Positive and Negative Effects of Social Media Essay

Probably one of the more prevalent arguments in the past five to ten years is that of the effects of social media. Is it something we should avoid? Does it affect our personal lives? Is it a detrimental or advantageous tool for society? There’s a wide variety of opinions on the matter, and while many arguments have been made defending (and attacking) both sides of the controversy, research and experiences show that social media is an invaluable asset to our lives today.

In our modern world of technology, we have created ways to successfully communicate through social networking. We have achieved the art of communication and technology but, what are the effects on us? How does it affect our thinking and way of life? That would depend on who you are talking to and how you're using social networking.

Has social media put a negative or positive impact on society today? Many people wouldn’t know how to answer this question, because many of us don’t know what life was like without the use of technology. Online social networks allow many people to access unavailable hardcopy resources for academic research; but, online social networks are not good for society because it allows the spread of unreliable and false information, can lead to stress and offline relationship problems, and causes people to spend less time interacting with others face-to-face.

We are all aware of the tremendous impact that social media has had on society, business, and personal life. It has revolutionized the way that people communicate and socialize on the internet. But there are people that believe that social media has been the gathering point of much envy, stress, and negative emotions. This theory is supported by the fact that social media has been the cause of many bullying’s, suicides, and invasions of privacy. Contrary to this belief, the potential for good offered by social media surpasses the bad. It is highly evident that it helps build friendships and connections while also providing society with a global method of communication.

Social media: something you love, or something you hate. It goes without saying, though, that social media has become an ever predominant feature within society- defined by the Oxford Dictionary as websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking. The question I pose, however, is whether social media is now posing more harm than it is good.

I think social media does not have a positive impact on the world. Social media can open the world up to cyberbullies, “cat- fishers”, hackers, and employment opportunities. Social media has a negative effect on the world in various ways. Cyberbullying is referred to as the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature. Being “cat- fished” is known as luring someone into a relationship by means of a fictional online persona. With all of these horrible outcomes to social media, is it really worth it?

In 2017, Social media is widely being used and well known. From such a wide variety such as, twitter, snapchat, Facebook, YouTube, and so much more. Social media is being used right now throughout the entire world for numerous different reasons. It can be argued that Social Media has many positive qualities like, connections, information, advertisement, as well as negative qualities such as cyberbullying, and image.

In today's world, social media and technology play a huge role in people's everyday aspect of living. The use of Social media has increased over the past years and still continues to rapidly grow. Some people may agree that it is a helpful tool for communication while other say it is harmful and that in fact, it distances us from our love ones. The argument for both sides has long been going on. However, in my stand, I strongly believe that social media has enhanced our communication in our communities in many positive ways.

Is social media, in this day and age, a positive or negative influence in our lives? Many would vehemently agree that social media is a positive influence, arguing that it has enhanced contact between teachers, alumni, parents, and students. Others might argue that it creates a negative online environment because it exposes individuals to harassment or inappropriate contact from others. Although the negative influences of social media may seem trivial to some, it is, in fact, crucial to understanding in terms of today's concern over the safety and privacy of many users. Social media platforms such as Facebook are creating dangerous online space and negative social interaction due to violation of privacy, stalking or a lesser form called obsessive relational intrusion, and cyberbullying.

Today, social media is everywhere. Playing a big role in people’s life social media has made interactions among people easier. However, although, social media is easy to use it brings society many problems. In other words, in spite of the fact that social media has been, and still is, an essential means of communication, it can be harmful intentionally and unintentionally. Therefore, I strongly believe that social media does more harm than good and that social media users should think twice before publicising their posts on the internet since firstly cyberbullying has become predominant ever since the introduction of social media, secondly there has been a decrease in face to face interaction between people and thirdly it’s a waste of time for young people.

Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. These are the latest social media sites and applications that have been taking over the lives of my generation. The definition of Social Media is anything that is a website or application that enables a user to create and share content or participate in social networking. Since the creation of the telephone, we have been able to call family and friends from just about anywhere. With the internet in 1983, it has allowed us to gain any information with a click of a button. So why not combine the two? Thus was born social media, both an effective way to communicate from one place to the other and obtain all types of information simultaneously. At first this new digital interface seemed harmless, maybe even having the ability to produce something positive. The brighter light shines, the darker the shadow gets, and social media is no exception when it comes to positive and negative effects. From harmless sharing of opinions to bullying of one’s outlook, family photos to pictures of embarrassing acts, social media has gone from bad to worse.

At a glance, social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram have provided the modern day individual with a higher level of connectivity. These platforms have thus ensured a great facilitation of communication between friends, family and even new individuals across the globe. Moreover, the platforms have thereby enabled quick and efficient news and activities sharing amongst different people. In fact, social media has proven quite useful to the modern day individual making it a crucial component of the people’s everyday activities ranging from communication, businesses, and networking. All this components seem to be advantageous to the people, but as with most new technologies, social media brings forth a mixture of the good and bad outcomes to its individual users. Social media technology has thus proved to be more beneficial than it’s harmful, however, it has caused negative effects in that its results include nonexistent personal relations between individuals and isolation of such individuals leading to people being more alone.

Social Networking is “ the use of dedicated websites and applications to interact with other or to find people with similar interests”. Social networking consists of various social media websites such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. These social media applications have become increasingly popular amongst teens. The web’s social network has grown to be one of the largest and most influential outlet on the internet. Social media have both a positive and negative affect on how teens interact on day to day basis. Social networking has given teens an opportunity to communicate with others, express themselves, and establish a political stand on the government. However, some negative effects

Internet and Social Media go hand in hand. According to Statica.com, there are more than 2.4 billion social media users in the world while Facebook remains the leading social network since September 2017. Like many other things, internet and social media have their own positives and negatives. Some of the positives are social learning, it acts as a voice for the society and it encourages self-love and appreciation. Though it still has its own disadvantages, some are; it promotes cyberbullying, differentiation and jealousy, and it also affects our studies.

Social media is a term that does not need to be defined, everyone knows what social media is. Even people in the most distant of places have heard, or even use, social networking sites. People today use social networking sites on a regular basis. Today’s society uses sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as a way to stay in touch with current events, family members, and with their friends. According to the Pew Research Center, “seventy-six percent of [today’s society] uses social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, as of July 2015, up from Twenty-six percent in 2008” (Pew Research Center). Since so many people use social networking sites, controversy has risen on whether social networking sites are good or bad for society. Research shows that social networking sites affect society is very negative ways, which include: terrorists’ attacks, identity theft, cyberbullying, online predator attacks, sexting, addictions, and personality and brain disorders. Among the positive effects of social media are; small business success, finding new and old friends, and the spread of breaking news moments after the news happens. Despite social media’s many positive effects, research shows that social media does more damage than good to our society.