My view

Social media are widely used by teenagers and also adults. According to statistics, in the year of 2017, 81% of the U.S. population owns some sort of social media account (Statista, 2017). People spend their free time browsing on internet, sharing their thoughts and watching what are others doing. Even though internet made the world smaller and enabled people to communicate while being thousands of miles apart, it also made social interaction less personal. Many people spend more time posting pictures on social media than actually interacting with others around them. Most of today’s culture is build on Instagram accounts and Facebook profiles, where individuals present themselves in perfect light. Most of the people on social networks create a “virtual identity” of themselves by posting images and informing everyone how much of a good time they are having at that very moment. Moreover usually the internet image does not reflect the reality at all. Most teengers then experience big social media pressure to also share their lives with the rest of the world as all their peers do.
Not only can social media influence low self-esteem by looking at photoshopped images and pictures that lasted someone couple of hours to take, but it can cause serious health issues such as anorexia, bulimia, etc. (Pennington, 2015). Most of the posts on social networks consist of ideals of beauty, different manuals of how to be skinnier and which products the individual is supposed to buy in order to fit in the “cool group”. It is mainly focusing on physical appearance and brand promotion than educating teenagers to love themselves for who they are and what they do. These aspects can influence young adults, change their values and the overall view on the world.
Antoher negative aspect of sharing personal information online is violation of privacy. Some individuals put detailed information about where they live, how old are they and who they spend time with. They inform the social media when they are going on vacation and when their homes are going to be empty… However it is not only the danger of a robbery or some kind of stalking, but also the fact that some job interviews consist of going through the individual’s social media. Teenagers may not be aware of this fact now, but their social sites may have a great impact on their future employment (White, 2013).
The social networks are great invention of the 21st centrury, but they have to be used with some kind of caution. It is important to filter the information and not get easily influenced by the media. I think the media should be used for our needs and serve us, but sometimes it may seem to be the other way around.



Sources:
Pennington, C. (2015). The Impact of Social Media on Body Image. UConn Today. Retrieved from: http://today.uconn.edu/2015/02/the-impact-of-social-media-on-body-image/
Statista (2017). Percentage of U.S. population with a social media profile from 2008 to 2017.
Retrieved from:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/273476/percentage-of-us-population-with-a-social-network-profile/
White, T. (2013). Why social media isn't social. Huffington post.
Retrieved from:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thomas-white/why-social-media-isnt-social_b_3858576.html

Comments

  1. UnknownMay 7, 2017 at 6:21 PM

    First of all, great job on the writing part. I really enjoyed reading your articles. You've touched many areas including children, addiction, privacy and I agree with you on most parts. As human beings, we cannot, physically, live without other people. Living alone for an extended period of time brings significant health issues. Darwin called it social instinct and he considered it as a vital key to survival, as associating in groups resulted in better chance of survival. Having that said, the social media reflects this 'social instinct' that we desire. Social media is to 'aid' us in fulfilling the social instinct and not 'replace' this need, which some seem to confuse. Thank you for your education! Very good job!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lubos.besedaMay 9, 2017 at 3:00 AM

    Hey Eliska !!! After reading your blog, I have to admit you surprised me. I have never thought that this topic can be so interesting. From now on, I will be looking at teenagers affected with anorexia differently, I know that we cannot blame the media in 100% cases but it contributes to the whole picture how a human being should look. Great use of sources to support your argument. I am impressed by your blog. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete

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