Addiction: Social Networking 1

Literature Review
Addition: Social Networking
Stephanie Cecilia Flores
The University of Texas at El Paso
Mr. Rodriguez
RWS 1302

Abstract

Addiction: Social Networking 2

Millions of people have different types of addiction, for example drinking too much, smoking,
the usage of cellphones and spending too much time in social Medias. Most people spend much
of their time in Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or in their phones; this creates an addiction
with social Medias. Everyone has a different addition and this literature review focuses in the
causes that social networking creates. This research will explain why people are becoming so
addicted with these types of social Medias (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram). Nowadays,
people and adolescents are becoming more addicted with social Medias. Social Medias are
causing harassment, cyber bullying and posting personal information that other people can see.
Social Medias are becoming an addiction such as drinking and smoking, but teenagers wont
recognize the problem. To solve this problem, teenagers need to accept the fact that spending too
much in the Internet might create problems. The Primary research used in this data is a document
analysis between two articles which are in debate with the usage of social Media.

Introduction

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According to the Dictionary.com, social networking is The use of websites or other
online technologies to communicate with people and share information, resources, etc. Many
people use social networking as a way to communicate with other people through messages and
emails. Social networking can also mean grouping of individuals into specific groups and this
can be organized in person such as gathering around in elementary, high schools and universities,
but for most teenagers, they prefer to do this online. The Internet is a very fascinating way to
meet other people from different places around the world. Teenagers use the Internet because its
an easier way to connect with different people and because its very popular around the world.
Thousands of people are trying to meet people with the same interests such as: playing video
games, going out on dates and cooking.
People that spend time in the Internet are using websites which are called social sites.
Theres many different websites in the Internet that people and teenagers use during the day.
When a person starts to use a website, they create a profile to share information that other people
might find interesting; this is known as socializing. People share a lot of personal information to
meet people and to share similar hobbies. Theres many websites that are used in any computer,
laptop and cellphones. Many of those websites have a free access to people that want to join the
website.
The internet is becoming a disorder because people are becoming online-a-holic.
Adults and teenagers are spending over seven hours a day in the Internet, this means that they
spend over 53 hours in the Internet in a week. Theres five ways to know if someone is having
the Internet Addiction Disorder, which are the following: a lot of computer usage, having less
interaction with family and friends, having feelings of depression or isolation, procrastinating,
and having no tolerance. These research will basically explain to adults and teenagers that social

Addiction: Social Networking 4

Medias can create problems in our life. Social Medias are creating a more depressive and
isolating style of life for adults and teens. The following questions are going to be use to conduct
the whole research paper and create a solution to this problem. My primary question is the
following:

Why is social networking becoming so addicting for many people in our society?

My secondary research questions are the following:

What are the different kinds of websites used by adults and teenagers?
What kind of problems is social networking creating?
How can social networking help or affect individuals and their health?
How can social networking affect future generations in our society?

These questions are appropriate to conduct this research paper because they are involved
with online social networking and they will help many people to understand that social
networking is only harming adults and teenagers in their personal life. This project is commonly
associated with the idea of why is social networking creating many problems and why is it
becoming a disorder for adults and teenagers. The project fits with these ideas because my
questions cover what adults and teenagers want to know from social networking and how to
avoid having an addiction from spending too much time in the Internet. Spending too much time
in the internet can create health problems, such as eye problems, headaches and body
inactivity.

What are the different kinds of websites used by adults and teenagers?

