Mallari Miller

Professor Tammy V. Scaife

Rhet 1311 9:00
11/21/2016
The Social Impact of the Internet
As a teenager, what social media accounts did you have? Maybe you had a Snapchat,
Instagram, Facebook or Twitter. All of which provides us with the ability to interact with friends,
family and networking with people more socially. Is digital communication making a positive
impact on todays youth? For the majority of our youth, digital communication, such as the
usage of social media can positively impact youths personal and social development. Digital
communication can enhance relationships on social media, make advertising more advanced and
change a persons political view.
Digital communication can enhance relationships. On Instagram there is this one couple
that posts pictures of what they do on dates. The couple wore matching BatMan onesies, went go
cart racing, and prank each other. One of the pranks was the boy poured cold water on the girl
while she was sleep. This shows what a relationship is supposed to be like and gives people great
relationship advice. In 2011, Campbell and Kwak examined whether and how mobile
communication influences the extent to which one engages face to face with new people in
public settings. According to Campbell and Kwak, By accounting for different types of cell
phone uses, the study found evidence that mobile phone use in public actually facilitated talking
with co present strangers, for those who frequently rely on cell phones to get and exchange
information about news(Campbell and Kwak). The power of social media is not as a
replacement to personal interactions, but is a supplement to them. Technology allows us to

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connect differently, so using it to your (and your business) advantage can help you develop and
grow relationships(Hartzog). In other words, Hartzog believes that peoples personal
interactions on social media give them a boost of authority such as they can follow, post pictures,
status or 10 second videos without anyones permission. Technology helps our relationships
grow and makes communicating more easier.
Advertising is another reason why digital communication is impacting the youth
positively. The author of this paper follows Victoria Secret Pink on Snapchat. Victoria Secret
Pink posts sales and invites people to their stores after hours. Most stores post advertisements on
Instagram to let viewers see new apparel and receive coupons. Most advertisers try to influence
youths behaviors. Whether it is to buy, try, or experience something. Advertisers impact youths
personal and social development by influencing their choices and decisions.
Digital communication can change a persons political view. Researcher Monica
Anderson of the Pew Research Center found that twenty percent of social media users changed
who they were voting for during the 2016 presidential election ( Anderson). Seeing things on
social media about the presidential election changed some republicans to democrats and some
democrats to republicans. The essence of Andersons argument is that our youth are looking on
social media to determine who is the better candidate. The author of this paper was not going to
vote for this years presidential election. One day she got on Twitter, and saw how badly one
candidate was saying that he Would make America great Again. and decided that she needed
to vote. In an era when the publics time and attention is increasingly directed toward platforms
such as Facebook and Twitter, scholars are seeking to evaluate the still-emerging relationship

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between social media use and public engagement (Boulianne). Social media use and public
engagement are being evaluated positively through politics.
Nevertheless, critics of youth digital culture will probably argue that social media harms
youth relationships. While it is true that youth can spend a lot of time online it does impact them
positively by enhancing their relationships and political perspectives.
In conclusion, internet communication has a more positive impact than negative. Digital
communication is helping youth shape their personalities by letting them express who they are,
and giving them insights of who they want to be in the future. Youth might see a hair stylist
doing hair or a comedian telling jokes and decide that they have passion to be a hair stylist or
comedian. Digital communication is a great way for youth to interact, but how will we get
society to understand this?

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Works Cited
Anderson, Monica. "Social Media Causes Some Users to Rethink Their Views on an Issue." Pew
Research Center. N.p., 07 Nov. 2016. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.
Boulianne, Shelley. "Social Media Use and Participation: A Meta-analysis of Current Research,"
Information, Communication & Society, 2015.
Campbell, S.W., & Kwak, N. (2011). Mobile communication and civil society: Linking patterns
and places of use to engagement with others in public. Human Communication Research, 37,
207-222.
Hartzog, Emily. "Social Media Using Digital Communications to Enhance Relationships."
Chartwell Agency. N.p., 16 Oct. 2015. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.