Nick Amoruso

Adam Padgett
English 1102
April 2, 2014
Challenges of Social Media on Modern Society
Today, social media has become a necessity for most people, and they feel like
they couldnt sur!i!e "ithout it# $ocial media has posed a serious problem o!er the past
fe" years, and it has slo"ly begun to change the "ay people think and act# %acebook,
T"itter, and &nstagram ha!e become the popular social media sites used today# %acebook
and T"itter are fairly similar social media sites# 'oth sites allo" the user to post status
and pictures, "hile &nstagram only allo"s users to post pictures or !ideos# Although
social media sites offer many ad!antages, it also offers some disad!antages# The future
outlook of this problem doesnt look !ery promising, and it could constitute negati!e
impacts on the indi!iduals "ho use these social net"orks#
The Advantages
(ne of the many ad!antages of using social media sites is that it allo"s users to
connect "ith friends, "hether they are old or ne" friends# Personally, & used social media
to reconnect "ith my old friends from "hen & used to li!e in Ne" )ork# *sing social
media to reconnect "ith old friends "as great, because & got to see pictures of them and
see ho" they ha!e changed o!er the years# $ocial media also pro!ides a "ay for users to
meet ne" friends# +hen & decided & "as going to attend *N, ,harlotte, & used an
application through %acebook that helps students find roommates for the school they are
attending# The application pro!ided a sur!ey, "hich "as used to compare students based
on the similarity of the responses they pro!ided in the sur!ey# $tudents also create
%acebook pages for colleges that allo" incoming freshman to meet ne" students#
Not only does $ocial -edia allo" people to connect "ith each other "ithin the
*nited $tates, it also allo"s people to connect "ith others all o!er the "orld# %acebook
allo"s for easier communication for families "ho ha!e lo!ed ones in the military#
%acebook allo"s people to chat and !ideo chat "ith others from different countries free
of charge# .ideo chat is a helpful feature for family members to keep in touch "ith
distant relati!es "ho they dont get to see /uite often# -y family has used %acebook to
connect "ith friends from different countries# %or many years my parents ha!e housed
foreigners "ho come to my to"n for "ork o!er the summer# -y family became close
"ith a fe" of them, and %acebook allo"ed them to keep in touch "hen they returned
home to their country# All of the features on these ne" social media "ebsites make it
easier to keep in touch "ith distant friends and relati!es "ithout costing money#
&n addition to keeping in touch "ith friends and family, social media also gi!es
people "ith se!ere physical and communication disabilities an easier "ay of
communication# According to 0emsley, Palmer, and 'alandin, people "ith
communication disabilities use t"itter for information e1change, and it can help "ith the
de!elopment of some communication skills# *sing T"itter helps people "ith
communication disabilities gain access to information and help them feel kno"ledgeable
and in control of their o"n li!es# & think that this article argues a strong point that social
media "ebsites can be used to help people "ith communication disabilities learn crucial
communication skills, and help them gain access to information 20emsley et al# 13#
The Disadvantages
Although social media offers a fe" ad!antages, it also offers some disad!antages
too# $ocial media is affecting human relationships in a negati!e "ay# According to
-arcia ,lemmitts article, social media is being !ie"ed as a replacement for face4to4face
communication# ,lemmitt goes on to state, 5&n a sur!ey on fa!ored communication
modes, people born bet"een 1660 and 1666 said they prefer te1ting abo!e all other forms
of communication, but in second place 7 tied "ith instant messaging and phone calls 7
is communicating !ia %acebook# $trikingly, face4to4face con!ersation is the least fa!ored
form of communication for the digital generation8 2,lemmitt 13# This author argues that
the younger generation hea!ily relies on social media and instant messaging for
communication, and face4to4face communication isnt fa!ored anymore# This could cause
problems in the future, because face4to4face communication helps build necessary skills
that may be needed "hen someone is being inter!ie"ed for a 9ob#
&n addition to social media negati!ely impacting face4to4face communication
skills, it can also open many doors for cyber bullying# +ith more and more younger
children 9oining social media "ebsites, more children are e1posed to fall !ictim of cyber
bullying# According to an article by ,assidy, %aucher, and :ackson, another facet of
communications in the cyber "orld, "hich creates a distinction bet"een face4to4face
bullying and cyber bullying, is the possibility of anonymity in online communications#
+hereas the traditional !ictim kno"s "ho is doing the bullying, the cyber bullying
