After reading chapter 7 and gaining knowledge on how the media influences people’s thoughts, I have realized that although there are positive impacts, there are also negative ones. In my opinion, although social media has helped solve problems, it has also created issues in today’s society. I believe the importance of social interaction to humanity cannot be overstated. It is the means through which humans create their worlds and shape their futures. Over the years, social media has, in various ways, increased human interaction. As a result, the world appears smaller, making connections and interactions much easier.
Gruman et al. (2016) states that in the 1950s and 60s, social scientists argued that the media had little or no influence on how people perceived the world. The researchers also pointed out that the media does not affect people’s thoughts or behavior. Currently, in our society, almost everything is surrounded by social media and caught on camera. Social media affects many people negatively because of how accessible it is and how they are always aware of where people are and what they are doing.
Even though it can be harmful, there are advantages, such as social media assisting in resolving the youth’s diversity awareness issue. Facebook, for example, wants to “give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected” (Baym, 2015). More young people today are aware that there are various world societies based on things like racial identities and class origins. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube expose young people to multiple cultures, challenges, and realities. Therefore, young people nowadays are more conscious of their physical environment and the realities of the communities around them than in millennia before. Today’s reality of diversity awareness has aided in addressing fundamental problems like racism and other forms of discrimination brought on by a lack of knowledge or appreciation of variety.
When social media is misused, it can be worse than the benefits. “In 2015, approximately 99% of teenagers in the United States had access to one or more of the following media technologies: game console, smart or cell phone, desktop or laptop computer, or tablet” (Gruman et al. 2016). This quote is important because it is unhealthy for people to spend ten hours or more on technology instead of communicating with their peers. In addition, many young people are wasting time scrolling through Instagram and TikTok, analyzing what others are doing, and being envious of others. Therefore, even though social media has benefits, it can cause depression, jealousy, and a lack of social skills.
References:
Baym, N. K. (2015). Social Media and the Struggle for Society. Social Media + Society, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305115580477.
Gruman, J. A., Schneider, F. W., & Coutts, L. M. (Eds.). (2016). Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems. SAGE Publications, Incorporated.