Nikoui-Smith 1

Sevyana Nikoui-Smith

Professor Rodrick

English 115

17 October 2018

Is Technology Really That Great?

In our society today, it is hard to go out and not see someone with their nose in their

phone. Majority of the people around the world are so consumed with technology that no one

knows how to interact with each other in reality. Most people hide behind a screen with what

they choose to put on their online profile because that is where they feel most comfortable. Some

people believe that social media is the root to a lot of people's problems. Others challenge this

position, claiming that social media and technology is beneficial to one's identity to help them

grow as a person. However, technology has been known to cause a lot of problems with how

people perceive their identity. Although both sides of the issue have merit, it seems clear that

technology has shaped our identities negatively because it allowed people to be influenced

through self-image, cyberbully, and video games.

Social media and technology has affected many young girls and womens’ identities

negatively due to one own’s perception of having a specific type of body. Young girls and

women are affected negatively through social media because they are influenced by what other

people choose to put online. Multiple young girls and women believe that they should have the

perfect body because of social comparison from the media to themselves. My observations from

todays society is that the “perfect” body is perceived as having a hourglass figure or the perfect

face. Most people fail to realize what looks good on someone else may not look good on them.
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Given that, there were ​“research on the United States of America traditional media imagery on

girls and young women has supported its influence on body dissatisfaction, in part because the

images of a physical ideal tend to reinforce each other in their consistency across a generation”

(​Andsager 408). What many young girls and women see on social media is not what is like in

real life. What they think they see is the perfect person but what they fail to realize is that this

person might have edited the photo to make it better. This can lead them to believe in beauty

standards that are not achievable. Many girls and young women are easily influenced by the

media on their identity and physical appearance. Since girls are on social media all the time, they

are reinforced by what they see which makes them more vulnerable to crave unrealistic body

images. This is because everyone has different body types and everyone has features that they

wish they have. But in most cases, a lot of pictures that they see online are photoshopped.

Photoshop is used to modify an image to make a person look better then what they look like in

reality. For example, you can edit your photo to make it look like you have wider hips and a

flatter stomach. When young girls and women see these photos online, they start to hate their

own bodies which leads to negative self-identity. When they have a negative perspective on their

body image, they only see the bad and not the good of their body. Most girls and women want

their body to be similar to a well known figure because they are just wanting to follow today’s

trend in America which is to have a big butt and flat stomach. Young girls and women have been

misguided by social media and have lowered their self-identity and self-esteem. Young girls and

woman could do something about their self-image if they want their body to be similar to the

bodies that they admire which as a result, they can go to the gym and eat healthier.
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In addition,even though young girls and women have lowered their self-identity and

self-esteem by the use of social media, it still has become the main hub for cyberbullying. Users

of social media are constantly updating their personal information to the web to keep up with the

media's ideals. People have to constantly keep up with the trend where social media is constantly

changing. Once young girls and women think they finally have it right, then the trend starts to

change again. When following the trend, the individual can be emotionally and mentally

exhausted which leads to negative self-identity of worthiness. Individuals who are considered as

Millennials along with Generation Z are the main population that may be most affected by

cyberbullying. The definition of cyberbullying from StopBullying.gov is known as when

"bullying​ that takes place over digital devices like cell phones, computers, and tablets.

Cyberbullying can occur through SMS, Text, and apps, or online in social media, forums, or

gaming where people can view, participate in, or share content.” The individuals who are

constantly on social media has a high chance of being bullied. In most cases, cyberbullying is

usually started with the intent to not hurt someone, but to be a clown to their peers. Most people

who initiates the bullying fail to realize the psychologically harm​. In a Ted Talk called ​Rethink

Before You Type​ presented by Trisha Prabhu focuses on the points that​ cyberbullying can

damage someone’s self esteem and in some cases can lead to someone taking their own life. It

also shows that it can change a person's identity negatively. Usually when someone is bullying

another individual, they proceed this act because they have problems at their own home and they

are usually seeking attention even if its negative attention. On top of this, many kids fear adults

catching them bullying in a school setting, so instead some choose to hide behind a keyboard and

be a coward to hurt someone through harsh comments or posts. When trying to cause harm, there
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is a much lower risk associated with cyberbullying because the individual can hide their identity

behind a screen. A fake account can be created where commenting and posting harsh material is

hidden from revealing the actual person. For example, if someone posted an embarrassing photo

of you online for a bunch of people to see, how do you think it will make you feel? Most people

would start to feel upset and embarrassed. If someone were to cyberbully me, I would feel

depressed and start to disconnect from people. I would also start to wonder what I did to deserve

to be bullied. I think this is a common response for most cyberbullying victims where they

