Effects of Social Media on Young Adults Essay

Looking at the average Millennial, whiz would pull in him toting all his chichi devices and would wonder if Millennials argon ever disconnected from engineering accomplishment or from each opposite. The Millennial Generation, more than any(prenominal) other generation, notices the consider to be regularly linked to each other. For p pictureolescent Ameri bottom adults aged 18-32, engineering is their life virtual reality has come to supersede physical reality. In what seems standardised every endorse of every day, teenagers can be found on their computers, t sufficientts, and cellular phone phones, searching though pages of cordial media.In fact, statistics prove that they ar an average teenager has 201 Facebook friends and 73% of teenagers are on at least one kindly ne twainrk (Thomas). Across Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram and Twitter alone it shows how cyber space is endless. According to affectionate Media Watch, Twitter straighta demeanor boasts that as of May 2, 2013 it has 359 one million million million quick use of goods and servicesrs Facebook still holds the top fond media spot with 701 million active users. Thanks to the sizeable growth in online activity, the Millennial Generation has lost touch with interpersonal communication.If non monitored, online social networking testament rifle detrimental to the Millennial generation and following generations social and psychological development, as the namelessness of cyber space has been shown to encourage negative behavior, leading to increased feelings of disconnection from others. Each generation spends their childhoods in different centerings. As for this century, Millennials find themselves trapped in the world of media, populated by televisions, radio, magazines, mobile phones, laptops and the net income, which gives two-year-old adults access to what around teen adults crave, social media.Read more Speech on social media and its encounter on youngsters essay.There s eems to be no decline for the social networking movement. Just a few examples of the seemingly infinite types of online networking are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin and YouTube. According to Amanda Lenhart, of New York Department of Health, 93% of young adults go online. (Lenhart). With much(prenominal) a strong amount of union accessing the Internet, the dangers that can come from the massive amount of time spent online mustiness be discussed.Social networking is being used as a new tool necessary for a growing technological society. Teenagers, being a large part of the online generation, cod been caught up in the inveigle of online social networks and the way they fork up revolutionized how flock go intimately their daily activities. A study showed that 48% of throng ages 18-34 years old check Facebook when they wake up (Statistics Brain). This shows how highly young adults prioritize social media.Due to the excessive amount of time spent on these networks and the online freedom that young state persuade to continuously explore different social networking sites, they are prone to the negative effects it has on their development. piece of music it may seem that social media is con billetrd for social survival in todays society, in actuality it is middling a way of communicating with greater ease. With moderation, social networks are vital to American husbandry. It is when these weathervanesites are abused with the intent to bully others, and at once they are considered the altogether hobby for young adults, that they can become increasingly more severe.A large problem arises from communication via technology in lieu of face to face conversations, and its prevalence all over other activities such as reading, sports, or other hobbies that positively shape the clear heed and body instead of being a catalyst for negative behavior. Social networking is impinge oning the schoolwork and seek results of Americas youth. questio ners accept found that the middle-school, high school and college students who used Facebook at least once during a 15 minute period get lower grades overall (Cosby).While they are hard to do homework students have a tendency to attempt to multi toil and do their homework while simultaneously on different social media outlets. They claim to be boffoly multitasking, precisely they are unaware of the affect these distractions are having on them. In reality, their efforts to multitask are making the simple task they were trying to accomplish share significantly longer than it ordinarily would. A study was performed at two West Coast sophisticated firms to ob attend to how some(prenominal) times employees were interrupted and the impact it had on their work.Each time a doer was distracted from a task, it would take an average of 16 minutes for the employee to return to the previous menial task they were in the process of doing. Even worse, some hatful forgot what they had been working on all together, screening effects on mulct-term memory (Sladick). This shows how impactful constantly checking social media or the interruption of a text nitty-gritty can be when working on something as small as writing an email. One of negative effects of being plugged in all the time is this generations struggle to suss out with each other properly.Amanda Lenhart expresses her fear for the generation following her by speaking to the fact that 51% of young people primarily carry with each other through texting, 42% use social media as a secondary source, and only 29% talk to each other as part of other activities outside of school (Lenhart). With online social interaction being so abundantly available to young adults, most would rather talk to soulfulness over text messages or the Internet and suspend face-to-face contact, because of the mental strain that can come from talking to someone in person.Americas youth are showing a severe lack in the social skills nece ssary to be successful later in life, which will be abuseful to the future success of American society. There are 30 million messages direct through Facebook every 20 minutes (Statistics Brain). While it may seem akin a generation with a constant link to each other, brought on by the enormous quantity of messages sent between them, would have a excessive feeling of togetherness and an abundant enactment of fulfilling relationship, ironically, it is speculated these messages do not serve the kindred quality connection that one gets from an interpersonal conversation.A lack of interpersonal conversation at last leaves them feeling unhappy. There have been studies that prove the increased levels of Internet use have been associated with higher levels of depression and loneliness (Kersting). These online conversations do not provide people with the person to person bond that humans require to feel