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Teenagers and adults have access to the Internet and this leads to websites. A website is a
page used to see any kind of document in the Internet. Websites include any kind of image,
different colors, texts and music. Many websites include only one page of information or it can
include millions of pages. People use different websites during the day to search any kind of
information. Teenagers usually use websites to do their homework or essays. Adults use websites
because of the many software programs or because of their jobs. Sometimes websites are used to
search an image, restaurant or for music. Many of the social Medias that are being used today,
are examples of websites.
Websites are created for many different reasons which help anyone to find an important
piece of information. Websites can be divided into four different groups, which are: personal
websites, business websites, informative websites and search engines/directories websites. The
different kinds of websites that are being used today are the following: Facebook, Instagram,
Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Yahoo, We Heart It, Tumblr, etc. According to a statistic made in
2012-2014, this shows the four social Medias that are being used by adults. Facebook is still the
social Media with the most visits, than any other website. The survey was made in September
2014 by the Pew Research Center.

What kind of problems is social networking creating?

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There has been many arguments with spending too much time in the Internet can cause
many problems. Spending too much time in the Internet can create health problems. When
people spend most of their time in front of a computer, this creates an eye problem. People start
to have a blurry sight or it causes headaches. Another major problem is body inactivity,
teenagers and adults that spend hours in the internet are usually sitting down without moving and
just staring at the computer. This causes that the body has less movements and have more pain.
Their back starts to hurt and this is where everything begins. Theres a syndrome named Carpel
Tunnel Syndrome and RSI, this syndrome are caused because people are using their wrists
too much by typing. Cyber addiction can occur when people are spending most of their time in
front of computers. This can lead to any kind of mental problem and depression. People using the
computer for a really long time, can have problems with concentrating outside from work or in
school. All of this major problems can harm someone and create severe problems in the future.
People need to be aware that the usage of the Internet is harming their health.

How can social networking help or affect individuals and their health?

Addiction: Social Networking 7

As mentioned above, social networking is affecting individuals and their health because
its creating many diseases, syndromes and addictions. There are five different ways in which
social networking is harming our health.

Social Medias can be very addicting because studies are demonstrating that 63% of
people visit Facebook or other different types of social Medias. Another 40% shows that

people visit many different websites multiple times.

Social Medias are making people compare their own lives with others because many
people that have Facebook or Twitter have an idealized version of a perfect life or way of
living their life. People are feeling insecure with this types of profiles that people created

throughout the Internet.

Social Medias are creating cyberbullying because studies are indicating that a 95% of

people have been cyberbullied through the Internet.

The social Media is creating alcohol and drug usage because 70% of teenagers that use

the Internet are most likely to smoke and drink from the ages of 12 and up.
Social Media is creating an unhappy life for adults and teenagers because they are being
cyberbullied and it creates mental problems such as depression and anxiety.

How can social networking affect future generations in our society?

There are different ways the social networking can affect future generations. The impact
that social Medias have in future generations are the following:
Social networking is creating problems with a childs career plans because most of the
teenagers are spending most of their time in Facebook instead of looking for better
opportunities around our world. Social Medias are creating a problem with how teens look at
themselves because nowadays they rather send a message to a friend instead of sharing

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something important with the person. Teenagers are more likely to interact with people
through the internet and email instead of having a conversation face to face. And lastly,
cellphones are having a huge evolution throughout the years. Cellphones are changing as
time goes by and teenagers are having a more modernized cellphone every year.
Conclusion
To answer my primary research question of why is social networking becoming so
addicting for many people in our society? the answer is very clear. Social networking is
becoming so addicting because many teenagers rather spend most of their time in websites that
are to their attention. They are now interacting with people, instead they are interacting through
websites with random strangers. This can create problems and harm someones health in many
ways.

References

http://www.debate.org/opinions/is-spending-too-much-time-on-your-computer-bad

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http://www.freeservers.com/WebHosting101/WhatIsAWebsite.html
http://www.tomakewebsite.com/types-of-websites.html
http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/01/09/social-media-update-2014/
http://degreed.com/blog/top-10-ways-social-media-affects-mental-health/
http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/blog/2014/01/the-impact-of-social-media-on-thenext.html?page=all
http://0-web.a.ebscohost.com.lib.utep.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?
vid=22&sid=b4fbceb1-ad00-43d6-ba76d5f9017fbd03%40sessionmgr4002&hid=4206