DIndia 1

Kendall DIndia
Adam Padgett
English 1102
April 8, 2014
The Effects of Social Media and Technology
Over recent years, the expansion of social media and technology has not only
shaped our society, but also shifted our culture. With its popularity consistently growing,
it sometimes seems as if our lives completely revolve around it. However, there are many
skeptical concerns regarding our use of social media and technology that have risen up
over recent years. I feel that my generation, currently the most technologically exposed,
tends to ignore concerns such as these, more than that of older generations. For many, the
question of whether or not there is really something so wrong with our use of social
media and technology, that we truly need to be concerned about it, is asked. There is a
various range of different ways social media and technology affect us. One of the more
concerning impacts is that of the effect on our subjective well-being, or in other words,
the quality of ones life including emotional reactions and cognitive judgments. Many of
these concerns have been researched thoroughly and are backed by scientific evidence,
including that of our subjective well-being, which has some compelling results. Even
though our society is extremely dependent on social media and technology, the negative
side of it needs to be recognized. The effects of social media and technology need to be
acknowledged because the major roles they play in society cause them to directly
influence the subjective well-being of people today.
Comment [AP1]: Just saying the effects is
extremely broad. I would like for you to go
ahead and mention some specifics if you
could.
DIndia 2
For many people in our society, social media has become a significant part of
their lives. It is used to socialize, share pictures, communicate with friends, and entertain
us. Not to mention just how outrageously popular things like Instagram and Twitter have
become. So with all our use of social media sites like these, what kind of impact is it
having on us? Well Twitter was found to have one of the most interesting influences on
our subjective well-being. One experiment performed was geared towards finding the
effects that Twitter has on us, monitored tweets and users, evaluating the emotional
content of each users 6-month record of tweets (242 Bollen, Gonclaves, Raun, Mao), to
discover the impact it had on us. What they found was that being connected to
unhappy users can make one unhappier, and vice versa (249 Bollen, Gonclaves, Raun,
Mao). What these results are telling us, it that Twitter itself can directly influence our
happiness, swaying us to be happier, or less happy. This is something people should be
conscious of when on Twitter, who would want to become less happy just because of
some tweets they happen to view? Hopefully situations like this can be avoided, and
perhaps people will try spending less time on Twitter to help benefit themselves.
As most people are aware, social media and technology are known to have many
negative effects on us, however, some also consist of a few beneficial aspects.
Technologies, such as video games, fall into this idea. Some know that video games can
effect emotions, but many are not aware of how they can advocate certain ones. Despite
what you may normally hear about video games being bad for you, they actually contain
some beneficial aspects. In fact, they are found to increase spatial and problem-solving
skills. Not only is it good for cognitive skills such as those, but also, Gaming may be
among one of the most efficient and effective means by which children and youth
Comment [AP2]: Interesting.
Comment [AP3]: Seems like passive,
wishful thinking. What is the rhetorical
value in this?
DIndia 3
generate positive feelings (6 Granic, Lobel, Rutger), which makes perfect sense because
people play video games for fun. Unfortunately not all the effects that video games have
are as good as those. They have also been found to trigger emotions such as frustration,
anger, anxiety, and sadness. Because video games can trigger certain emotions, we must
be careful to tell the difference between when turning to video games to feel better is
adaptive and at what point using games becomes an avoidant strategy that leads to more
negative outcomes (6 Granic, Lobel, Rutger). Even though video games provide people
with happiness, beginning to depend on it for happiness will only create further issues.
Sometimes technology can affect us in more ways than we are aware. It is important to
understand the effects that social media and technology have on us so that we may make
adjustments to our lives accordingly.
Much of the social media and technology we have can be used for some form of
communication. So how does communicating this way affect us, in comparison to face-
to-face interaction? An experiment was performed using instant messaging to find the
mental impacts that communicating through a keyboard and screen has on us. The results
revealed that the emotional feeling of loneliness was highly affected. The researchers of
this experiment found that using the Internet to support already existing relationships
predicted decreased loneliness, whereas virtual relationships alone predict greater
loneliness (10 Laghi). In other words, if you used instant messaging to talk to friends
that you were also friends with in real life, loneliness levels were found to decease, but it
had the opposite affect if you used instant messaging to talk to people you appeared to
only be friends with online. Again, this type of technology can produce both positive and
negative outcomes. In this experiment the results also found that instant messaging
Comment [AP4]: Seems axiomatic, and
also inconsequential.
DIndia 4
affected anxiety and depression levels as well. For those who used instant messaging to
communicate with individuals they were already friends with in person, instant
messaging strengthened their relationships, which was then shown to lead to a decrease in
anxiety and depression levels; a beneficial influence on our subjective well-being. This
would be especially valuable for people who tend to be shy and have a hard time making
friends because it allows them to communicate with others in a less stressful environment
where they will not feel intimidated by face-to-face confrontation. Despite the down side
to this online communication, this experiment showed us how it can be used to produce
positive outcomes. Knowing how technology and social media, like this, affect us, can
allow us to take advantage of it by using its good aspects to benefit ourselves.
It is no surprise that some people develop a form of dependency on social media
and technology. However, this dependency has recently been linked to causing clinical
symptoms of psychiatric disorders. It has especially been seen in regular Internet and
mobile phone users. For those individuals who appear to display this type
overdependence, they have been found to exhibit signs of Obsessive Compulsive
Disorder (OCD). As found in an experiment testing this, researchers discovered that in
cases such as this, Users are not checking their text messages or email to feel pleasure,
but to relieve anxiety (22 Rosen). This type of dependency can create adverse effects on
subjective well-being, and lower ones level of happiness. This experiment did not only
find symptoms of psychiatric disorders, but also some other psychological effects that
social media and technology can cause. For example, an increased use in Facebook was
found to lead to more signs of narcissism (14 Rosen) in individuals. Not only that, but
greater use in Internet was associated with more signs of loneliness and depression
DIndia 5
(20 Rosen). This may not be the case for every individual. However, it is compelling
information that really displays the amount of influence social media and technology can
have on us.
Similarly as to how social media and technology can be linked to psychiatric
disorders, it can also be assessed from an aspect of addiction. By viewing the problematic
use of social media as that of an addiction, researchers were able to find common factors.
Through an experiment they found that the use of social media and technology influences
self-traits in ways similar to that of addiction, lowering self-esteem, self-efficacy, and
self-control. It was also found to reduce individuals motivation. Other factors that are
also commonly affiliated with addiction, were also found, when findings revealed that
users who rely excessively on human-machine interactions tend to be less sensitive to
violence, display higher levels of depression, and demonstrate reset syndrome or
experience discontent in conversations among family members (19 Khang, Hyoungkoo,
Kim). Findings such as these illustrate how the effects of social media and technology are
extremely similar to those of other serious mental issues. This close relation further
shows how social media and technology can directly influence subjective well-being.
Social Media and Technology are predominant aspects in our lives and in society.
Because its presence is so dominant, especially in my generation, it is nearly impossible
to avoid the influence it presses on us. There are numerous positive affects that they can
have, as well as many negative affects though. Regardless, the denouement is that social
media and technology impacts our subjective well-being, whether it is noticed or not.
They will always be able to influence how we feel, but each individual situation will
DIndia 6
effect us differently. However, by understanding this concept, we can try to manage what
affects our subjective well-being, for the better.

