INTRODUCTION

A social media is an online platform which people use to

build social networks or social relations with other people
who share similar personal or career interests, activities,
backgrounds or real-life connections. The impact of social
networks on young people is significant. It is becoming
increasingly clear that social networks have become part of
people’s lives. Many adolescent people are using their
laptops, tablet computers and smart phones to check Tweets
and status updates from their friends and family. Due to the
advancement in technology, people are pressured to accept
different lifestyles. Social networking sites can assist young
people to become more socially capable. Social media is a
web-based form of data communication. Social media
platforms allow users to have conversations, share
information and create web content. Social media has
different forms, together with blogs, micro-blogs, wikis,
social networking sites, photo-sharing sites, instant
messaging, video-sharing sites, podcasts, widgets, virtual
worlds, and more. Billions of people around the world use
social media to share information and make connections.[2]
On an individual level, social media allow us to
communicate with our friends and relatives, gain knowledge
of new things, develop your interests, and be entertained.
On a professional level, we can make use of social media to
expand or broaden our knowledge in a particular field and
build our professional network by connecting with other
professionals in our industry. At the business level, social
media allows us to have a conversation with our audience,
gain customer feedback, and elevate your brand.
Social Media is a innovative idea with a very brilliant
opportunity with additional scope for advancements. With
the advancement of social media many organizations are
making use of this medium to better their practices. With the
use of social networking we can advertise or communicate
in a more efficient way. Likewise people don’t have to rely
on the media or TV to get their daily dose of news it can all
be obtained from a social networking site. People can track
or get information from all over the world.

II.BRIEF BACKGROUND

Social media has improved communication all over the world. The whole world is well
connected to every other part of it now. Children can now connect with their aunts and
uncles in India while they themselves are in America. Long lost childhood friends can be
reunited with, thanks to social networks.

Entertainment has been redefined with the emergence of social media. You can share
files, videos, GIFs, pictures and a lot more on social networking sites.

Social networking have given introverts their break. One can now speak their mind
without worrying about filthy grimaces by friends and foes. And of course you can check
on your crush’s information by just clicking the right buttons on social media. Also,
sharing stuff on social media can help one gain some much needed help.

Home works, assignments and research material can be easily shared amongst
students with the help of these sites. Social media has made distant courses very easy
to attend. Online distant education systems have helped literal a lot of people over the
last decade. Enhancement of knowledge is a definite merit of social media.

Social networks have helped boost business. Where advertising on television and radio
had cost thousands of bucks, advertising on the net can be virtually free of cost. One
can post on the Facebook and reach a hundred, sometimes a million people at the
same time. Likes and dislikes of the general public can be assessed easily by marketing
companies. Due to social media article writers, Bloggers and content creators have
freedom to express their forms of art in an unrestricted environment. It helps people
develop better perspectives and reviews about current issues. Ideologies can be shared
freely now.

Social media has definitely strengthened connections, but it has also devoid us of the
sense to judge which connection is worth fostering. We are now trying to communicate
to people who are continents apart and, in the process, are neglecting the people who
are physically present next to us. A false sense of positivity and communication is going
viral. Relationships are breaking and trusting souls are disappearing.

Cyber bullying is a major threat to the minds of the young. It is fueled by social media
and can leave a devastating scar on the brain of the victim.

Death of creativity and birth of inactivity is another aftermath of social media usage.
Kids, instead of playing cricket and painting, are consumed into Facebook and the likes.

It is the cause for distraction of students and employees alike, leading to decreased
productivity. A ping on whatsapp or a message on Facebook is irresistible to old and
young alike. A few minutes of Instagram night before an important exam can be
devastating! It leads to a terrible kind of addiction that slowly eats up the individual. Eye
sight loss, migraines and increased anxiety issues are just the beginning. I’d quote
Shannon L. Alder here, “An open Facebook page is simply a psychiatric dry erase
board that screams, “Look at me. I am insecure. I need your reaction to what I am
doing, but you’re not cool enough to be my friend. Therefore, I will just pray you see this
because the approval of God is not all I need.”

With social media comes an increased sense of courage and that is followed by us
publicizing our lives. Most of us have provided the net with all sorts of possible data
about our family and profession. This can lead to serious security breaches in our lives
and can destroy is, if misused. A simple rumor can ruin our reputation. Personal data
can be obtained by hacking or phishing by criminals. A number of frauds and scams
have taken place due to social media.

