Hazards of Social Media Term Paper

social media and increasing access to virtual reality altering or social interactions and expectations? If so, how? If not, then why not?

Just as the internet forever changed how we communicate and how we get out information, social media also has had a profound impact on the way in which we engage socially with one another. For example, Facebook has created an online community of individuals who are able to share pictures, their thoughts, current news and their hopes, fears and joys. With social media were are more in touch and have the power to remain more up-to-date with one another than ever before. However, just because social media provides us with this extreme power and opportunity, doesn't mean that we have to engage in it. Furthermore, just because social media does offer this extreme opportunity to connect and remain in touch, doesn't mean that this particular power of capability is beneficial. The studies on social media and how it impacts our behavior have provided mixed results, which are accurate in and of themselves. This paper will examine exclusively the negative aspects of social media and how those can impact the individual and the collective of individuals in society and as socialcreature.

The book Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives by Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler demonstrates how we like to think that were are in control of our day-to-day lives for the most part, but in reality, "most of what we do, from what we eat to who we sleep with, and even the way we feel, is significantly influenced by those around us' and those around them, and those around them. Our actions can change the behaviors, the beliefs, and even the basic health of people we've never met. In a subtle fashion, social networks help spread contagions; create 'epidemics' of obesity, smoking and substance abuse, disseminate fads and markets, alter voting patterns, and more" (Kasteler, 2010). This is because social media can foster social networks which harbor a flow of largely undesirable things such as anger and sadness, along with unhappiness, but good things as well, like happiness, altruism and vital information (Kasteler, 2010). Thus, social media as we've seen has been responsible for negative behavior patterns like bullying and spreading rumors. Many young adults have complained of being bullied over social networks like facebook and twitter, with people posting and reposting negative pictures or outright lies. Thus, social media has been proven time and again to have a truly detrimental impact. The reason that social media can be more apt to foster negative behavior, antisocial behavior or hostile behavior is because people feel more comfortable hiding behind social media in order to engage in negative behavior. Social media allows people to spread negativity without actually forcing people to engage in confrontation: this is very appealing for people who want to allow negativity to flourish, but who are shackled by a certain level of cowardice that prevents them from participating in face-to-face confrontation.

Another negative aspect of social media is that experts have found that it can increase certain negative tendencies of individuals, such as narcissism. Rosen and colleagues engaged in a study which looked specifically at the impact of Facebook on individuals who had personality disorders such as narcissim. "Among other findings, Rosen discovered a relationship between heavy Facebook use and narcissism in teens. In another of Rosen's studies, students who frequently checked Facebook during study sessions also reported lower grades…Though Facebook use doesn't necessarily cause narcissism, Rosen said it can exacerbate already-existing symptoms. 'It provides the opportunity to say what you want with no one seeing you.' For example, if someone prone to narcissistic behavior posts a status, and 20 people respond with their comments, the problem is perpetuated" (Turgeon, 2013). Furthermore, it can create a detrimental situation where individuals feel beholden to the…