Within the last few years, social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram have attracted more than two billion users worldwide. Besides these major networks, thousands of other social media sites have been created. This “social media takeover” has provided us with more than just an easier way to communicate. Social media facilitates the spread of breaking news, gives people the opportunity to collaborate and swap ideas, and allows its users to connect with new people from all over the world. However, these new technologies and new ways to connect have changed our society in ways that no one could have anticipated. The advancements in social networking technology have created a number of problems as well as made some preexisting societal issues more widespread. Social media has created a platform for cyberbullying and also has negatively impacted its user’s productivity resulting in a decrease in emotional, professional, and intellectual wellbeing.
Cyberbullying is a somewhat new, but extremely prevalent phenomenon that has developed with the recent rise in social media technology. Enough is Enough, an organization that works towards making the internet safer, conducted a survey that revealed 95% of teenagers who use social media have at some point witnessed cyberbullying and 33% have been the victims of cyberbullying themselves. A study conducted at the University of Alberta concerning the health effects of cyberbullying consistently found strong associations between exposure to cyberbullying and an increased likelihood of depression. Together, these two studies expose not only the prevalence of this type of bullying in our society, but also demonstrate the negative impacts that come along with it.
Regular, face-to-face bullying has always been a problem in younger generations. The rise of social media, however, has made bullying easier and in some ways more common. Through use of social media, the bully is able to hide behind their computer screen instead of harming their victims face-to-face. This detachment makes it easier for the bully to say and do things that they normally would not say or do in person. A number of social media sites, specifically Yik Yak and Whisper, allow users to post anonymously. This feature furthers the disconnection between the bully and the victim, and makes the bully feel even more confortable about say harmful things because their words cannot be tracked back to them. When a person is typing instead of talking directly to a person, it is easy for them to forget that there are real people behind the screen. In this way, the use of social media separates us from who we are communicating with, which can lead to anyone saying or doing mean and hurtful things to others.
One of the major reasons that social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter have such a large amount of active users is that these sites are meant to be addictive. Studies have found that 63% of Americans log on to Facebook daily, and 40% log on multiple times everyday. Facebook, like a number of other social media sites, uses “likes” and comments as positive reinforcement for posting information. Constant notifications and other popups related to the user’s friends and interests also make it harder to stop coming back to these sites. The figure to the left presents the results of a poll provided by lookout that shows that 68% of people between the ages of 18-34 admitted to not being able to go one hour without checking their phones. This time spent scrolling through different newsfeeds takes away time that could have been focused elsewhere. An average American spends almost one quarter of their workday browsing social media for non-work related activities. This can be translated into not only an extreme amount of decreased worker productivity and loss of time, but also into tremendous financial loses for big businesses.
Contrast to popular belief, multitasking is not really possible. Numerous studies have shown that our brains do not have the capacity to fully focus our attention on two things at once, but instead our brain switches quickly back and forth form one task to another. Because we cannot equally divide our attention, multitasking does decrease our productivity and delays information processing.
Some argue that social media is also taking away from our learning. In a study published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, researchers split volunteers into different social networks that varied in the amount of connection between members. The participants were then asked a series of questions that necessitated analytical reasoning. The results showed that those in the more socially connected groups gave the right answer a greater amount of the time because they had the opportunity to copy the answer from their neighbor. The researchers then went to show that this stealing of answers did not actually improve the participants’ ability to figure out the answers independently, because when asked more questions there was no improvement from one question to the next. Similar to these experimental social groups, social media makes it extremely easy for its users to share and look up answers to more challenging questions. This study shows that while looking up answers may make us smarter at first by enabling us to give the correct response, it actually does not facilitate learning and may in fact take away from it. When we are supplied with an answer without having to think critically about it, our analytical abilities decrease. Social media allows us to present an analytical response without actually being analytical and therefore, in the long run, can make us stupider.
