Social Media has certainly impacted all of our lives. It has helped us connect to those far away, it has helped us help each other and mitigate the impact of natural and manmade disasters, it has helped us share the joys of everyday events, grow our businesses, and so much more. It has also impacted us negatively, making it easier to perpetrate scams, ostracize those who are already marginalized, spread rumors, and provide unrealistic physical and emotional ideals. After discussing this in class, a student wrote what I found to be a very insightful reflection on the issue. She graciously agreed to allow me to post it here. She raised many important issues and I look forward to a lively dialogue via your comments.
The Potential Impact of Social Media ~ Raquel Weinberg
When we discussed social phobia as well as the adverse affects of social media and technology in the beginning of the class, I was at first reminded of the children I babysit who I find more and more to be obsessed with their devices. Whenever I see this, I am always reminded of myself at their age (5 & 8) I think about how at the time I had no clue what the Internet really was and phones were completely off my radar (forget about iPads!).
I often times find myself confused by the world that is social media. As someone who grew up sort of on the cusp of social media becoming “a thing” it’s very interesting as well as alienating to have experienced and to be able to objectively see both sides. On one hand I can clearly remember a time before social media, when all my friends would talk to each other face to face, and there was no guess-work when it came to relationships. What you saw was what you got. However, I was in middle school when social media really took off (when Facebook suddenly wasn’t just for college aged kids) and navigating the social environment suddenly became a whole lot more complicated. All of a sudden people could say one thing in person and a completely different thing online, and the discrepancy between the two “personas” was (and still is) strange to me.
We talked about how though we have social media now and all these means for connection, we are somehow more disconnected as ever. I think social media plays such a huge role in this because no one is authentically themselves online (or at the very least it is rare). Everyone wants to portray the most perfect version of themselves (stemming back to the real vs. ideal selves) and because social media allows us to create these “ideal” versions of ourselves, I think many people get caught up in that fantasy. It becomes an addiction; people love the attention this “ideal internet persona” that they’ve created brings them. The likes, the fans, in some cases money, are all incentive to continue falsifying their lives, but at what cost?
I believe that because we are not portraying our “real” selves online, that we as people are consequently unable to form meaningful and true relationships through social media. Because we are not speaking to that person, we are speaking instead to the persona this person has created that they think others will like better. In the end however, all we are met with is a phony mask, void of any real depth because it is not really them.
And I believe that because of the lack of sincerity behind these social media masks we put on each day, that people are alienated by their interactions in everyday life. In real life, they do not receive the mindless praise for the things they would online. But also they then no longer know how they should act in reality vs. social media. We have learned how to have conversations between personas, not conversations between people.
This is a topic I’m really passionate about because although I do believe that social media, when used properly, is an amazing tool (really truly amazing), it is also completely rotting us as a society. Our priorities are completely skewed; we idolize people who take deals from companies to sell garbage to their impressionable fans. Hype creators who put their lives and others at risk for the sake of a picture of video. And what are we learning from this as a society? What are kids growing up today learning? It’s truly frightening where we have allowed this to go.
Greetings Everyone,
As always, I enjoy Dr. Urban’s postings. I don’t know why this particular posting left me with a strong compulsion to respond- but it did. My views may come off as ‘being totally out there’ nevertheless, I feel quite comfortable sharing my views because I know that that Dr. Urban is also a psychology professor and she would be the perfect person to read into my comment deeper than the regular common eye.
When one speak about ‘spirituality’ to those who do not have similar thinking, experiences, or beliefs, that particular one would come off as being too way off from modern times, a fanatic, or too emotional. These are the results for non-conventional television evangelists, conspiracy theorists, and high-profile celebs (ie. Kanye West).
If you notice, all those mention were (and continue to be) affected, in some way, shape or form, by social media… or media in general.
