Swiatlowski 1

Aidan Swiatlowski

Mullins

Reading and Writing for the College Bound

4 December 2017

The Effects of Social Media

Life these days are not as good as they used to be. The carelessness of people has seemed

to increase more over the years. There is a major absence of etiquette in society, the community

as a whole is less thoughtful, and the overall kindness of people seems to be lacking. In Neal

Schaffer’s article on ​Manners in the Digital Age,​ it stated that, “According to a Rasmussen poll

taken last fall, 75% of adults polled said we’re getting less civilized as a population” (par. 2).

What could be the cause of all this? Technology seems to be the one thing that is constantly

brought up when this question is asked. With social media really taking off in the last decade, it

is a reasonable accusation to make that it is having a negative impact through not only the loss of

etiquette but also through the decreasing levels of civility.

Etiquette can be defined as “​a set of customs and rules for polite behavior, especially

among a particular class of people or in a particular profession” (“Definition”). When it comes to

social media, there is a great absence of etiquette. The rules of society seems to disappear once

people are behind screens. When scrolling through different social networking pages, creating

snap judgements seems to be a big motive to the shortage of social ruling. In Malcolm

Gladwell’s ​Blink​, he describes, “The part of our brain that leaps to conclusions like this is called

the adaptive unconscious” (11). The adaptive unconscious is a decision-making apparatus that

has been developed which is capable of making very quick judgements (Gladwell 12). It is this
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part of the brain, which we are not able to control, that has brought issues upon humanity. These

would not possible without social media. With this, in many instances, the civility in

conversation among plenty is non existent. Articles on news websites are filled with the decrease

of civility. Fox News has an article posted called “McCain condemns isolationist politics, calls it

‘unpatriotic’’’ that has brought up countless of arguments. In the common section, there is a feud

going on between majority of users over one comment, “​Hey all you Liberals I grew up in the

50's and 60's and those times were GREAT. so KM[**]”​ (LibsRworms039). The controversy

that this comment has made is overwhelming. Disgraceful things said to one another over snap

judgements and opinions people have. The anonymity of it all the things said plays a big role to

the cruel remarks to others.

No one seems to care as much about their own comments made if it is behind the

influence of a screen where no one can be face to face. As Charlie R. Claywell stated,

“​Comments on social media sites are often more blunt than the statements would be if they were

made face-to-face” (sec. 12)​ The anonymity creates a shortage of responsibility among society.

No one has to take the responsibility for the things they say that may hurt another person.

Because of this, people are less afraid to say what is actually on people’s minds or adaptive

unconscious. Creating profiles without names or pictures has developed a way around the

liability of doing so, and has given a strange power to people. Invincibility to say whatever they

please because these people cannot be held accountable for their actions. ​For instance Claywell

found that, “ high schools were being targeted anonymously with bombing and shooting threats”

(sec. 11). Anyone is able to make comments like these and the anonymity of it all protects these

people, putting many in danger with nothing to do about it. ​Just like the news article example.​ It
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was said by Claywell that, ​“When potentially offensive content is posted online, the amount of

feedback can be excessive and is often brutal. This is particularly true with highly opinionated

subjects like politics and religion” (sec. 7). The comments made were on there were

anonymously posted so no one was able to be held accountable for the content posted which also

exempts the people for the damage done. This is bringing danger to our civilization and tearing

the society apart socially and politically.

A lot of people believe that social media is a great tool to bringing society closer

together. Some aspects of that are true, such as the worldwide connectivity. There are plenty of

ways different networking sites bring people together, but in reality, it is creating a greater

divide. Politics play a big role in this and can be effected in such ways as the comments on the

news articles. A big bulk of news has to do with politics and the different opinions relating to

what is said. While everyone is entitled to opinions, social media has allowed for a substantial

divide and negative energy relating to them. The comment section on news articles can be seen

by anyone who has access to internet, making these issues more widespread among society. It is

no longer just little private debates amongst small groups of people. With social media, these

altercations have grown nationwide and even worldwide. Along with anyone being able to see

the comments, anyone can create an account and post them too. Monica Anderson, from Pew

Research Center has found that many social media users describe, “political encounters online as

stressful and frustrating, and nearly four-in-ten have taken steps to block or minimize the

political content they see from other users” (par. 1). Several that have found the online

encounters stressful and frustrating have now isolated themselves away from the drama that

comes along with posting about politics. This is not only developing a political split, but now,
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the disputes amongst others has created a social divide. People are taking steps to block the

content they see, which doesn’t allow for interactions to occur because people are too cruel and

opinionated. It is driving society apart.

The effects of social media have definitely influenced the behavior of society and has had

an imprint on people’s demeanor, which seems to have changed the etiquette of humanity for the

worst. The lack of civility toward one another has increased in the past decade due to the

anonymity that social media brings to the table. All of these issues are bringing dangers to

society and slowly tearing it apart.

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Works Cited

Anderson, Monica. “Social Media Causes Some Users to Rethink Their Views on an Issue.”​Pew

Research Center​, 7 Nov. 2016,

www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/11/07/social-media-causes-some-users-to-rethink-their-vi

ews-on-an-issue/​. Web. 27 Nov 2017.

Claywell, Charlie R. “Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Networking.” ​LoveToKnow​,

LoveToKnow Corp,

socialnetworking.lovetoknow.com/Advantages_and_Disadvantages_of_Social_Networking.

Web. 27 Nov 2017.

Claywell, Charlie R. “Pros and Cons of Anonymous Social Media.” ​LoveToKnow​, LoveToKnow Corp,

socialnetworking.lovetoknow.com/about-social-networking/pros-cons-anonymous-social-media.

Web. 27 Nov 2017.

“Definition of 'Etiquette'.” ​Etiquette Definition and Meaning | Collins English Dictionary​,

www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/etiquette​. Web. 27 Nov 2017.

Gladwell, Malcolm. ​Blink​. Little, Brown and Company, 2005.

LibsRworms039. Comment on “McCain condemns isolationists politics, calls it ‘unpatriotic’.” Fox News,

27 Nov 2017, 3:54 p.m.,

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/10/17/mccain-condemns-isolationist-politics-calls-it-unpa

triotic.html

Schaffer, Neal. “Manners in the Digital Age : Use Old-School Etiquette to Rise Above the Social Media

Mainstream.” ​Maximize Social Business​, 26 Feb. 2017,

maximizesocialbusiness.com/manners-in-the-digital-age-use-old-school-etiquette-1916/. Web. 27

Nov 2017.