Social media has also been a cause of death. Over use is one thing, but copying stunts
shared by other users takes stupidity to a whole new level- a level where one can lose
his life. It also glamorizes drugs and alcohol. Habits such as smoking and drinking have
been glorified using social media in the past. Adolescents are trapped into these circles
and ruin their lives.

III.REVIEW OF LITERATURE

As Youth and Teens are the builder of nation, and in this era
they are grown up as part of the Net Generation. They can
easily use the latest technology in various forms, including
smart phones, mp3 players, digital cameras, video games,
iPads, electronic readers, and personal computers. Social
Media has its both positive and negative effects.
This research paper is based on secondary data collected
from the online sources, different research papers and from
the Google search engine. We also used some data gathering
tools (On Site Observations, Interviews, and
Questionnaires) for gathering information about the usage of
social media in general.
In this paper we study various social networking sites,
various areas (Business and Commerce, Education, Health
and medical Education etc) in which social media is
extensively used in these days with its positive and
negatives aspects and guidelines for handling the negative
effects of social media on society.
IV.SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL NETWORKS (OR MEDIA)

Concurringly, the effect of social network from the pessimistic stand point is increasing
dramatically. Society at the invent of the social network is changing from what it used to
be, to what nobody can account for other than the negative effect of the social network;
these negative effects of the social media has robbed society of its social values and
norms. According Sule, A. (2012) before the introduction of the digital social media in
Nigeria, so many people had negative thoughts about others: government or individuals
and held various negative values and desires. But, they had no platform to share or
pour out such into the social context of society. So, they had their negative influence
concealed to them; either suppressed or retained in the subconscious. Nevertheless,
the emergence of the social networking media has change the order of social value.
Sule, A. (2012) believes that the social network has stimulated the release of one’s
innermost thought, values, or desire, a concept he terms: “Digital Technology
Masturbation Syndrome (DTMS)”.

Furthermore, it is clear that most of our youths, especially undergraduate students have
lost their control over social media usage and begun having problems with their
functionality in social, vocational and personal circles as the internet has taken over
total control of their lives. They have given the social networking media the
indescribable power over their sense of decision and focus. This has influenced to a
great extent what and who they connect with, what they look at, and the measures of
their decision making process. Idakwo (2011) posit that school work and social
interaction have been affected at the advent of these social media.

In fact, most undergraduates spend more time on Facebook, Twitter and other social
networks through smart phones that are now in abundance among these youths. Some
students have become so addicted to the internet that they cannot go for two-three
hours without checking and updating their profiles on these social networks even in
classes, at the detriment of other activities such as educational and career pursuit
(Olowu, A. O. and Seri, F. O. 2012). “Since the advent of social media sites in the
1990s, it is assumed in some quarters that the academic performance of students is
facing a lot of neglect and challenges. There is a deviation, distraction and divided
attention between social networking activities and their academic work. It is observed
that students devote more attention to social media than they do to their studies” Ndaku,
A. J. (2013).

Moreover, the abuse of the social media by youths especially student of universities is
fast becoming a global issue and is taking another dimension as we match into another
decade. The social network has provided money eager youths with the opportunity of
becoming fraudsters, carrying out fraudulent activities. This is mostly common on
Facebook of recent. Respondent to the research notes the case of a lady on facebook
who sends post that she is the daughter of a famous personnel who died leave a wealth
of riches and needs help to get the money from the bank and get her out of the refugee
camp she claims to be in. To make it real, she goes further to send her picture. At a
point, the recipient of the message will be asked to pay some money to a given bank
account to verify the transfer. On the other hand, other fraudsters employ different
strategies to this same aim. The quest for quick money in coalition with the vast platform
of the social network has given rise to “digitalized stealing” (Personal Communication
with students).

In addition, the social media (or network) has aided in the increase of immorality in
society today. It is becoming more rampant these days to hear university undergraduate
gist about sex chat, media sex, sexting, etc. all this terminologies has interchangeable
concept that involves the sending of nude picture to the opposite sex on via social
media to trigger sexual urge and instigate a chat to satisfy the urge (mostly heard on
2go). The cases of these media sex is becoming alarming as social network user that
still have their moralities frown at them (Personal Communication with students).
Ikekeonwu, G. A. (n.d) rightly observed that youths that use the internet-based
applications see a great deal of impure video material content as well as pictures that is
available to them away from the prying eyes of the parent.