An evangelist makes a statement to his congregation about California… comparing it to the worst place to be just like a certain place in the bible. He preaches to his audience and uses biblical references to compare the two places. Someone catches wind of his sermon and contacts the media. The media uses their ‘social media’ platform to further showcase this preacher and all that he said. Why? Is it to spread the word of God to the masses? Or is it to cause anger and chaos with the words he said that may rub many (more like millions) the wrong way? Was the pastor wrong for preaching his chosen sermon to his congregation? It wasn’t his fault that it went as far as the media. Do he not have a right to speak to his selected target audience in the manner of which they all agree? Even if outsiders do not agree… he was not speaking to these outsiders. They just happen to get wind of what was said and decided to bark at it. But this is more like a group of people in a private setting yet in a public space speaking out on their views. A passerby (or even an invitee) hears the discussion and disagrees wholeheartedly. This invitee/passerby then goes out to complain about all that they just heard. Even though they heard views of anger, disappointment, and even downright hate, they did not hear anything of violence or plans of killing. So… is it still wrong to speak openly about views that go against the status quo?
…and what is this status quo exactly? Who says so? Who says no?
The above example can also be used for conspiracy theorists. All that they are doing is piecing two and two together based on information gathered from numerous sources from various places. Are they wrong with their feverishly attempts to connect the dots about the ills of this world and readily share what they discovered with others in hopes that they wake up and see what they are truly dealing with?
And last but far from least are the celebrities in which lives social media feeds so heavily off of. Some (still fortunately not all) celebrities use their status to ‘preach’ and provide their ‘viewpoints’ of what is right and what is wrong and what should be done. Many support these conspiracy theories that floats around but do not promote this so publicly for the sake of their public image.
I will leave you with a real and true public situation to tie in all three examples showing the ‘ills’ of social media: There was a comedienne a few years aback doing her stand-up routine and she said some pretty harsh things about a few persons in the entertainment industry. She was in a public space yet a private setting- for people had to pay to be in that public setting. Wind got a hold of her words and flew it to social media. She got both slammed and praised. She then was approached by a well-known God fearing man about the things she said. He privately agreed with her stance but never did he publicly admitted that. Why wasn’t social media used to help support this comedienne’s actions? But the question of believing in God yet not doing Godly things did. Oh… why was that? Then, from all of that, a long list of theories was created about each player in the story of why they are in the position that they are in and how there are a lot of ‘things’ that are being covered up.
…and we all witnessed the unraveling of our talented Kanye all due to social media. He said that everyone goes through it, but it’s just that it’s magnified 100x because of his celebrity status… thus making it a high speed unraveling with no comfort of privacy insight other that to leave the matrix nest… social media… altogether.
In the end, a whole bunch of entertaining gossip, slander, and regressed hurt feelings went out on display on social media… but… but… no resolution to the problem.
Social Media has become the Devil’s Nest. A place that beautifully entrances a person to enter but slowly and eventually messes them up if they stay in there too long prancing around for the attention and fame. Those engulfed in social media goes through bouts of anxiety, anger, or depression… all depending on what was ‘fed’ to them by social media on any given day.
So it looks like those who sit around the brim of the bowl, watching the contents inside swirl around get affected and those who are in the soup being swirl around are already affected. The sad thing is… it is not always the case that either party realize how much affected they actually really are. The social media matrix has interwoven with their lives thus becoming a part of their reality.
This is why we ‘feel’ empty, lost, something missing when we do not have our phones but yet shun the bible, talks of regulating social media, and the word of God.
1 John 2:15-18
Just google ‘Stormy Daniels Movies’. I was shocked to see how I can actually see her having sex just by googling that on the internet. Porn is now free. Ignorance along with bullying now runs a muck on the internet. It’s like demons or in the wires to read your every thought (thru words) just to turn around and flip it around in a way to aggravate your every nerve. Whether you believe in the bible or not, that still would not make all that has been pointed out not true- especially when all mentioned are actual current events.
Yep. I can clearly see why social media can pretty much look like the entrance to the portal of hell to many. Just like heaven and the Garden of Eden. Everything created was for beauty and for good until something comes thru and see how they, solely for their own selfish gain, can destroy the beauty for gain- regardless of the end results.
