Shelby Bickle

Profesor Barnes

English 1201

23 March 2021

How does social media affect and impact your daily life? This is a

question for everyone because social media is used all around the world today. Many

people overuse social media to the point where it's all they spend their time on. This is

how people communicate nowadays, and in this era people don't even know what it is

like to not have a phone to text on. Social media can affect friendships and relationships

because it can get in the way and things can be misinterpreted on social media. Another

thing is your mental health, the media can really affect it in many ways. “Being socially

connected to others can ease stress, anxiety and depression”(Robinson Lawrence from

helpguide.com.) This ties into your education, social media and the internet is very

helpful when it comes to getting school work done and finding out upcoming events that

are happening in school. As people are becoming more comfortable with the use of social

media, the web starts affecting their

lifestyle and bringing noticeable

change in society whether it is

beneficial or not.

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 The stats of mental health involving social media and abusive behavior online is

terrible. Name-calling (42%), Spreading false rumors (32%), Receiving unsolicited

explicit images (25%), Having their activities and whereabouts tracked by someone other

than a parent (21%), Someone making physical threats (16%), Someone making physical

threats (16%). These are all very negative behaviors on social media that can really

happen. ¨The survey found that 90% of teens believe online harassment is a problem for

people their age, and 63% identify it as a “major problem.” Yet, the most recent Pew

survey of teenagers’ use of social media and other technology, also conducted in 2018,

revealed some interesting findings. It found that only 24% of teens believe social media

has a generally negative effect, while 31% say its effect is positive and 45% believe its

impact is neither positive nor negative¨ (information found from University of nevada).

The stats of social media and education are both positive and negative. Statistics

show that 96% of the students that have internet access are using at least one social

network. One in five teachers use social media on a monthly or more frequent basis to

communicate with students or parents (information found from eSchool news).

The stats of way to promote a

business are very high because of the

amount of

people that are using social media these

days. Almost 90% of marketers say their

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social marketing efforts have increased exposure for their business, and 75% say they’ve

increased traffic. Over 50% of marketers who have been implementing social media

marketing tactics for at least 2 years have reported improved sales. 44% of local

businesses say they depend on social media to generate brand awareness, and 41%

depend on it to drive revenue. 77.6% of small businesses report using social media to

promote their businesses. (Facebook is their top used platform by far). (information found

by Nick G.)

Human beings are social creatures. In today's society, many of us rely on social

media platforms like Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to connect with each

other. Researcher Caroline Miller says ¨studies show that teenage and young adults who

spend more time on social media platforms are shown to have a 13 to 66 percent higher

rate of depression than for those that spend less time off of it.¨ People need face-to-face

interaction with each other to be mentally healthy. As the Internet involves millions of

people all around the world, communication has become stressful and even dangerous.

As many people know, social media can be a very toxic environment. You should know

your limits and respect other people in this community. It can be very toxic when it

comes to friendships, and relationships. Yes, it is also a great way to build relationships

and make new friends because it allows people to connect in ways that otherwise

wouldn't be possible, and can often expand people's social skills in ways they may not be

able to show in person. ¨Nothing reduces stress and boosts your mood faster or more

effectively than eye-to-eye contact with someone who cares about you. (helpguide.com)¨

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A big difference from our generation now compared to earlier generations is that they

spent much less time on social media because they didn't have it.

Social Media can also negatively affect relationships when you start comparing

yourself to others based on their social media accounts. Girls especially, sit there and

compare themselves to other girls, or even their friends, which may cause your self

esteem to decrease. When getting out of a relationship, a lot of times what people will do

is check up on their exs profile, which can cause distress over the break up. In order to

get over the break up, or to stop seeing what they post, oftentimes removing them might

stop you from going on their page to see what they are doing, it is almost impossible to

get over a person if your social media feed is attacked with pictures of him or her.

However getting off social media is a challenge for everyone, as communicating with

friends and family is a big part of our life nowadays.

Being socially connected to others can cause stress, anxiety and depression.

Cyberbullying is a very dangerous thing that happens through social media and that can

lead up to suicide and depression. ¨About 10 percent of teens report being bullied on

social media and many other users are subjected to offensive comments.¨ Social media

such as Twitter and Snapchat can be platforms for spreading rumors or saying hateful

things about a person which is known as Cyberbullying. "A 2017 study of over half a

million eighth through 12th graders found that the number exhibiting high levels of

depressive symptoms increased by 33 percent between 2010 and 2015. In the same

period, the suicide rate for girls in that age group increased by 65 percent." Social media

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should never get in the way of the real world out there, there is so much more than being

on a small screen.

There is a movie called ¨The Social Dilemma¨ it explains that our brains are being

manipulated by social media. ¨In briskly edited interviews, Orlowski speaks with men

and (a few) women who helped build social media and now fear the effects of their

creations on users’ mental health and the foundations of democracy.¨ (New York Times).

In this documentary many suggest that with the right changes, we can salvage the good of

social media without the bad. Many go against that because social media can be more

toxic than it is good. This movie goes into more

detail about the good and bad of social media.

The educational benefits in social

networking sites helps prepare students

for important lessons and learn certain skills.