become mortified about what has been said about them. Then they start to make assumptions that

the bully has stated what everyone else thinks to be true about the victim. These assumptions

start to make the victim draw back from what and who they love in order to protect themselves

from any more harm, but in reality they are only hurting themselves more by doing so. The best

thing someone who is a victim of cyberbullying can do is to reach out to an adult they trust,

contact proper authorities, and report the​ ​bullying. A lot of cyberbullying can be tied to Twitter

because it has been stated that, ​“​although this social networking site has become an important,

near real-time communication channel, a study determined that Twitter is turning into a

cyberbullying playground” (Al-Garadi et al 433). For those who do not know, Twitter is a

website where individuals can create an account to share personal information about themselves,

whether it is just a tool to spread thoughts and opinions, their business, or maybe just a way to

stay connected with friends. It was created with the intention of lifting people up and celebrating

everyone’s uniqueness, but sadly has now become a place for people to tear down each other.

Although social media giants, such as Facebook and Twitter administrators may try hard to

monitor for foul play on their sites, but there is only so much they can prevent when there are
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millions upon millions of members on their sites. Statistically, most of the cyberbullying will go

unseen by administrators for these companies and cyberbullies know this. Individuals who are

being bullied should talk to a trusted adult to increase self-confidence and help problem solve.

Moreover, video games are similar to social media and the use of technology today.

Video games such as Grand Theft Auto, Black Ops, and other high conflict simulation games

taught children that it is okay to be violent. In the article ​Denying Humanness to Others: A Newly

Discovered Mechanism by Which Violent Video Games Increase Aggressive Behavior​ by

Greitemeyer and Mclatchie stated, “while playing violent video games, the player typically sees

him- or herself as a human perpetrator engaging in repeated acts of justified violence.” Violent

video games can shape one's identity because they can become influenced by what they

see.Video games like these are not giving children good examples on how to act. When they play

and watch these video games, they are starting to think that it is okay to be violent and to treat

someone badly. Children are incredibly impressionable beings and if they see something happen

repeatedly in the medias, then they will look up to it. They might see situations on the television

or video game where they will think it is okay to reenact those behaviors in real life. For

example, in Grand Theft Auto, if you suddenly decide to start a fight with someone that bumped

into you on the street, then you can punch them in the face and get away with it. But, if you did

that in real life, then you would likely be charged with aggravated assault and that would also

likely lead to jail time. Kids need to learn that when something does not go exactly their way or

even when someone is treating them poorly, then the first plan of action cannot be a violent

retaliation. A parent should explain to their kids the difference between how one should act in a
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fantasy video game versus how someone behaves in reality. This is important because it can help

prevent their children for conforming to a negative identity.

In conclusion, while social media has brought about great strides to bridge the gap

between friends and family who previously would not have been able to communicate regularly,

it has also brought about a great deal of pain and anger towards one’s identity. Women and men

alike now feel a great deal of pressure to look unrealistic that is created by picture editing

software that has now swept the fashion and social media industry. It has created a new way in

which kids can bully each other, thus increasing mental health issues and suicide rates in teens.

Kids no longer have to fear being “sent to the principal” for what they said to a peer in the

hallway. Instead, they can log in from a fake account and send hurtful messages and pictures

without the high risk of being caught. Lastly, it has also created unrealistic coping mechanisms

in kids, as they have been raised by video games that have taught them to lash out violently when

things do not go their way. ​Perception of negative self-image, cyberbully, and video games will

continue to only create a harsh environment for our future generation if there are no changes in

the initial purpose of social media which is to lift people up and celebrate our unique identities.
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Work Cited

Al-Garadi, et al. “Cybercrime Detection in Online Communications: The Experimental Case of

Cyberbullying Detection in the Twitter Network.” ​Computers in Human Behavior,​ vol.

63, no. C, 2016, pp. 433–443. Accessed 22 September 2018.

Andsager, Julie. “Research Directions in Social Media and Body Image.” ​Sex Roles​, vol. 71, no.

11, 2014, pp. 407–413. ProQuest. Accessed 22 September 2018.

Greitemeyer, Tobias, and Neil Mclatchie. “Denying Humanness to Others: A Newly Discovered

Mechanism by Which Violent Video Games Increase Aggressive Behavior.”

Psychological Science,​ vol. 22, no. 5, 2011, pp. 659–665. Accessed 22 September 2018.

“Rethink Before You Type.” Trisha Prabhu, TEDxTeen, 23 Oct. 2014. YouTube,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkzwHuf6C2U​. Accessed 21 September 2018.

“What Is Cyber Bullying.” ​StopBullying.gov​, Department of Health and Human Services,

www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/what-is-it/index.html​. Accessed 22 September

2018.