Inquiry-Based Essay

Why is social media perceived negatively? How can social media affect people?

Abstract: 

Due to how easily accessible social media is, it has become an essential tool today. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and other social media platforms make it possible for people to stay in touch despite their long distance. Thanks to social media, the entire world is at our fingertips. Young generations are particularly avid social media users. Social media is a great tool that helps us connect with people and cultures from around the world. As a result of social media, we have the ability to raise awareness about certain issues and shed light on current world news. But something with such immense reach and power can not possibly be all good. “It’s a testament to the power of the biggest social platforms that many common complaints about them sound contradictory” (Herrman, 1). As with any coin, social media has two sides. As a result, different people have different opinions about this controversial subject. This paper will go into the effects of social media as well as its positives and negative aspects in better understanding how media affect people.

Keywords: 

Negative, positive, thoughts of social media, agreements, disagreements, brave, accessible, easier, worldwide, depression, happiness. 

Why is social media perceived negatively? 

Some people view social media as a nuisance, but it is a great tool for connecting with people and cultures around the world. Traditionally, there were not many people who knew about each other’s cultures or traditions before social media came along. However, social media opened up an entirely new world of interaction. It has opened a new avenue of communication whereby everyone who uses social media can gain an understanding of other cultures.Even though social media has relatively positive effects, social media is also a powerful tool for manipulating the news, exaggerating things, or spreading propaganda. There are pros and cons to everything, and social media is no different. Based on research, BBC news reported on an article named, “Is social media bad for you? The evidence and the unknowns” that there are over 3 billion social media users globally, around 40% of the world’s population, who spend two hours a day sharing, liking, tweeting and updating on social media platforms. Researchers in Austria found that participants’ moods went down after using Facebook for 20 minutes compared to those who only browsed the web because “Bad weather increased the number of negative posts by 1%, and the researchers found that one negative post by someone in a rainy city influenced another 1.3 negative posts by friends living in dry cities. The better news is that happy posts had a stronger influence; each one inspired 1.75 more happy posts. Whether a happy post translates to a genuine boost in mood, however, remains unclear.”(Brown, 3) These statistics and claims present social media as something harmful to the users because it distracts them and decreases their mood. And because of that it is perceived negatively by many. However, the article also states that there is the influence of positive posts that affects the mood positively. Because of such divided results, social media being positive or negative remains unclear due to different perspectives. 

What effect social media has on mental health?

Most people find that social media helps them cope with their mental illness. Making mental health issues more visible allows others to be more aware of them and that is exactly what social media did. In recent years, many victims of sexual assault have used social media to share their struggles and seek retribution against their abusers. It is extremely difficult to endure the trauma of being assaulted, and it is even more difficult to talk about it to millions of people. Having the courage to do so is truly amazing. As a result of the courage of a few individuals, others gained confidence, which in turn brought awareness and the ability to help those in need. Due to these individuals, most people now feel less “disgusted” alone and less resentment towards themselves. It was a boost to their self-esteem, and this was possible because of social media. In the report, “Can a social media intervention improve online communication about suicide? A feasibility study examining the acceptability and potential impact of the #chatsafe campaign” the authors, Louise La Sala, Zoe Teh, Michelle Lamblin, Gowri Rajaram, Simon Rice, and Nicole T. M. Hill state that, “There is a need for effective and youth-friendly approaches to suicide prevention, and social media presents a unique opportunity to reach young people” ( La Sala…, 1), they also add that social media can have downsides such as, “concerns exist regarding the potential for certain types of content (e.g., graphic images of suicide methods) to cause distress or harm to others… some cases, the spreading of suicide-related information via social media has been thought to contribute to the development of suicide clusters” ( La Sala…, 4). Many people claim that social media is detrimental to mental health, and that is true, but only to a certain degree. In the news article, “Social media and health misinformation” from the newsletter, “MedicalNewsToday” Kimberly Drake states that, “Results indicate a link between higher use of social media and an increased risk of depression… authors suggest that exposure to negative reports and posts may contribute to the risk of depression” (Drake, 5). But Drake adds on saying that, “This means that more people are expressing their emotions, both positive and negative, and garnering support from others. As a result, the stigma surrounding mental health conditions may be decreasing”(Drake, 6 or 7). Although it seems that mental health issues are rising, that is only because these problems are being brought to light. “Social media and health misinformation”  states it clearly and explains how social media has made it possible to help raise awareness against the stigma of mental health issues in society today; where it is welcoming those with it and helping them cope with it through various helpful sources.  

