Eyes off the Screen 1

Running Head: Negative Effects of Social Media

Eyes off the Screen: The Negative Effects of Social Media on Society
Brandon W. Morris
Glen Allen High School
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Abstract:

This literature review takes a peak into the increase utilization of social media within our

nation and all of the negative effects that come with this absurd usage of Social media. Social

Media has evolved right alongside with our nation and is becoming one of the most utilized

sources of media by American citizens, and people around the globe. Spending several hours, a

day staring at a screen reading tweets, Instagram posts, etc. comes with many downfalls and

negative impacts in the long term. The main drawback from social media that I will focus on

throughout this review is how social media affects interpersonal relationships. Many studies

have been shown to prove that the increase usage of social media has resulted in a lack of face-

to-face communication skills and is turning the people of our nation into introverted, isolated

individuals. This is so significant due to the fact that face-to-face communication is such a vital

asset that one will continue to use for the rest of their lives. Throughout this review I will

discuss the many problems within social media, and what is causing this true lack in social skills.

I will also focus on ways in which we can recover from these issues and make change in order to

not allow social media to bring our nation down in ways unimaginable.

Intro:

As our nation has evolved and industrialized throughout time social media and the use of

technology within the people within this country has increased tremendously. Humans are

spending hours a day staring at their phone screens not paying attention to the world around

them. Through my research, I have been looking to answer this question: What are the negative
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impacts social media has on ones socialization skills. This topic is so significant due to the fact

that social skills are one of the most important aspects of our modern era. Having the ability to

communicate and talk with people will aid you in every aspect of your life whether it is personal

relationships, business related interviews, etc. being able to successfully communicate with

another person is a vital tool that will aid in ones success in their lives.

Time Spent and Increased Usage of Social Media:

With the rise of social media, the amount of time people spend on social networking cites has

increased tremendously right along with it. A recent study which polled a group of people,

varying in ages, from the United States population, came to show that the average person spends

1.72 hours a day on social networking cites (Procon, 2016). Spending this much time on a daily

basis staring at your phone screen comes with many negative effects on ones personal life.

Another study showed that teenagers spend around 27 hours a week online on some type of

social networking cite (McGillivray, 2015). It has been shown through polling that the

adolescents of our nation are the ones who are primarily effected by these effects, as they are the

most frequent users of social media.

Multivariate analysis found that younger age was the only significant predictor of

blogging and social networking site participation; a statistically significant linear

relationship was observed, with younger categories reporting more frequent use. Younger

age, poorer subjective health, and a personal cancer experience predicted support group

participation. In general, social media are penetrating the US population independent of

education, race/ethnicity, or health care access (Chou, et. all, 2009).

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The fact that the people of our nation are spending countless hours a week on these networking

cites, this is turning our nation into an introverted, unproductive, unsocial country that is full of

people who are so prone to talking over a phone screen that they are losing the ability to speak

face-to-face, and this problem will only continue to get worse unless we change our actions now!

Depression:

Social media often forces adolescents to feel very alone and isolated when they are alone

staring at their phone screens for countless hours a day. Being on your cellular device viewing

pictures of people having fun and with their peers can result in jealousy and forcing one to

experience feelings of depression.

Researchers have proposed a new phenomenon called Facebook depression, defined as

depression that develops when preteens and teens spend a great deal of time on social

media sites, such as Facebook, and then begin to exhibit classic symptoms of depression.

Acceptance by and contact with peers is an important element of adolescent life.

(OKeefe, 2011)

The fact that social media is resulting in adolescents feeling depressed is something that should

be unheard of. The fact that it is proven that social media has a correlation with an increase in

depression among teens proves that social media can take a very negative toll on our nation. If

teenagers work hard to decline their usage of social media, it will result in them living a happier,

more bountiful life and escape a technological world full of jealousy and depression.

Positive Impacts of Social Media (if used properly):

Although there are several drawbacks and negative impacts of social media, if utilized

properly, social media can be a very vital tool that can truly aid in social skills and be a valuable
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factor in receiving relevant, important information that is going on around our world. Social

networking sites spread information faster than any other media. (Procon, 2016) This factor can

be potentially beneficial and potentially harmful. This is a perfect example of how social media

can be used positively in order to receive reliable information. However, since social media

spreads information so fast, it can result in the spreading of false information. This is why it is

so vital that when using social media, you are following reliable, credible sources that you can

trust to give you authentic information.

Another potential benefit of social media is that it can actually increase social skills by

allowing one to be able to communicate with people across the globe no matter where they are

located. Social media sources such as Facebook, aid in keeping up with past relationships, and

not letting friendships get thrown down the drain. As you can see there are many potential

benefits to this social networking process in our society. As long as we cut down on the hours

spent online, follow credible sources, and use it effectively to maintain relationship and for its

other benefiting factors social media can be used efficiently and not transform our nation into an

introverted, anti-social nation.

Conclusion:

Face to face communication and being able to speak fluently with one another is one thing that

has built this country from the ground up. Being able to successfully interact with leaders of

other nations, big businesses, etc. has been a powerful force in the United States becoming one

of the most powerful countries in the world. However, with the increase of social media, we are

losing these skills that were once so important in the development of our nation. If we continue

down this path our nation that was once full of motivated, social, hard workers will transform
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into a pit of unmotivated, isolated, lazy humans who are unable to hold a solid face-to-face

conversation.

This potentially could be the unfortunate doom of our nation unless we make changes

immediately. There are ways in which we can use social media in a positive way to benefit

ourselves, and use it to our advantage. There are many benefits to social media such as being

able to communicate across far distances away, the spread of information, and many other things,

however, Americans do not use social media to get its full usage out of it. If we cut out the

negative aspects of social media, such as staring at your screen for hours a day reading pointless

tweets and Instagram pictures, and truly use it to benefit ourselves we can reverse the direction

of our nation and use social media to return our nation into a successful, striving, communicable

nation full of hard working, social citizens.

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References

Chou, W. Y. S., Hunt, Y. M., Beckjord, E. B., Moser, R. P., & Hesse, B. W. (2009). Social media

use in the United States: implications for health communication. Journal of medical

Internet research, 11(4), e48.

McGillivray, N. (2015, October 12). What are the Effects of Social Media on Youth?. Retrieved

from https://turbofuture.com/internet/effects-of-social-media-on-our-youth

O'Keeffe, G. S., & Clarke-Pearson, K. (2011). The impact of social media on children,

adolescents, and families. Pediatrics, 127(4), 800-804.

ProCon (2016, November 21). Are Social Networking Sites Good for Our Society?. Retrieved

from http://socialnetworking.procon.org/