!ictim is not necessarily ac/uainted "ith the cyber bully and may or may not kno" "ho
is hiding behind a pseudonym# The authors go on to suggest that cyber bullying is much
"orse than face4to4face bullying# & strongly agree "ith that statement because cyber
bullying is much harder to get a"ay from than face4to4face bullying# %ace4to4face
bullying may occur 9ust at school, but cyber bullying can occur at anytime during the day,
and it is e1posed to more people online 2,assidy et al# 13#
Not only does social media sites feed cyber bullying, it could also e1pose
sensiti!e information about the users# According to an article by -ares and Torra, People
use these net"orks to share their feelings, emotions, and meet people "ith the same
interests or hobbies# As a result, social net"orks contain plenty of sensible information
about each user 2-ares et al# 13# Therefore, it can be dangerous to collect this kind of data
and publish it "ithout protection# -any people these days are posting things online that
are sensiti!e and shouldnt be posted# $ensiti!e information posted by a user could get
into the "rong hands and could lead to serious problems# People should al"ays be careful
of the statuses or pictures they post, because you ne!er kno" "ho may see them#
Future Outlook
&f people dont become a"are of the negati!e effects social media can ha!e on
their life, it can drastically impact their future# *sing social media cites often can lead to
users becoming less literate due to the "ay they type on social media cites# *sing these
technologies, "hich make communication so much easier, could result in deterioration of
actual communication skills, especially among the younger generation# People use
numerous abbre!iations for se!eral "ords "hen they make a post on social media, and if
the user has autocorrect on they can spell "ords "rong and not e!en kno" it# Although it
may not seem like it is a serious problem, if people become customary to using
autocorrect they could easily forget the correct spelling for some "ords#
Not only can social media lead to users becoming less literate, it can also pose a
negati!e impact on a teenagers future career# -any teenagers post pictures of them
drinking, smoking, or doing something that they shouldnt be doing# (nce it is posted
online, you can ne!er truly remo!e it from the &nternet# Therefore, those inappropriate
pictures can be e1posed to la" enforcement, and e!en possible future employers# Posting
pictures and statuses like that "ont lead to anything but trouble# There is not benefit
from posting those kinds of pictures, and it can be detrimental to a teenagers future
career#
&n addition to negati!ely impacting a teenagers future, social media can also
cause health disorders to users# According to an article by +haling and others, studies
suggest that narcissism is e1acerbated, and e!en encouraged, by social net"orking sites
perhaps due to the rapid rise in social net"orking sites that encourage users to post status
updates and photos and comment on others posts and photos# The authors go on to
suggest that social media use can also cause the user to be antisocial, depressed, and ha!e
personality disorders 2+haling et al# 13# The article makes some strong points, but it
doesnt mean that e!eryone "ho uses these social media cites "ill contract such
disorders#
Conclusion
To conclude, using social media "ebsites has its ad!antages, but & belie!e that
the disad!antages out"eigh the ad!antages# *sing these social media "ebsites can be
effecti!e and useful in positi!e "ays if used in moderation# .arious people base their
li!es around their social media life, and dont focus much on their actual life# Today,
people feel the need to check their social net"orking cites often in fear that they might
miss something important# This generation has become so reliant on technology that "e
are starting to forget the foundation of necessary communication skills# &f people dont
change the "ay they communicate, people should e1pect to see communication becoming
more and more digitali;ed in the near future#
Works Cited
,assidy, +anda, ,hantal %aucher, and -argaret :ackson# <,yberbullying Among )outh=
A ,omprehensi!e >e!ie" of ,urrent &nternational >esearch and &ts &mplications
,lemmitt, -arcia# <$ocial -edia E1plosion#< CQ Researcher Online# ,? Press, 2@ :an#
201A# +eb#
0emsley, 'ron"yn, $tuart Palmer, and $usan 'alandin# <T"eet >each= A >esearch
Protocol for *sing T"itter to &ncrease &nformation E1change in People "ith
,ommunication Bisabilities#< Academic Search Complete# E'$,(, Apr# 2014#
+eb#
-ares, :ordi, and .icenc Torra# <(n the Protection of $ocial Net"orks *sers
&nformation#< Academic Search Complete# E'$,(, $ept# 201A# +eb#
and Application to Policy and Practice#< Academic Search Complete# E'$,(,
Bec# 201A# +eb#
>osen, +haling, >ab, ,arrier, and ,hee!er# <&s %acebook ,reating 5iBisorders8C The
Dink bet"een ,linical $ymptoms of Psychiatric Bisorders and Technology *se,
Attitudes and An1iety#< Academic Search Complete# E'$,(, n#d# +eb# 1@ -ay
201A