Positive aspects of social media: 

Using social media, individuals have reached out to their target audiences and fought for what they believe in. We have seen many instances of individuals being harassed, stalkers breaking into the property, trespassing, and physical fighting on social media. Several brave individuals were able to capture these moments, alerting others of what could actually happen in real life via social media, where millions can be warned. Thanks to social media, millions of people are aware of social injustices that are occurring around the world. Due to video evidence and reaching the appropriate audience, people were able to get justice. Events like #BlackLivesMatter, #stopasianhate, and the Chinese detention of Uyghurs have spread globally through social media, and awareness was raised. As a result, the advertising through social media for these events was global in scope and reached specific audiences who were extremely helpful in these circumstances. Even the tiniest amount of awareness was substantial, and social media made it possible.   

Negative aspects of social media: 

In social media, posting videos and pictures and interacting are normal practices, which always meet with negative comments, which drain people’s self-confidence. Additionally, cyberbullying can negatively affect a person’s mental and physical health. When people see negative posts repeatedly, it also affects their mental health, causing them to become more depressed. It is also possible that “news spreads fast” which can pose a problem. People who have been falsely accused can be subjected to cruel remarks when they have been accused of something they did not do. “Fake victims” of sexual assault or abusive relationships use social media to promote themselves for their benefits, and when these claims are proven to be false, it not only affects the “fake victims” but also impacts the real ones. Real victims get shut down and never receive the support they need. Which is truly unfair for the true victims. 

So now if we think about it, all of these problems that occur through social media, that are harming social media’s reputation, are also happening in real life through “word of mouth” that spreads from person to person. You can see that it is not necessarily “social media’s” fault for spreading false news, but rather the person spreading it.

How can social media affect people?

A lot of people are afraid to join social media due to misconceptions like “bad influence” and “people who use social media stay depressed all the time”. But that is not always the case. Yes, some do get depressed after some time, but it is due to watching/consuming some type of information that is negative for the human brain. If you watch something mentally draining or see someone commenting on something you are sensitive about, you will most likely get depressed. Similarly, if we were to watch something happy or something that uplifts our characteristics, we are most likely to leave with a smile on our faces. So basically, all those emotions depend on what we are actually seeing and consuming rather than the application itself. “Certainly, more research is needed on the topic, but the consensus among most psychologists is that it is not necessarily the social-media platforms themselves rather than the content we are consuming that has the biggest impact on our mental health.” (Prendergast, 4) Everyone has their own opinions and feelings while using social media, hence why it is such a controversial topic. Whenever this topic is mentioned, it always divides people based on their beliefs and point of views. 

Conclusion: 

As with everything else, social media has its benefits and its drawbacks. Everything has its pros and cons. Everything is flawed, and social media is no exception. In life, we encounter useful and useless things, and social media is not any different. Life can be both depressing and happy, and so can social media. The power of social media lies in its ability to gain all of its advantages if used properly, but it can also bring all of its disadvantages if used incorrectly. It is just a matter of being careful when using it. David Amerland said, “Social media is addictive precisely because it gives something which the real world lacks: it gives us immediacy, direction, and value as an individual.” which is absolutely true since social media is something that was created for easier access to things that were difficult to attain and to figure out things according to one’s ideology. 

Work Cited

Anderson, Joshua T.L., et al. “Learning without seeking?: Incidental exposure to science news on social media & knowledge of gene editing.” JCOM: Journal of Science Communication, vol. 20, no. 4, Nov. 2021, pp. 1+. Gale Academic OneFile, https://go-gale-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/ps/i.do?p=AONE&u=cuny_ccny&id=GALE|A672174719&v=2.1&it=r&sid=bookmark-AONE&asid=29a39de5.
Accessed 17 Oct. 2021.

BBC. (n.d.). Is social media bad for you? the evidence and the unknowns. BBC Future. Retrieved November 1, 2021, from https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20180104-is-social-media-bad-for-you-the-evidence-and-the-unknowns.

Herrman, J. (2021, May 11). How did we get so stuck on here? The New York Times. Retrieved November 1, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/11/style/social-media-stuck.html.

La Sala, Louise, et al. “Can a social media intervention improve online communication about suicide? A feasibility study examining the acceptability and potential impact of the #chatsafe campaign.” PLoS ONE, vol. 16, no. 6, 15 June 2021, p. e0253278. Gale Academic OneFile,  Accessed 9 Oct. 2021. https://go-gale-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/ps/i.do?p=AONE&u=cuny_ccny&id=GALE|A665292647&v=2.1&it=r&sid=bookmark-AONE&asid=2ce6a9a9

MediLexicon International. (n.d.). Pandemic mental health: The role of social media. Medical News Today. Retrieved November 1, 2021, from https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/how-has-social-media-affected-mental-health-during-the-pandemic.

Prendergast, C. (2020, October 5). ‘the social dilemma’: Are Facebook and Instagram really affecting our mental health? Vogue. Retrieved November 1, 2021, from https://www.vogue.com/article/the-social-dilemma-impacts-of-social-media.