Social media; a term that every individual on the planet has heard of in the most dichotomous of ways: either an influential tool that lets people share fun and interesting content and allows businesses a new way to engage with customers. It has come with the ever-constant rise of technology and as social media is it’s child, it will undoubtedly evolve with it. However, in being that social media’s influence is extremely beneficial, the dichotomous points still stand; it can be especially harmful when individuals spread false, unverified and inflammatory information as well as the unfortunate occurrence of cyber-bullying. Social media has made it very simple to spread information quickly and because of the fact that many social media timelines move very quickly, most viewers don’t verify what they see and simply take it at face-value, which makes it especially easy for false and unverified information to be passed through to society. I can guarantee that the majority of the current population hardly takes the time to fully engage and read an article; at most, probably a headline and a few paragraphs.
Social media has also completely invaded many of our lives. In 2005, it can be asserted that while there were only about 5% of U.S adults that used a social media platform, that percentage has exploded into about 70%, a drastic increase in the number from fifteen years ago. It can be safely assumed that a great majority of the U.S young adult, teen, child and even infant populations are already assimilated with technology and are much more adept and well-versed in it than previous generations. The number of individuals using technology has exponentially grown and the influence of it can be seen in the statistics, but it has also greatly impacted the daily lives of the majority of the world. We have become increasingly connected digitally but less connected physically; many people suffer from the phenomenon known as social displacement, where individuals neglect face-to-face time with people they share a close relationship with due to the influence of social media. It is easy to connect with social media, but it is important that we become cognizant and aware of our own reliance on it.
Unfortunately, social media comes with it’s extremely unfortunate consequences and it’s broadening influence can be used in negative ways. Social media is a conduit of fake news; people don’t read beyond what they click and many sites are geared towards the motive of spreading completely left and right based ideas, racist imagery and getting advertisement money. Many of these social media sites that house hidden, malicious intentions are heavily designed to look very similar to sites that are genuinely used for their intended purpose. Sometimes, these websites are so well-designed and the influence of social media has roots all over the world, there is the possibility of one of these well-designed sites to circulate and spread blatantly false, unsubstantiated information. Beyond just social media’s influence in spreading fake news, social media is also a major conduit of cyber-bullying. The Common Sense Media Survey found that at least thirteen percent of teens reported being cyber-bullied through social media; the fact that it has such major influence over many young individuals lives and both good and malicious words can be spread is one of the major dangers of social media. Social media allows for the spread of racist, sexist, homophobic and hateful religious posts, which many young students reported seeing. Social media’s influence carries some major benefits, but it is important not to forget the negative impacts of its influence.
Overall, the influence of social media is a double-edged sword. It is an extremely useful swiss-army knife that connects individuals across the globe and society as a whole and allows people to share ideas in ways that were not possible. Things that were formerly impossible became possible because of social media. However, it is important not to forget the fact that it carries extremely negative consequences that can impact the youth of the planet in stunting their growth as well as introducing them to cyber-bullying, an unfortunate after-effect of social media. In the grand scheme of the world, social media’s influence has greatly changed the course of human history.
Works Cited
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/social-media-social-life-2018
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0265407519836170
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO2onZwxBkM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wQx3AteHjw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9Uq6RGCcyg
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