There are several social media networks out there

that provide tons of information that students can

learn from, and even follow so they can be kept

up to date about new things that they need to learn.

One of the biggest things is communication on social media, students can

connect with other students via computer, smartphone, etc. to exchange any

questions they might have that they can help each other with if they are stuck on

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homework, this can be very helpful because not always do the teachers answer their

emails fast, so it is always good to know who is in your class so you can

reach out to them with any questions you have about the class. Social media also helps

parents stay updated with what is going on in their child's school. They can stay up to

date on the schools Twitter page or Facebook page. ¨These are all positive impacts social

media has on parents´ communication with the school so as to learn about, share and

observe their children's academic and personal progress at school. This again is a positive

impact social media have on students performance as their parents can offer better

informed academic support at home. (Researcher Manuel Willbold)¨ These things can be

highly beneficial when improving students' learning. Social media can also distract

students from learning like a lot of students right now get distracted by Tik Tok or

Snapchat when trying to get work done, so it is good to limit yourself and try to keep

your phone out of reach so you can concentrate on getting your work done.

Social media can be an addiction that can affect academic performance,

friendships/relationships, and your mental health. Fake news can be spread all throughout

social media and can cause lots of drama. But it can also be a good thing when it comes

to making new friends and helping out with education and even may help get your mind

off things when you are upset, so social media isn't always toxic if you use it in the right

way.

Social media is a great way to advertise your business/company. ¨Social platforms

help you connect with your customers, increase awareness about your brand, and boost

your leads and sales. With more than three billion people around the world using social

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media every month, the users and engagement on major platforms just keep increasing

(Marketing Insider Group).¨ Social media platforms help you connect with customers,

and increase your awareness about your brands. With millions of people using social

media worldwide it provides immense potential for business because consumers log onto

it daily and are exposed to companies. This is a great way to advertise your business. ¨52

percent of social media marketers believe social media positively influences their

company’s revenue and sales.¨

Communication nowadays has greatly improved over the years with new social networks.

It gives people the power to connect and share their life with other people. The best way to

protect your privacy is to be mindful of what you put out there, because once it's out there, it's

out there for good. With that being said, Snapchat is a very popular app that tons of teens have,

when teens usually first meet someone it's always about getting the snap first, it's no longer about

getting to know them face-to-face anymore because lots of teens like to communicate with a

picture of their face rather than talking in person. In reality you only see what they post, and that

is what they want you to see.

Social media has reshaped the way we think and live when in real life our lives shouldnt

revolve around how many likes we get on a picture. We live in a technological bubble that has

kept us from seeing the real world. I feel like the downsides of social media definitely outweighs

the good sides of social media just because so many things can go wrong and one thing could

ruin your life. I can say that being on social media has definitely taught me a lot and to be careful

what I post because it stays out there and anyone can find it. I have also met lots of great friends

out there from all over Ohio because of sports I have played in middle school, and to this day am

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still friends with. Social media surely has both disadvantages and advantages. But in the end it all

depends on the user.

Robinson, Lawrence. “Social Media and Mental Health.” HelpGuide.org, Sept. 2020,
www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/social-media-and-mental-health.htm.

Cohen, Marisa T. ``Social Media and Relationships | Psychology Today.” Social Media and
Relationships, Davia Hill, 4 Dec. 2018, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/finding-love-the-
scientific-take/201812/social-media-and-relationships.

Silva, Clarissa. “Social Media's Impact On Relationships And Self-Esteem.” Thrive Global, 6 Feb.
2018, thriveglobal.com/stories/social-media-s-impact-on-self-esteem/.

Miller, Caroline. “Does Social Media Cause Depression?” Child Mind Institute, 11 June 2020,
childmind.org/article/is-social-media-use-causing-depression/.

Willbold, Manuela. “Social Media In Education: Can They Improve The Learning?” ELearning
Industry, 22 Apr. 2020, elearningindustry.com/social-media-in-education-improve-learning.

Author, Guest, et al. “Why Social Media Is Important for Business Marketing.” Marketing Insider
Group, 18 Sept. 2020, marketinginsidergroup.com/content-marketing/why-social-media-is-
important-for-business-marketing/.

“Impact of Social Media on Youth Mental Health.” University of Nevada, Reno, 30 Dec. 2019,
onlinedegrees.unr.edu/online-master-of-public-health/impact-of-social-media-on-youth-mental-
health/.

Devaney, Laura, and Laura AscioneLaura Ascione are the Editorial Director. “14 Surprising Facts
about Educators' Social Media Use.” ESchool News, 12 Dec. 2016,
www.eschoolnews.com/2016/07/29/14-facts-about-educators-social-media-use/.

Visuals-

Clark, Maria, and Maria Clark. "40+ Frightening Social Media And Mental Health Statistics —
Etactics". Etactics | Revenue Cycle Software, 2021, https://etactics.com/blog/social-media-and-
mental-health-statistics.

"A Little Review About Why “The Social Dilemma” Is Important". Medium, 2021,
https://gamzealuc.medium.com/a-little-review-about-why-the-social-dilemma-is-important-
32358803146b.

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