Kendall,
I like a lot of the issues you bring to the table. It is clear that you have researched your
topic very well, and I think you do a good job engaging these sources and including your
own thoughtful opinion. I do feel that you cover too many disparate topics in this one
paper. You discuss good/bad effects of videogames, depression, internet addiction all in
the same paper. You need a much more clear and focused thesis/argument and every
paragraph should be dedicated to supporting that one precise thesis. Covering these
disparate issues takes away a sense of purpose that you would otherwise have with a
more specific and precise thesis. What is your purpose here? Im not sure. Who is your
ideal audience? What sort of effect do you hope to achieve on that audience? Again, I
need you to be an active participant in the conversation, offering an argument and a point
of view, and not act as simply a passive reporter.








DIndia 7












Bibliography
Bollen, Johan, et al. "Happiness Is Assortative In Online Social Networks." Artificial Life
17.3 (2011): 237-251. Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.

Granic, Isabela, Adam Lobel, and Rutger C. M. E. Engels. "The Benefits Of Playing
Video Games." American Psychologist 69.1 (2014): 66-78. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.

Laghi, Fiorenzo, et al. "Knowing When Not To Use The Internet: Shyness And
Adolescents On-Line And Off-Line Interactions With Friends." Computers In
Human Behavior 29.1 (2013): 51-57. Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 Feb.
2014.

Rosen, L.D., et al. "Is Facebook Creating Idisorders? The Link Between Clinical
Symptoms Of Psychiatric Disorders And Technology Use, Attitudes And
Anxiety." Computers In Human Behavior 29.3 (2013): 1243-1254. Academic
Search Complete. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.

Khang, Hyoungkoo, Jung Kyu Kim, and Yeojin Kim. "Self-Traits And Motivations As
DIndia 8
Antecedents Of Digital Media Flow And Addiction: The Internet, Mobile Phones,
And Video Games." Computers In Human Behavior 29.6 (2013): 2416-2424.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.