Humphrey & Lamb 1

Michelle Humphrey and Sutton Lamb

Current Issue Research Project

January 15, 2021

Social Media Research Podcast Script:

Sutton: Host

Michelle: Guest

(Upbeat music plays in the background and fades as Sutton begins

her first line.)

Sutton: Hi, everyone,and welcome back to “Call Her Saddy”! We

have a really interesting episode for y'all today. Here to talk

about the effects of social media on our world, please welcome

our guest for today, Michelle!

Michelle: Hi good morning thanks for having me!

Sutton: Of course! Thanks for being here! Okay, first do you want

to touch on the ways that we benefit from social media?

Michelle: Yeah definitely. I think that social media gets alot of

bad rep but there are many positive effects to its usage.

Sutton: For sure. Can you tell us about some of those positive

effects?
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Michelle: Of course. So as we all know social media usage in

recent years has been drastically increasing, with teenagers

being the largest percentage of users (“The Psychology of Social

Media”). This provides an outlet for finding others with common

interests, raising awareness for real-world issues and

organizations, and becoming more confident without the worries of

face to face interactions(“Social Media Benefits”,”The Good, Bad,

and In-between of Social Media”, Ghazal). Tiktok specifically has

helped many teens make friends and find people with the same

interests and goals(“8 Pros and Cons of TikTok On Kids' Mental

Health”).

Sutton: Yes! I’m glad we’re speaking from this perspective

because it’s rare that people understand how it’s a pretty

balanced system. What else can you tell us?

Michelle: Social media has also allowed for the creation of many

jobs. “Facebook has created over 4.5 million jobs around the

world”, and for many it is not only a source of entertainment, it

is also how they make their living (Goldman).

 Humphrey & Lamb 3

Sutton: That’s super interesting! I never thought of it that way!

But it makes sense, employ people that can help build the empire

of these companies.

Michelle: Exactly! It's important to note, Sutton, that the way

social media is “used and abused” is directly correlated with the

impact in the user’s life (”The Good, Bad, and In-between of

Social Media”). The user must make smart choices with what is

being put out there and what platforms are being accessed.

Sutton: For sure! Even though social media can come off as being

a great resource, it has its negative effects too I’m sure.

Michelle: Of course, and it's also important to understand the

possible negative effects along with the positives. Some of these

include emotional attachment, self image issues, poor mental

health, and decreased face to face interactions ("Social media

use can be positive for mental health and well-being" ).

Cyberbullying has also become a major issue due to the ability to

hide behind the screen, but “throughout 2016, several social

media companies introduced measures to combat cyberbullying”

including account verification and comment monitoring (“Social

Media Timeline”).
 Humphrey & Lamb 4

Sutton: Wow, that’s fascinating. I’m guessing teenagers are the

most impacted by social media, both in positive and negative

ways, right? Do adults and elderly use social media much and how

can it affect them?

Michelle: Yes social media is part of 88% of young adults' lives

but it also impacts adults with 64% of individuals between 50-64

years old using social media (“The Psychology of Social Media”).

It can still pose the same effects as teenagers including both

the positive of increased communication with family and also the

negative of causing distractions of the outside world (Price-

Mitchell). Ultimately, social media has become a huge part of

everyone’s lives no matter the age.

Sutton: I didn’t know social media had that many effects. Usually

everyone just heard about the bad things that it leads to. I

really appreciate you stopping by to inform us all on social

media. Thank you so much!

Michelle: Yeah, of course! Thank you so much for having me.

Works Cited

Cyberwise. "8 Pros and Cons of TikTok On Kids' Mental Health." cyberwise, 10

Sept. 2020, www.cyberwise.org/post/

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8-pros-and-cons-of-tiktok-on-kids-mental-health. Accessed 15 Dec. 2020.

David Goldman. "Facebook claims it created 4.5 million jobs." CNN Business, CNN,

20 Jan. 2015, money.cnn.com/2015/01/20/technology/social/facebook-jobs/.

Accessed 15 Dec. 2020.

Ghazal, Rym T. "Social Media can be a Tool for Good Despite the Hate." Arab

News, 22 Oct 2020. SIRS Issues Researcher, https://explore.proquest.com/

sirsissuesresearcher/document/2457126154?accountid=3785.

Hackensack Meridian Carrier Clinic. "The Good, Bad, and In-between of Social

Media." Hackensack Meridian Carrier Clinic, 8 Aug. 2018, carrierclinic.org/

2019/08/08/the-good-bad-and-in-between-of-social-media/. Accessed 15 Dec.

2020.

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Mesfin Awoke Bekalu. "Social

media use can be positive for mental health and well-being." Harvard T.H.

Chan School of Public Health, edited by The President and Fellows of

Harvard College, The President and Fellows of Harvard College, 6 Jan. 2020,

www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/social-media-positive-mental-health/.

Accessed 15 Dec. 2020.

Internetmatters.org. "Social Media Benefits." internetmatters.org,

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www.internetmatters.org/resources/social-media-advice-hub/

social-media-benefits/. Accessed 11 Jan. 2021.

King University. "The Psychology of Social Media." King University Online, 19

Sept. 2019, online.king.edu/news/psychology-of-social-media/. Accessed 15

Dec. 2020.

Price-Mitchell, Marilyn. "Disadvantages of Social Networking: Surprising Insight

from Teens." Roots of Action, 16 June 2014, www.rootsofaction.com/

disadvantages-of-social-networking/. Accessed 11 Jan. 2021.

Staff, Proquest. Social Media Timeline. ProQuest, Ann Arbor, 2020. SIRS Issues

Researcher, https://explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/

2250551024?accountid=3785.