illness. Overall, social media is an exciting new world that changes as it grows and it will be up to society to utilize it for good.
Social media is so popular that according to a recent article published by forbes.com, “72% of American adults are currently using social media sites; that figure has gone up 800% in just 8 years”(Olenski). Social networking was originally created to simply reconnect people with old high school pals, but in recent years it has evolved into a completely different operation. When social media first originated it was also intended for adult usage, which has in recent years expanded into the usage of all ages. Social media can create a negative affect on lives because it has been proven to be a dangerous addiction, for it takes away interpersonal relationships that are essential in life, and it has been proven to prevent people from being productive in life.
“I didn't know what Facebook was, and now that I do know what it is, I have to say, it sounds like a huge waste of time –Betty White (“Betty White Quotes,” 2014, para. 1).” This quote can be interpreted to fit with several of the social media avenues that many people spend their time on. Day in and day out people post, tweet, share, and pin countless times throughout the world. These different forms of communication were first created for an easier way for people to connect with others. Yet now, so much time is spent on these social sites that it has warped the interactive part and is causing more damage than good. Many are growing a desire and are living for the amount of “likes” they can receive on a post or how many re-tweets they can generate. Instead of going to these outlets to participate in a partial portion of their social lives, people are filling that time with the technological aspect of communication. As White said, this can become an inordinate amount of wasted time and can ultimately grow into further damaging circumstances. These different social media channels can cause emotional harm through disparaging the relationship between friends, conjuring of a narcissistic personality, and the retrogradation of ones self-esteem.
In 2010 a freshman named phoebe prince committed suicide. The events leading up to her death included a lot of bullying over the internet- facebook to be specific. She was taunted for months by fellow classmates, encouraging her to kill herself. One day Prince decided that she had reached a low point and hung herself. After her death a classmate commented on the post “accomplished”. The police dug a little deeper and found the bullying campaign against Phoebe Prince. At least 6 parties were involved, before their arrest and after her death, they continued to taunt Prince. Social media is a very dangerous virtual world that aides in crimes such as cyberbullying; identity theft; rapist; molesters; and even murderers. The world is a dangerous
With all the new networking site it makes it easier for bullies to target their victims. Kids don’t understand when they reach a certain limit it can trigger the young kids mind to commit suicide. Bullying and suicide have a huge connection between the two. Getting bullied at school is one thing getting bullied on social media is another, there are more people that can see if they post public. Getting made fun of on social media can make the other kid sensitive and can get to them to the point where they cannot take it anymore. If kids have easy access to get online it is easy for them to find their victim, now a day kids know how to work the new websites. Among average 61% have received mean or embarrassing posts online and 59% have received mean texts, e-mails or instant messages (Anderson, Bresnahan, & Musatics, 2014). It is easier to bully on social media then is at school or anywhere else. Embarrassing pictures or even inappropriate pictures of the victim can be uploaded by the bully leading to embarrassment for everyone to see. It is much easier to be behind a screen not being face to face to attack with harsh word, or whatever it is to embarrass the kid. Being behind a screen doesn’t like kids socialize, which is what is wrong with the society
Social media has nothing but negative effects on people’s minds. Social networking can become very addicting and people can get wrapped up in the drama and excitement of the cyber world. It would only improve our society today if social media never existed to our knowledge. Our society today feels so connected with social media that it interferes with our lives making every task even harder with the temptations.
Nowadays, social media is growing very rapidly throughout the whole world. Social media has changed the way that we communicate with others through using these common social networking sites like Face book, Twitter, and Instagram…For that, social media has positively and negatively impacted our life.
Even though people have different opinions on whether social media has a positive or negative impact on society, it can be said that social media has a positive effect on society as a whole because it lets people communicate with each other easily, it has been said to improve education among children, and has helped improve the economy in the world. One of the main reasons why social media has positively affected our society is because of how it has made communicating with people much easier. “Today, four out of five active internet users maintain at least one social media profile” (Moe, 3). Using these websites, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and etc., people talk about everything with anyone from what they are planning to do, to what they are eating and much more (Moe, 24). We can also send private messages to other users of these websites about personal matters that you just want to discuss with them.
Stutzky suggests that cyber bullying is the use of modern communication technologies to embarrass, humiliate, threaten, or intimidate an individual in the attempt to gain power and control over them. Bullying has been around since the beginning of time. These days however, bullying isn’t just happening on the playground, it’s happening on the internet and mobile phones, making it possible to bully a child 24 hours a day. Cyber bullying follows children around the clock and into the safety of their own bedrooms. A recent survey by MindOh!, an educational company that follows youth trends, reported that nearly 80% of the 5,500 teens that were surveyed said that they had been exposed to cyber bullying. Cyber bullying affects the mental health of so many young adolescents around the world, and the issue is steadily increasing as more and more ways to bully are created.In extreme incidents, cyber bullying has led teenagers to suicide. Most victims, however, suffer shame, embarrassment, anger, depression and withdrawal. While technology continues to evolve, new means of communication enable today’s bullies to become more effective in terrorizing and tormenting their victims. The aim was to increase awareness and decrease the prevalence of cyber bullying- Year 9 at Meridan State College being the stakeholders (people involved).
Although social media has provided todays society with instant forms of communication and ways to connect, it also created a new standard for living and has caused problems for many groups of citizens in all walks of life and has caused society to re-think its usage. There are two views about social media, either. It is a positive addition to society and its benefits outweigh the risks, or that social media causes more harm than good and it’s usage should be limited. Some of the ideas that are central to the idea that social media is a benefit to today’s society are that social media encourages increased communication with friends and family, provides fast access to breaking news and other information, and helps businesses attract new business and correspond more quickly with their existing customers.