Essay Sample about Social Media Impacts on American Culture

Social media use is one of the leading trends among modern teenagers and children. Today's organizations and people remain connected through unique social networking platforms. People are always on their phones texting, talking, gaming, and watching movies, thanks to the advancement of social media. Principally, American culture changes along with regular advancements in technology. However, the last two decades have witnessed rapid changes due to the abundance of information at our fingertips. Unfortunately, this wealth of information and easy access has brought negative and positive effects on American culture. From a negative perspective, Americans have lost the value of communication as they majorly rely on the networking sites to receive and convey messages as opposed to conventional face to face. Further, social media addiction not only influences children but adults given that the current decisions that people make are based on social media. On the positive perspective, social media has transformed the American businesses and improved socialization amongst Americans. Nonetheless, social media has become a primary social agent among Americans and changed businesses thus positively influencing the American culture.

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Background

Social media refers to a platform that allows one to create and convey contents or converse with a particular target audience (Oxford Living Dictionaries, 2018). In his article, McFadden (2018) argued that the history of social media stretches back further than people think. He also stated that in the 1940s, the technological explosion in computing helped the social media to grow. In 1997, Sixdegrees.com, the first exact social media site was launched. Then in 2006, Facebook was launched. The growth of social media expanded even further since the launch of smartphones in 2007, and it has changed how people communicate and socialize (McFadden, 2018).

Limitations of Social Media

Teens are more vulnerable to the adverse impacts of social networking sites. In particular, a report published by the American Academy of Pediatrics (2011) revealed that about 22% of teens use their preferred networking sites several times a day. The report further indicated that about 75% of the teenagers currently possess mobile phones and 25% of them socialize through cellphones (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2011). Similarly, a survey by Nikken and Schols (2015) indicated that about 54% of teens use their mobile phones for texting while 24% use their cellphones for instant messaging. Clearly, from the statics described above, it is evident that a considerable portion of teens' emotional and social development occur through mobile phones and the internet. Nonetheless, given that adolescents and kids have the inadequate capability for self-awareness and control, they are more susceptible to the negative consequences of social networking sites (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2011).

Social media has created a room for cyberbullying among Americans. According to Valkenburg & Piotrowski (2018), cyberbullying is one major problem of social media, and it occurs when online applications are used to insult, exclude, or in any other way hurt others". Using social media has been linked to name calling. Most teenagers who use social media have reported being called offensive names through their mobile phones or online. Others have reported that some people often peddle rumors about them on the internet while a considerable percentage have their parents continuously asking their whereabouts and have been the main target of physical threats online (Valkenburg & Piotrowski, 2018). Further, Nikken and Schols (2015) noted that through social media, they have experienced purposeful and continuous aggressive actions directed to towards them by people or groups and that they are unable to defend themselves against such actions.

Social media also leads to internet addiction. Over-reliance on social media has been reported to interfere with how people relate with one another, their ability to work and cope with various situations in life. Reportedly, once an individual begins to use social media, he or she becomes addicted and spend most of the energy and time interacting with others (Nikken & Schols, 2015). Principally, the adverse effects of internet addiction are diverse, and they encompass depression, reduced productivity at work, together with reduced psychological functioning. Besides, some psychologists argue that internet addiction can result in symptomatic of certain underlying mental health illnesses. It is because the internet is the primary medium through, which people access things that they are addicted to such as shopping, gambling, and even sex (Phoon, 2017).

Social media lowers self-esteem. Social media has a close association with a higher degree of depression, anxiety, loneliness, decreased social skills, as well as envy. People tend to have the opinion that social networking sites bring individuals together. However, a close study revealed that people get depressed, lonely, and become more anxious when they view positive aspects of other people's life. People develop the feeling that their peers are leading a better life than they are (Phoon, 2017).

Social media denies the users the ability to have sufficient sleep that is required for growth and a healthy body. When people get good night sleep, they always feel good. An individual who receives a good night sleep tends to wake up refreshed and energized to face the day. However, the lack of adequate sleep is connected with opposite effects. National Sleep Foundation argue that the human body consolidates memory, repairs muscles, and release body hormones that are good for the growth of the body. Intuitively, social networking platforms are considered among the sleep-depriving factors. It implies that platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are a potentially bottomless pit. Once a user starts clicking, he or she is sucked deeper into videos; news feeds, comments and endless news feeds. Unknowingly, the user spends hours of sleep interacting with friends and relatives (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2011).

