Trisha Savino English 1102 Professor Padgett April 3, 2014 Research Paper While todays generation is very familiar

with all the different types of technology, it is something foreign to older generations. College students have grown up with this technology and the associated social media sites. While older adults often have trouble figuring out how to use these devices, it seems as if it is second nature to teens and young adults. Walking around any college campus, you are guaranteed to see the majority of the students with their cell phone in hand. Many of these students are texting while walking to class or scrolling through their social media sites instead of interacting with other students. Social media sites such as Twitter, Instagram, Vine, and Facebook are very prevalent among college students. Facebook is the most common social media site with at least 85% of college students using it (Junco, 162). Considering the popularity of these sites, it is obvious that there are some positive aspects of them. However, what most people do not realize is that social media negatively affects college students in different ways. Some of these consequences can be very serious and they need to be addressed before they become even worse. Trying to balance keeping up with schoolwork, having a job, spending time socializing with friends and getting enough sleep is a tricky thing to master for college students. Adding social media to that mix makes it practically impossible for the brain to take a break. This generation spends every moment they get checking these sites in order to know what is going on in the world and their community. The fear of missing out, or often called FoMO, is a term

used to describe when a person wishes to be on social media sites constantly because he is afraid the he will miss out on what is happening (Przybylski, 1841). This term explains why so many young people have the urge to constantly check on these sites. While not wanting to feel left out is understandable, there are others ways to solve this fear than always staring at ones phone. Young people need to realize that this cyber world is not as important as they think it is. They should stop paying so much attention to their social media sites before they actually do miss out on things in their real life. It is no secret how difficult and competitive college is. Yet, while these sites are supposed to be helpful, they often only cause more problems to the already stressed out college students. Spending so much time on social media sites obviously is not a good thing, especially when students should be spending their time on more important things such as: studying, working on projects, or spending quality time with their friends. Though many students think that they can successfully use social media sites or text while they are studying, these students are overestimating their ability to multitask. While these things might make homework more bearable, they are actually negatively affecting the students without them realizing. Studies show that college students that are using Facebook and are on their cellphone while studying and doing homework have lower grade point averages (Junco, 163). When a student is on social media sites or texting during a class lecture, they are much more likely to do worse on that exam (Rosen, 949). College students have enough trouble staying on task while studying without technology distracting them. In one study it was shown that most students cannot stay on task for more than ten minutes, and when they switched tasks they were most often switching to fulfill this need to check their technological devices for updates on social media sites (Rosen, 955). The gratification a person feels when they get a text message from a friend or loved one often carries

over to a persons study time (Rosen, 955). Getting a text message from a family member or a Facebook notification a friend is a reminder that someone is thinking about you. Students are switching tasks because of the human need to feel loved, but it becomes a problem when a person needs to be reminded so often that it is affecting their ability to focus on schoolwork. While college students think that nothing is wrong with the social media sites that they use multiple times a day, in actuality, they are negatively impacting their academic performance. Social media gives individuals a creative way to express themselves. People can tweet about their day on twitter, post a video of themselves on vine, write a paragraph about their feelings on Facebook, and post a picture of themselves on Instagram. People are even encouraged to keep posting these things because they get likes or favorites. The more people acknowledge these posts, the more a person wants to use these sites. There is nothing wrong enjoying the feeling of someone boosting your self-esteem, but when you cannot stop posting on these web sites because that is the only way that you can feel confident, that becomes a problem. While it may seem drastic, social media can be addicting. When a person is addicted to social media he or she: looses track of the time spent online, gets distracted and has trouble finishing schoolwork, becomes isolated from family and friends, and feels guilty about computer use. Unfortunately, this also causes students grades to drop, as mentioned earlier. Not only does this addiction to the Internet negatively affect the person who is addicted, it also affects their friends and family because they often neglect them. Increased usage in social media has also contributed to the existence of cyber bullying. Cyber bullying, which is bullying done through the Internet or social media, has recently become a big problem in schools. While it is most common among middle and high school students, it also happens in college. Some examples of cyber bullying are: posting inappropriate or ugly

pictures of friends, commenting rude things on peoples pictures, or simply saying mean things on Twitter. Being cyber bullied is an embarrassing and emotional thing to experience. It is also something a person cannot escape from because even if the victim is not at the computer, the bully could still be there spreading even more rumors (Brock, 193). This is difficult for the student because he cannot feel safe even in his own home. Since this bullying does not happen at school, the school or university often does not get involved. With schools not intervening, cyber bullying continues to happen and the victims are left helpless. Even though a student is not being physically bullied, he is getting psychologically bullied which is just as bad, or even worse. It is something very difficult to go through, and people have even committed suicide because being bullied was too hard to handle. Cyber bullying is a serious issue and the abundance of social media websites makes it easier. People often say that college is supposed to be the best four years of a persons life. While that saying should be true, and may be true in some cases, that is definitely not true for everyone. College is an extremely stressful time in life that is filled with an incredible amount of schoolwork and decision making that determines what a person is going to do with the rest of his life. All of this could be why 15 to 20% of college students claim to be depressed (Youn, 75). The prevalence of social media is not helping with that statistic either. In a study done on depressed college students, it was found that when a person was diagnosed as depressed or having depressive symptoms only about 40% of them wanted to seek help. The main reason for them not requesting help was that they thought they were too busy (Youn, 78). Social media is not helping with the number of students that are depressed in college. In actuality, it is adding to it. Social media is a known contributor to depression. When a person frequently contacts his friends through social media, personal contact is greatly decreased which leaves the person

feeling lonely. Facebook and these other social media sites are a great way to keep in touch with loved ones, but unfortunately they are also a great way to compare oneself to others. It is practically impossible to log in to Facebook and not end up on someones profile looking through all of their pictures. That is where the problem starts. There is nothing wrong with browsing through a persons pictures, but it can have a negative effect when a person compares his life to his friends and start to feel bad about himself. These comparisons make a person more self conscious about himself without him even realizing it. There is always going to be that one person who is more attractive, funnier, or nicer than you and social media just rubs that in its users faces. As serious as college is, it is the time for students to learn for themselves the difference between what is right and what is wrong. College, for most people, is the first time in a persons life where they are out on their own with no parents to hold their hand. Because of this, it is not rare for a person to go out and make stupid mistakes without even thinking. Social media creates a place for pictures of these mistakes to be posted so that everyone can see. This includes faculty at ones college, parents, and even futures employers. Once this picture is posted, it can be on the Internet forever. The mistake might be over and forgotten but the picture evidence is not. Nevertheless, college is a very important time in life where everything a person does greatly affects his future. Social media can be very beneficial to students, however it comes at a cost. Most people do not know these consequences or their severity. This technology can cause students grades to drop, be bullied, become addicted, or even become depressed. Since this generation has grown up with this technology it is hard for them to believe that it could be so harmful to them. However, it often times is harmful and students need to realize the truth and cut back on the usage of social media before it is too late.

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