successful, only if are more along the lines of shallow exchanges that include mes sages such as, sup? that would only require the simplest of responses, nothing, u? .With this being the primary type of communication that they use, young people are otiose to see the flaws that come from this type of interaction and how it will lead them to be dissatisfied if it continues to be the absolute legal age of how they communicate. The young adults have not learned the proper way to connect with other people nor have they used different conversational skills, or had to deal with different possibly complicated interpersonal situations, and they do not turn in how to get to know a person from somewhere other than behind the screen. Social media has a profound effect on American culture.The increase in technology brings forth the similar idea of which came first, the chicken or the egg? Are the characteristics of the Millennial Generation the need for instant gratification, the short attention spans, desire to be constantly connected, and the need to regularly multita sk, because of the accessibility of technology? Or is the thoroughgoing(a) improvement of technologies in order to keep up with Millennials? Studies have shown a simultaneous rise of conceit and social media usage in the Millennial generation, which raises the question is there a relationship between the two?Narcissists are usually unable or unwilling to form connections that require emotional investments, such as face-to-face friendships, but still desire the social admiration and attention that a large number of friendships can offer (Bergman). This is the epitome of a person with thousands of friends on his or her Facebook, who frequently participates in extensive, but insubstantial activity online. He or she feels loved, which increasingly fuels their narcissistic behavior.This is only one of the negative side effects that are on the upswing with the increased use of social technologies, others on the rise include aggression, fear and depression. The endless use of technology is affecting every part of peoples lives. With so many outlets for people to communicate with, the American culture has developed an addiction to social networking websites. People have been cognize to sleep with their phones, making different social media site the last thing they see each night, and allowing them to be contacted at any time of the night. Dr.Roseanne doggie, of The Barker Sleep Institute, says, Americans are getting a lot of swinging exposure through electronics and technology during that last hour before sleep And it decreases the brains instinctive production of melatonin. Melatonin is the bodys sleep-promoting hormone, she explains, and when phones constantly ring and beep throughout the night, it causes sleep fragmentation and disruption. Barker sees the issue in patients of all ages, but it is increasingly affecting the youth (Meckles). With adults placing technology at such a high place on their priority list, the idea is trickling down to Americas youth. Adolescents see the amount of time people older than them spend on the different types of social media and assume that the same behavior is acceptable for themselves. Studies claim a direct link between the use of cell phones and social networking and medical issues, like seizures and radiation (Meckles). A large problem coming from the hold technology has over people is how it affects their overall lifestyle, in this case their sleeping patterns, which causes an increase in more serious health effects that will affect them in the long run.One might say that social media has transform the Internet into a tool that has made communication easier and more accessible. These networking sites allow people to communicate with people across the globe, showing them about how the other side lives. But what happened to it being dangerous for young people to engage in communication with strangers? Sure, a young person might think this person is thousands of miles away, he or she cant cause me any harm, why not add this person as a friend on Facebook?They could never find me in real life. People have a false sense of security through the Internet. They find comfort in the anonymity available to them on social media sites. They feel a freedom from real life and freedom from consequences. Moreover, social networking offers young adults a place that puts a great emphasis on acting im chastely. For example, all the different inappropriate themes post all over the Internet that prompts impressionable young minds to think things that are usually seen as morally wrong are in reality normal.Not to mention the danger that comes with certain social networking applications, such as Tinder. An application that uses a persons GPS location to find people in his or her discipline and matches them. Allowing the user to decide if he or she like a persons picture, if they do, the two people are allowed to communicate with each other through the application. Not only does that promote th e importance of looks and allows a person to potentially create a manage identity to attract whatsoever type of person they are feeling for, but it is a slyly built dating site designed for teenagers.A person could mistakably be under the impression that it had a similar inconspicuousness that came with talking to a person across the globe, but actually be unknowingly be putting himself or herself at risk with a potentially dangerous person in his or her area. Anonymity causes people to question the validity of anything that is written on the Internet. If anyone is able to write whatever he or she feels on the Internet, then that is more difficult to determine what is legitimate and what is false. This causes people to question everything they read even when the legitimacy is stated and has been proven.A recent study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that the negative comments on science articles affected how people perceived the validity of the science (Rooney). While it may be good that people do not immediately believe the things they read on the Internet, they have started to question verified data. In people thinking nothing on the web is true, they consistently try to disprove this data, and anonymously write scathing things about these studies causing other people who see these negative comments to think the research is not professionally done and therefore invalid.This type of anonymity on the Internet forces societies to take a step backwards. Anonymity on the social networking sites brings forth a major negative that has a serious impact on many young adults cyber bullying. Cyber bullying can be very damaging to adolescents and teens. It can lead to anxiety, depression, and even felo-de-se. 68% 97% of online aggression victims withal experience offline relational aggression and 24% -76% also experience offline physical victimization. Cyber bullying is a accession for a bully to start abusing others in person. More th an 32,000 suicides occurred in the U. S.This is the equivalent of 89 suicides per day, one suicide every 16 minutes or 11. 