Maybe it is the end results is what is exactly wanted. But ah… this is just my conspiracy theory. Please, pay me no mind- unless you too agree. I am not here to condemn those who do not believe in a Higher Being or try convince anyone into reading the bible who do not believe. But I am here asking why not give it a chance, you may be utterly surprised to what you may find. We all read social media and now look at us.
Think about that. Thank You. <3
I agree with this blog that social media is both influencing the world in both positive and negative ways. I feel as though, for the older generation its letting them advance in many different fields such as medicine, technology obviously, communication and so on and so forth. The other day actually i saw the first human face transplant, on a black male at least which it seemed to emphasize. I don’t know if that being said meant other white people have gotten it or he was the first one but advances in medicine could truly do wonders. But the other side of the technology aspect, with younger kids, comes bullying. when you’re anonymous people don’t know how to act. I remember when i was in middle school technology like instagram just came out, and almost instantly people were using the apps in detrimental ways to bully certain, targeted people.
Social media now days is a blessing and a curse; as everything in life, social media should be use in a balanced and smart way. It needs to be used as a tool and not a way of life. A good example is when people use it to promote awareness, to raise money to help others in need, to keep communication with family member; then on the flip side, is a negative because people use it for bullying, scam, kidnapping, the list is endless. This tool is as good as the use that the person can give it.
Now a day’s social media has become the important part of life which plays a vital role in one’s everyday life. Social media is basically set of interactive websites and applications that connects people and reduces the distance between people. I believe that there is no doubt that social media has reduced the distance between people that are far away but it has increased the distance between people sitting together. I have been using social media for years now and it is more like of an addiction now. I cannot stop myself from checking social media apps as soon as I wake up in morning. I have seen people that are so much obsessed with social media that they cannot imagine to live without it. As you stated in your blog that how social media has impacted all our lives. I have younger siblings and cousins who I found more obsessed to social media and I feel like I did not know anything about social media in their age. I believe that social media has compelled us to show the pretending life to others and not what we are actually living. I see a lot of my friends posting fake things on social media just to get likes and impress others. I feel sad to say that social media has taken the liberty of living an honest life from us.
As it was stated in your blog that social media is both influencing the world in both positive and negative ways. It has enhanced business as it plays major role in marketing now a days. “When you say it, it’s marketing. When they say it, it’s social proof?” Andy Cristiana. I feel that in the era of social connectivity we are still disconnected to each other as there are fewer public gatherings. We are living in a fantasy world as we pretend to be the best instead of actually being the best version of ourselves. I see that relationships made on social media (Facebook and Instagram) don’t last for a long period of time now a days. I am old school so I always like conversations in person and I believe online conversations cannot be as real as in person conversations without few exceptions. I see social media more of an addiction because it has caught everyone in its fantasy and it is hard to come out of the social media net. Social media should be used as a tool in a balanced and smart way to avail its benefits. In the end I would conclude by writing that If it is used in the proper way it is the biggest blessing of the time.
I remember when I was a kid and iPhones I don’t think were really around yet or at least not at high demand as they are now. All I remember is my iPod that I had, which was even a hand-me-down from my sister. I thought it was the coolest thing ever, especially with the speaker you attached it to. My friends and I would call each other on our home phones; I remember I had to either write down the number or save it in the phonebook of the phone itself. Then Facebook came around about when I was also in middle school. Now that was the new cool thing. EVERYONE in my grade was on it. Everyone was friending each other posting stuff, it was also a much easier way to talk to your friends without having to look up their number.
I used to work as a camp councilor and I worked with kids around 7-10 years old. They already had their own cell phones and mini “kids” iPads with all sorts of games. I didn’t get my first cellphone until 6th grade. It was a rule in my household that my older sister had to follow too. I didn’t want an iPhone at this time. I wanted the phone that my mom had; she eventually gave it to me. She needed a new phone so she gave her old one, Verizon LG, with the keyboard on its side that you had to slide out. I was fine with it but everyone else started getting iPhones and I eventually got my first in late 8th grade. It was amazing looking back and thinking how much time I’ve spent on my phone verses when I was a kid. As well as seeing kids younger than me already having their own cell phones before they even know how to talk.
