The positives and Negatives of an electronic world:
Social media is the most groundbreaking invention since the shovel. The world, quite literally, has changed forever. However, have the changes social media brought been positive or negative? It’s difficult to determine conclusively; however, it’s obvious that social media is a dual-edged sword.
Many argue that social media deteriorates the value of face to face interaction. With a cell phone, one never has to see the person with whom they interact. Junior Edward Driscoll expresses this sentiment.
Driscoll said, “People disassociate from the real world, and people lose touch with traditions of communicating without social media.”
However, looking at the glass half full, we see that the way teenagers typically communicate online tends to gear toward face-to-face substitutes. In an online survey conducted by The Beakon staff, 55.6 percent of survey participants said they use snapchat rather than SMS texting to talk to friends. Snapchat allows users to send a photo of themselves along with their text, rather than just a text bubble.
Survey participants also proved that an astounding 80 percent of teenagers use FaceTime over just a voice call.
These statistics prove that while some may argue the value of face-to-face communication has been diminished, teenagers still prefer to see their digital companions.
Social media might be connecting people too much, however. Ideas formed in online communities can form hive-minded people that do not want to form their own opinions. Art Teacher Sean Butler agrees.
“They no longer think for themselves in any way, shape or form. If they don’t find it on the internet, it must not exist. It’s a detriment to personal creativity,” Butler said.
However, the ability to communicate and bounce ideas off a seemingly infinite amount of people is the largest benefit social media has to offer. Opening business opportunities and allowing education connects people in new ways.
“You can look at your phone and see what people in China or Africa are doing," Driscoll said. "It creates jobs. There's a whole new industry with blogging, advertising, influencers, and creators. I think it makes knowledge more easily accessible, and it’s an easy way to meet others.”
Survey participants defend the connective benefits of devices, over half reporting their main activity online is talking to friends.
While the concept of social media started off positive, Butler argues, it has turned sour. Over half of teengaers reported not being able to go over a week without their phones. Some even said they would be unable to go over a day—or even an hour— without their cell phone.
Teenagers know it too. 88.9 percent claimed social media has had a stronger negative impact on society than positive, and when asked to explain, they cited so many more reasons why social media has ruined our worldviews.
One survey participant wrote, “Society has an ‘expectation’ for all of us to match. We’re supposed to look like the beauty standards and act the same.”
The world will never be the way it was before social media. While we can agree the net effects of social media might be more negative than positive, we still have gained access to more forms of communication and knowledge than ever before.
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