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THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN SOCIETY
THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN SOCIETY
EDISON
ENG200
7.23 2017
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THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN SOCIETY
Introduction
Social media was meant for everyday usage when the term web 2.0 was coined by guys at
Silicon Valley, with the promise of numerous gains. Whereas social media platforms have
improved businesses and contributed to the development of meaningful social circles, there are
concerns that this technological facet has far-reaching negative consequences. This research
focuses on the negative influences in various spheres of life such as social interactions,
emotional health, privacy, bullying and general behavior difficulties. It aims at answering the
guiding research question: What are the prevailing negative influences of social media usage
among younger generations?
Research Overview
The purpose of collecting data in relation to this research study is to try and quantify the
multiple ways in which social media usage has affected life negatively, particularly among
college students. An anonymous questionnaire will be used, which is a standard method in
surveys. Approximately 50 questionnaires will be administered to college students defined by
various demographic factors, followed by a selection of the usable questionnaires depending on
the responses that will be offered.
The articles selected for this project were evaluated on the grounds of relevance, reliability
and date of publication. Peer-reviewed journals were given preference because they are top-rated
when it comes to reliability. I excluded articles that are older than ten years since some of the
information and findings in such research studies could be obsolete. Recent articles were more
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THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN SOCIETY
effective as they had been updated to meet with the changing social dynamics. All these
dynamics notwithstanding, sampling was the most tedious exercise. A random sampling
procedure was selected and this is particularly hectic when selecting the kind of participants that
take part in a research.
Discussion Overview
A majority of the respondents admitted that they are heavily reliant on social media, where
they spend several hours each day sifting through newsfeeds, establishing new relationships,
sharing information and keeping in touch with acquaintances. Social media usage has affected
academic performance negatively, besides eroding interpersonal skills and leading to emotional
disturbances. When students long hours on social media, they have little time left to do their
home works and revise for their exams. As a result, students who spend long hours of time on
social media have reported poor performance. The interpersonal skills also erode as people spend
more time on social. Increased reliance on social media deeply minimizes the time required to
socialize and make meaningful relationships. As a result, people who spend long hours on social
media have poor relationships with people close to them.
Whereas social media platforms provide a meaningful social circle, a number of
respondents reported minor cases of bullying and a breach of privacy. Some were subjected to
cyber-sex cases, which points to the moral erosion that this tool is instilling in society. Cyber
bullying occurs when people use social media to send hurtful messages to other people that
negatively affect their feelings. In other cases, cyber bullying occurs when people post other
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THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN SOCIETY
people’s pictures that are embarrassing and as a result hurting the other people’s feelings
resulting in emotional disturbances. People who suffer from this type of bullying often suffer
from other associated psychological disturbances due to the emotional torture experienced as a
result of cyber bullying. All the articles reviewed supported the assertion that social media usage
has worsened life over time although two of the journal articles indicated that the merits of social
media usage outweigh the downsides.
Annotated Bibliography
Siddiqui, S., & Singh, T. (2016). Social Media its Impact with Positive and Negative
Aspects. International Journal of Computer Applications Technology and Research,
5(2), 71-75. doi:10.7753/ijcatr0502.1006
Siddiqui and Singh (2016) focus on the positive and negative impacts of social media in
society. These are renowned researchers at Mats University in India, with extensive knowledge
in social psychology. Coupled with a publication on the International Journal of Computer
Applications Technology and Research, this article is not only credible but also current. They
highlight the negative impacts of social media on education such as distraction, privacy concerns
on online websites and access to misleading information that is posted by rogue bloggers. "Many
of the large organization have fallen victim to the hackers" (Siddiqui & Singh, 2016, p.73). It is
clear that businesses are at a loss as well and this article will put into perspective the manner in
which people are deluded by the positive effects of social media usage.
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THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN SOCIETY
Rajeev, M., & Jobilal, M. (2015). Effects of Social Media on Social Relationships: A
Descriptive Study on the Impact of Mobile Phones among Youth Population.
International Research Journal of Social Sciences, 4(2), 11-16. doi:10.7753/4.ISCAIRJSS.1609
This article by Rajeev and Jobilal (2015) focuses on the effects that social media usage
has, particularly on young persons. The research was conducted by researchers from the
department of social sciences at Amrita University. Using the socio-ecological model and
prevention framework, the researchers pay attention to the use of mobile phones to access social
media sites and how the trend has subsequently eroded interpersonal skills. This article is
consistent with the results found by Siddiqui and Singh, concluding that social media affects
academic performance negatively. "Schools and educational settings report that student’s mobile
phone use disrupts teaching and reduces student’s attention in class, resulting in negative
educational outcomes" ( Rajeev & Jobilal, 2015, p.15). The study is relevant when it comes to
the research on mobile phone usage among young people and the recent trends that have made
this gadget a necessity.
Mehraj, H., Bhat, A., & Rameez, H. (2014). Impacts of Media on Society: A Sociological
Perspective . International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention, 3(6),
56-64. Doi: 2319 – 7722/6.ijhssi
Mehraj, Bhat and Rameez (2014) take a sociological perspective in studying the impact
of social media in society. They argue that social media effects, whether positive or negative,
will always disrupt a person's sense of autonomy and respect. "We find that a major chunk of the
youth is using social media networks more than 5 hours a day resulting declining health and
mental health in particular" (Mehraj, Bhat & Rameez, 2014, p.62). This is the first article that
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addresses the concept of mental health in relation to social media tools, which points to an
entirely new dimension in this study because the media extends beyond interpersonal
relationships, education and business. These authors are lecturers at the Government College
Baramulla and are therefore speaking from a point of authority in sociology.
Straubhaar, J. D., LaRose, R., & Davenport, L. (2013). Media now: understanding media,
culture, and technology. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
The authors explore the concept of social media and how it has transformed over time.
Although they take a neutral stance, they have made a great contribution to an understanding of
the relationship between the media, various cultural dispositions and technology. The book
provides relevant literature to any research that focuses on the media.
Sarikakis, K., & Winter, L. (2017). Social Media Users’ Legal Consciousness about
Privacy.
Social
Media
Society,
3(1),
205630511769532.
doi:10.1177/2056305117695325
Sarikakis and Winter (2017) took an entirely different approach by addressing the users'
legal consciousness on the issue of privacy in relation to social media usage. This study makes a
salient assumption that social media poses a serious privacy concern and this has legal
implications for the privacy breach perpetrators and victims, most of which people are oblivious
of. The authors play an active role at the department of communications in Vienna University
and are therefore speaking from a position of influence. " Privacy attains predominantly a
meaning of protected “space,” not only in terms of “simple” personal data but also in terms of
social interaction and the kinds of information these generate" (Sarikakis & Winter, 2017, p.4).
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Autonomy and personal control are barely possible to maintain in the social media age where
people are sharing all kinds of personal information, either knowingly unknowingly. Compared
to other resources, this article is more focused because it dwells on the concept of privacy only.