Although this blog focuses on two major negative impacts that social media can have on its users, social media is not ruining our society by making all of its users dumb and depressed. The rise of social media has brought with it an enormous amount of benefits. Social media has drastically enhanced our connectivity with friends and family members and has also made it a lot easier to connect and stay connected with people worldwide. Social media has facilitated a rapid spread of information around the world that can lead to more informed political, social, and academic decision-making. As with most things in life, there are both positive and negative impacts that have come along with the rise of social media. Social media can consume us and be used as a way to bully others, or it can be used to share positive information and aid in our learning. In the end, it is our responsibility as social networkers to determine how this technology is utilized.
Sources
Photo header: Blue Tie and PRNewser
Regular, face-to-face bullying has always been a problem in younger generations. The rise of social media, however, has made bullying easier and in some ways more common. Through use of social media, the bully is able to hide behind their computer screen instead of harming their victims face-to-face. This detachment makes it easier for the bully to say and do things that they normally would not say or do in person. A number of social media sites, specifically Yik Yak and Whisper, allow users to post anonymously. This feature furthers the disconnection between the bully and the victim, and makes the bully feel even more confortable about say harmful things because their words cannot be tracked back to them. When a person is typing instead of talking directly to a person, it is easy for them to forget that there are real people behind the screen. In this way, the use of social media separates us from who we are communicating with, which can lead to anyone saying or doing mean and hurtful things to others.
One of the major reasons that social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter have such a large amount of active users is that these sites are meant to be addictive. Studies have found that 63% of Americans log on to Facebook daily, and 40% log on multiple times everyday. Facebook, like a number of other social media sites, uses “likes” and comments as positive reinforcement for posting information. Constant notifications and other popups related to the user’s friends and interests also make it harder to stop coming back to these sites. The figure to the left presents the results of a poll provided by lookout that shows that 68% of people between the ages of 18-34 admitted to not being able to go one hour without checking their phones. This time spent scrolling through different newsfeeds takes away time that could have been focused elsewhere. An average American spends almost one quarter of their workday browsing social media for non-work related activities. This can be translated into not only an extreme amount of decreased worker productivity and loss of time, but also into tremendous financial loses for big businesses.
Contrast to popular belief, multitasking is not really possible. Numerous studies have shown that our brains do not have the capacity to fully focus our attention on two things at once, but instead our brain switches quickly back and forth form one task to another. Because we cannot equally divide our attention, multitasking does decrease our productivity and delays information processing.
Some argue that social media is also taking away from our learning. In a study published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, researchers split volunteers into different social networks that varied in the amount of connection between members. The participants were then asked a series of questions that necessitated analytical reasoning. The results showed that those in the more socially connected groups gave the right answer a greater amount of the time because they had the opportunity to copy the answer from their neighbor. The researchers then went to show that this stealing of answers did not actually improve the participants’ ability to figure out the answers independently, because when asked more questions there was no improvement from one question to the next. Similar to these experimental social groups, social media makes it extremely easy for its users to share and look up answers to more challenging questions. This study shows that while looking up answers may make us smarter at first by enabling us to give the correct response, it actually does not facilitate learning and may in fact take away from it. When we are supplied with an answer without having to think critically about it, our analytical abilities decrease. Social media allows us to present an analytical response without actually being analytical and therefore, in the long run, can make us stupider.
Although this blog focuses on two major negative impacts that social media can have on its users, social media is not ruining our society by making all of its users dumb and depressed. The rise of social media has brought with it an enormous amount of benefits. Social media has drastically enhanced our connectivity with friends and family members and has also made it a lot easier to connect and stay connected with people worldwide. Social media has facilitated a rapid spread of information around the world that can lead to more informed political, social, and academic decision-making. As with most things in life, there are both positive and negative impacts that have come along with the rise of social media. Social media can consume us and be used as a way to bully others, or it can be used to share positive information and aid in our learning. In the end, it is our responsibility as social networkers to determine how this technology is utilized.
Sources
Photo header: Blue Tie and PRNewser