I remember my first personal experience with social media was making a Facebook account to keep in touch with a friend that was moving away. This was in middle school, a period of time where social media can have a negative impact, but I was just fine. I communicated with all my friends I found on there, I didn’t use it all the time, and I followed the guidelines that my parents had discussed with me about internet safety. Unfortunately, as the years went by I found Facebook and other social media sites to be large sources of stress in my life. My parents taught me not to give into peer pressure since I was young, so I was always able to avoid dumb and dangerous trends. But when I would see pictures of what some of my friends or the famous people I followed were doing, I couldn’t help but feel left out. I started to compare myself to others, even though I knew I was doing just fine in my own life. I guess the problem was that social media had become an extension of my life, and even though a lot of what I was seeing was exaggerated for the internet, it still felt like some grandiose thing I was missing out on. As I’ve gotten older I have been able to distance myself from social media more and more, and I don’t base my success on the perceived success of others as much as I used to. Social media does still cause a bit of stress in my life, like the anxiety I feel sometimes waiting for that notification light on my phone to blink when I’m waiting for a response. But, my overall usage of sites like Facebook has gone down tremendously, and once I stop worrying about it so much, I start to feel so much better. I agree with you and Raquel about the good and bad of social media, and I hope that in the future we can continue to make it a positive force, and take away as much of the negative as we can.
Hi. This blog is truly an inspiration. The topic of social media is a very significant one to me as well. A whole new society has been developed based on the popularity of social media. I would have to agree with the point you are making in this blog post. I thoroughly agree with your statement. Social media and online dating has created a shallow ground for people to interact on. When we base our motives on what we see online the lies can be immensely deceiving. When online there is no face to face interaction, therefore setting up a gigantic trap for the people who do not falsely advertise themselves. The popularity of social media is continuously growing and becoming larger by the day. Bullying is an aspect that makes matters come to worse. When online bullying begins one has basically no protection from the threats or comments being sent out. There is no physical interaction and the bullies doesn’t have to expose their true identity. Personally, I have seen this occur. It is a never ending cycle of claims and rumors that spread and can’t be concealed. One day this must stop, people are suffering the consequences of social media everyday.
I want to start off my reflection by telling you that you’re an inspiration. I aspire to be a successful psychologist one day and I truly admire the knowledge you provide, both in class and through your blog. I’ve always been very intrigued by this matter, and have always been curious as to how exactly social media can play a role in our mental health. Social networking has become prominent in American culture quickly and is more prevalent now than ever before. We use it for almost everything, some of us it’s our main form of communication. Social media’s purpose was initially for connecting with associates, friends, coworkers and loved ones but rapidly evolved into an outlet where ideas can be shared with thousands of people, being able to gain millions of followers and even advertising your own business. We’re now living in a world of technology as it’s now everywhere and we can’t escape it, carrying all the information we could ever need in our pockets and at the tip of our fingers. Somewhere along the lines, social media evolved and slowly became a part of our identity, most people can’t live a day without it and it’s clear that it effects us in both positive and negative ways. For instance, people can now remain in contact even if they’re far away from one another through video chat or direct messages. People are able to promote their businesses and have access to any information they might take interest in, as I previously stated. Us human beings are social beings, we need the companionship to thrive in life, and the strength of our connections has a huge impact on mental health and happiness. Being socially connected to others can ease stress, anxiety, and depression, boost self-worth, provide comfort and joy, prevent loneliness, and even add years to our lives. On the flip side, lacking strong social connections can pose a serious risk to our mental and emotional health. While each social media platform has it’s benefits, it’s crucial to remember that social media can never be a replacement for real-world human connection, which most people often forget. I believe in person contact alleviates stress and makes us happier, healthier and even more positive. Even though social media platforms are designed to bring people closer together, spending too much time engaging with social media can actually make people feel more lonely and isolated, exacerbating any existing anxiety or depression, often going unrecognized by users.