Social media leads to loss of privacy among the users. The majority of the social media platforms contain private information of the users such as birthday, email address, educational backgrounds, and physical address. Moreover, most of the identity thieves take advantage of the information contained in social media to harm the users. Besides, other identity thieves also use the personal data contained in the social media to hack their victim's email addresses and access further personal information of the concerned user (Phoon, 2017).

Benefits of Social Media

Social media is more than just a modern trend. It contributes mostly to the positive influences of contemporary society. Furthermore, it is not easy to quantify the exact benefits that social media bring to modern society. However, social networking platforms have affected society in different levels such as the way people gain information, the way people socialize; together with the manner, individuals perform businesses (Social Media, 2019).

Social media positively contributes to socialization. Since the inception of social media in the year 1997, it has dramatically changed the fabric of society in regards to the way people socialize. People can now connect with those they knew in the past. Facebook particularly has enabled people to reconnect with their former classmates, old friends, past romantic partners, and coworkers. Moreover, social media has also removed the distance barrier because people can use social media tools such as video chatting platforms and Skype to communicate regardless of the vast distances (Phoon, 2017).

Social media transforms businesses. Social media has a huge positive influence on business. Enterprises are currently having the luxury of reaching their customers anytime. Companies can continuously post updates regarding their business operations on Twitter and Facebook. Therefore, customers can access changes in prices, the arrival of new products, and the use of the product through social media (Valkenburg & Piotrowski, 2017).

Social networking platforms are also regarded as the most effective advertisement tools currently explored by business enterprises. Business individuals only need to post explicit pictures of their products and brief descriptions. The fact that the advertised products having the potential of reaching millions of people within a short time is like an icing to the cake. Moreover, advertisement is cheaper than other modes of ads such as television advertisements. Furthermore, it is easy to create a customer niche when dealing with social media marketing. Other business personnel also include prices and ways of accessing the products they are offering to their clients (Phoon, 2017).

Refutation

Studies have revealed that various online expressions such as sexual experimentation, bullying, and clique-forming associated with social media have led to different challenges. In particular, Krishna (2017) stated, "Social media has introduced problems such as privacy issues, cyberbullying and sexting''. Principally, some other challenges that have been caused by social media that need critical examination encompass internet addiction, as well as, continuous sleep deprivation. Similarly, the American Academy of Pediatrics (2011) stated, "The prospects of social media entails cyberbullying, depression, sexting, lack of self-esteem, as well as, sleep deprivation." Despite these being negative influences of social media in society, its positives are massive. Through social media, people are currently socializing better. Moreover, business is benefitting through better advertisements and reaching millions of people within a short time at any time. Besides, social media is also revolutionizing the way people gain access to information (Nikken & Schols, 2015).

Conclusion

Social media is fast influencing our culture in many essential ways. Apart from the above-discussed areas, social media has positive influences in, entertainment, politics, and sports. Through social media, it is common to hear news regarding celebrity, politicians, or sports personnel and their controversies. Moreover, social media is making the world to appear as a small village. Contrastingly, the same social media that is affecting the world positively also has negative attributes because it has a close association with the promotion of moral decadence, especially among the youths. It is also a source of distraction and a hindrance to human socialization. However, its benefits outweigh the negatives. Therefore, all stakeholders should join hands to mitigate the negative influences, especially among the youths and children.

References

American Academy of Pediatrics, (2011). Clinical report-The impact of social media on children, adolescents, and families. Retrieved from: https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/early/2011/03/28/peds.2011-0054.full.pdf

Krishna, S. (2017). 82.3 The modern teenage sexual revolution? Sexting and online sexual exposure. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 56(10), S122. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2017.07.479

McFadden, C. (2018, December 3). A chronological history of social media. Retrieved May 4, 2019, from https://interestingengineering.com/a-chronological-history-of-social-mediaNikken, P., & Schols, M. (2015). How and why parents' guide the media use of young children. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(11), 3423-3435. doi:10.1007/s10826-015-0144-4

Oxford Living Dictionaries. (2018). Social media | Definition of social media in English by Oxford Dictionaries. Retrieved May 4, 2019, from htt...