05 suicides per 100,000 populations (Kersting). With namelessness on the web, people will say anything they take regardless of how it may impact someone else, because they have no fear of being held accountable for the harm it may cause. Anonymity can be used for offensive or disruptive communication. It is not curious for people to anonymously say damaging things about other people. People frequently create fake emails in order to make fake profiles on Facebook, so they can publically say whatever they what to whoever they what free of blame or punishment.According to the Cyberbullying Research Center, about half of young people have experienced some form of cyber bullying, and 10 to 20 percent experience it regularly (Bullying Statistics). With the rise of use of social media sites this statistic is growing. As a way to increase awareness, a news station tol d the story of how someone made a false account and anonymously commented on a boy who was diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome Facebook utter, You should just go kill yourself. No one likes you, anyway. The boy, who already faces challenges in school, where kids bully him relentlessly, was smart enough to take this message to his mother and thankfully was given the proper help for him to deal with the bullying and did not take his own life (Finn). Due to the lack of face-to-face contact with the victim, an online bully may not know the effects they are having on the other person. Therefore, online bullies are less likely to feel guilt about the things they have said. In his or her anonymity these kids are more likely to say something even more hurtful through technology then they would normally say to someones face(Kersting). These ferocious messages are not only free to be seen by any one on the Internet, but they can easily be distributed quickly and to a mass audience, such as a whole student body, leaving the victim with few or no people unaware of the mean, and probably false, comments that are being said about he or she. Making it unworkable for the cigarette of the bullying to avoid the negative things that are being said. The ease of access to social allows cyber bullies to attack other people at any time, leaving their victims to feel trapped by the things being said to and about them.It is not like it was for previous generations, where at 300 oclock a person was free from whoever was bullying them at school and could go home to a safe, bully free environment. Social networking allows this generations bullies to tire their victims at any time. Because they are attacked round the clock, some victims feel that suicide is his or her only way to be free of the hurt. Someone might argue that for someone who feels suicide is his or her only way to be free of pain that there are plenty of resources to help them.The problem is that a majority of these res ources are online, on the very social networking websites where these people are receiving abuse. The resources that will supposedly help them to feel better come from the place that is causing them the most pain, and therefore causes victims of bullying to avoid accessing them. They have the expectation that the social media websites will only cause them pain, making the information unavailable to the people who need it most. In the creation of fake profiles, dangerous people are able to pursue whatever type of target they are seeking.According to Jacob Palme, Anonymity can be used to seek contacts for performing illegal acts, like a pedophile searching for children to abuse (Palme). While there are certain websites that inform people if there is a pedophile living in their area, so they can protect their children from them. There is no such way to warn people of those same hazardous people all over the web, because it is impossible to detect them over the Internet. These dangerou s people use anonymity to say what ever they need to in order to get an impressionable person to do what he or she wants.Parents need to have guidelines for how technology is used within the household in order to raise puff up-rounded citizens that will grow into successful people that will participate in the road to a prosperous society. To have this functioning culture, the community needs children that will grow into adults that are capable of functioning on their own. From a young age, Americas children need to learn about being responsible and not relying on other people or the Internet to gather information For example perhaps have young people share a cell phone that has to be checked out from the parent by the child.This type of rule would require the young adults to be involved in other activities such a reading, sports, or clubs with others and not have the dependance on technology, that so many people ages 18-32 suffer from. Another possible way to monitor social media is have hours of the day where its not allowed. For instance, having to check phones, tablets, and laptops in at night. This will allow kids to connect with people in real life and not just over Wi-Fi. Modern technologies can very well be a double-edged sword, they offer a person an abundance of knowledge at their fingertips, but also can be the cause of intense destruction to another.When improperly used, social networking has an enormous calumnious affect on a persons wellbeing, sometimes even leading to death as stated above. The dependence American culture has on technology is negatively impacting young peoples development. If awareness of the infallible destruction from the unceasing use of technology does not become more widespread, then American culture has no chance of staying a superpower in the world. People will be in constant fear for what an anonymous person might say about them through social media, hindering them from saying anything at all.The intelligence levels w ill continue to decline as the use of social media increases and America will be raising a dysfunctional community full of feelings of disconnection and depression. Albert Einstein once famously said, I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots. This quote begs the question, has that day already come? Works Cited Bergman, Shawn M. , Matthew E. Fearrington, Shaun W. Davenport, and Jacqueline Z. Bergman. Personality and Individual Differences. Vol. 50. N. p. Elsevier, 2011.706-11. Web. 4 May 2013. Cosby, Chris. The Effects of Social Media on Teenagers. SociallyActive. N. p. , 22 Nov. 2012. Web. 18 Apr. 2013. . Cyber Bullying Statistics. Bullying Statistics. N. p. , n. d. Web. 04 May 2013. . Einstein, Albert. 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