For example, social media can cause you to feel inadequate about your own life or appearance. Even when people know that images they are viewing on social media are manipulated, they still often make people feel insecure about how they look or about what’s going on their own lives. Equally, we’re all aware that other people tend to share just the highlights of their lives, rarely the low points that everyone experiences. But that doesn’t lessen those feelings of envy and dissatisfaction when you’re scrolling through a friend’s airbrushed photos of their tropical beach holiday or reading about their rewarding new promotion at work. Excessive screen time may play a role as well. It’s possible that people develop anxiety and depression over time partially because they’re missing out on sleep while staying up late using their smartphones, engaging in social media.
It’s also possible that social media itself isn’t directly affecting mental health but that the overall experience could be the cause of some cases of depression. For example, social media can be cluttered with negativity, as posts, graphic videos and pictures are shared by friends or followers and exposed to people via news feed. It’s nearly impossible to open up a web browser, or scroll through Twitter without being assaulted with notifications of a new world disaster or two, or three. Thanks to the 24-hour news cycle that social media has become, alerts of shootings, plane crashes, ISIS beheadings, crime, war and human rights violations are constant. This incessant news of violence and destruction may be messing with our mental health. Spending less time on social media is equivalent to decluttering your mind and without the negativity clouding your feeds—and, by extension, your everyday thoughts—you will start to think more clearly. The truth is, the content that people consume is highly impactful and people hardly realize how much of an effect negative social posts are having on them until they eradicate them entirely. Unburdened by a constant stream of cynicism, sarcasm, and gloominess, it can improve overall mood, decreasing chances of anxiety or depression.
Once social media adversely affects your mood, sleep or ability to function, it’s important to take breaks from it, as this is likely the beginning of any depressive pattern that might occur, associated with social media. Users shouldn’t spend more than 20 to 30 minutes online, as the more time you spend online, the more fixated on social networking you become. Social media users are also often guilty on missing out on precious moments with family or friends, simply because they can’t seem to put their phones down. Remembering that social media life is only a small part of your real life and not your whole world is crucial, as prioritizing social media over your actual life can result in isolation and loneliness, dramatizing any depression or anxiety the person could have potentially already developed.
Lastly, it’s important that users re-discover face to face communication. While social media is a great communication channel, it shouldn’t substitute for real-life interactions and relationships. I do believe that interpersonal communication requires more effort and often times individuals with forms of anxiety prefer it but at the same time, real life interaction should have greater value than online connections. At the end of the day, it’s not your digital device or social network ratings that offer the most comfort to you when you’re sad. It’s nice to have a lot of online people rooting for you but when you can actually talk to someone, or sit with them, they often give you strength and support that’s very different from what you can get in a simple post.
Once people create a balance in their lives, these platforms will become less addicting, eliminating any social media related depression. In the end, there’s no doubt that there are a lot of benefits to social media. You get to share happy memories, photos and stories. You have access to all the information you could ever want and need. It really is truly amazing.
But it’s important not to forget that there are also very real dangers to social media. Ones that we are all too willing to ignore at times.
I completely agree with Raquel. There are so many different sides to social media and how it effects our youth all the way to our elders. There are pros and cons to every social media platform, but because of my lack of experience on certain platforms, I am just going to talk about my personal experience with social media.
Personally, I am not one to always be checking my Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or whatever platform you use. The only one I have an account on is Instagram, and I barely ever use it! I have no profile picture and one picture posted to my account that my friends posted “for me”. This is shocking to hear from a 20 year old college student I’m sure, but I choose to stay off of social media because I feel like my conversations through social media (or over the phone) are incomplete. I would much rather talk face to face rather than DM someone or Snapchat. I like to be able to read facial expressions when I talk to people. Body language speaks louder than words! But that is my own personal experience with social media.
I strongly believe that social media is extremely beneficial for small business advertisement, long distance relationships, catching up with friends you can’t find the time to see, all the things where you can’t do face to face. But social media also opens the door for cyber bullying, account hackers, and many other bad things.
In the end, my advice would be to be careful what you post and who you talk to through social media.