In the same train of event, youths are exposed to crime and media violence that directly
or indirectly play on society, most undergraduates report. Of recent, they confess, to be
receiving some sort of invitation to join cultic societies in the covers of protection against
campus violence and intimidation. It is however ridiculous that the media according to
them has become a setting for meeting, tool for strategizing, and campaigning to carry
out actions of violence and crime if need be. Branston, G. and Stafford, R. (2010)
believe that the social media has eroded the sense of integrity in dealing with other in
public and private places. They opine that with facebook and other social network,
violent verbal abuses, bullying and ignorant comments as used in the social platform
have being extended to society in ways that would not be allowed in a proper “public”
causal discourses, and of the global surveillance possibilities of interactive media.

The negative effects of the social network on society are quite enormous. As user
expose to the unhealthy content of the social media new trend of these influence out
grow. This is so because internet users seem to underestimate the effect of media on
them. They claim that everything that happens does at their discretion and that they can
get over it when they want to; but the case remains certain; they will never want to
detach themselves and even when they would want to, their mutuality with friend on the
media will in one way or the other attract their attention again (there are exceptions
anyway for strong willed fellows). On the contrary, the social media also embrace some
sort of positivity that will be discussed in the next sub-session.

POSITIVE EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA

The social media, other than the negative effects, has a great deal of positive effects
too. The positive effects of the social media have reshaped a new world order in terms
of academics, politics, arts and charitable actions. According to Jung, B. (2013), it is
admitted that the social network has gained popularity rapidly. This popularity have
been influenced greatly by millions of users especially be teens, university and college
students.

First and foremost, the social media has added “newness in the interaction process”.
The social media displays a sort of immediacy in contrast to what was obtainable in the
previous eras. These immediacy and other features of the media has influenced
theories that has affected both the study and business media, as one would expect from
such a deeply embedded and socially ‘shaping’ technology. It has given a confined
platform for student that had face-to-face conversation challenges to get over their
fears, and develop self confident while interacting.

The social media aided confident has lead to an increase in communication in person.
This has in turn become one of the most important tools of maintaining an active social
participatory society in context and activity. The social media platform has given the
youths, especial undergraduate students (that seem to explore them the more), to
interact with youths from other race, background, religion, geography, etc as a result of
this, accumulate a wider knowledge spectrum.

V. CONCLUSION

As the technology is developing, the web-based social

networking has turned into the routine for every last
individual, people; groups are seen dependent with this
technology consistently. Online networking has expanded
the quality and rate of coordinated effort for students.[8]
Business uses online networking to upgrade an
organizations execution in different courses, for example, to
fulfill business goals, expanding yearly offers of the
organization. Youths are found in contact with these media
every day .Social media has different merits yet it likewise
has a few faults which influence individuals contrarily.
False data can lead the training framework to
disappointment, in organizations wrong promotion will
influence the productivity, online networking can
manhandle the general public by attacking on individuals'
security, some pointless sites can impact youth that can end
up plainly savage and can take a few wrong activities. Last
but not least , all the citizens are advised to adopt the
positive aspects of social media and avoid negative effects So that we can avail the
benefits of these latest and emerging technologies.

REFERENCES

Researchgate.net/publication/323903323_A_Study_on_Positive_And_Negative_Effects
_of_Social_Media

https://www.grin.com/document/508570
www.positivenegativeeffects.com>social-media
1.Social media can lead to insufficient sleep hours.
20
6.6

73.3

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

2.Social media can affect your mental and physical health.

13.3 13.3

13.3

60

Strongly Agree Agree Disgaree Strongly Disagree

3.Social media is an effective way to share information.

6.6
33.3

60

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

4.Social media is linked to increased depression and anxiety.

6.6

40

53.3

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

5.Social media is a way to have an easy and instant communication.

6.6
33.3

60

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

6.Social media is used to bully others.

20
6.6

26.6

46.6

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

7.Social media can also be used for business or online business.

6.6
33.3

60

Srongly Agree Agree Disagree Srongly Disagree

8.Social media is used to connect to the other people all over the world.

40

60

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

9.Social media can affect your grades,social-skills,and time management skills.

6.6 6.6

26.6

60

Srongly Agree Agree Disagree Srongly Disagree

10.Social media is quickly spreading information especially when there is an issue.
when there is an issue.

20
6.6

73.3

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree