
Social media is a rather new phenomenon for our society. Social media started as a way to share new ideas and reconnect with old friends and it has turned into a major influence in our lives, with some individuals going as far as depending on social media to help their functionality. Over the last few years, social media usage has continued to rise. Even though there are many positives to social media, there are also many negatives that come along with the concept. Social media is harming individuals through a variety of ways such as: lack of individuality, lack of privacy, and reduced production in the workplace. For these reasons, the rise of social media and prevalence of it in today's society is creating a negative impact on our personal lives.

One of the largest impacts social media can make on an individual's life is through their career. Facebook is one of the largest social media platforms today, as 67% of adults use this website (Bernhardt, Alber, and Gold 169). The primary goal for Facebook is to share and spread information and to advertise.  It is argued that social media is an excellent tool for professional development because it allows for an individual to make connections with co-workers and spread information.  However, Facebook can also severely harm an individual's reputation and career. Sharing inappropriate pictures or articles or being tagged in this type of media can be extremely harmful to one's career (Bernhardt, Alber, and Gold 169).  Facebook offers the feature that when someone is tagged in a picture, it appears on that person's wall. For example, teachers are often described as role models for their community. If a teacher took a picture in a bikini on vacation and they were tagged in the photo, they could face serious consequences. There is a reputation for teachers to uphold and this act could possibly get them fired.  Potential students or coworkers could see this image and have a very negative opinion of the teacher after this post. This one picture could make or break an individual's career. There are privacy settings that can be used to help deter this type of issue, but it is strongly recommended to self-monitor any personal or professional social media accounts.

As well as harming a professional's career, social media exposes private patient data. In the article, "Using Facebook Risks Exposing Patient's Lives", the article discusses a study done in the United Kingdom and Italy. The study randomly selected 124 nurses and 1/5 of the nurses selected had public Facebook profiles. These profiles were not only public, but some of the nurses were in their uniform featuring their respectable hospitals ("Using Facebook to Expose Patients' Lives" 9). This is a prime example of how available social media can be to the public. Anyone can access a public profile and having information such as your workplace may not only endanger yourself, but also patients. Individuals may recognize a nurse from a picture and in some cases may even go as far as blackmailing the nurse for private information about patients. This is extremely dangerous to a patient, especially one with a very classified medical record. Social media is extremely important to keep private as it proposes an extreme privacy risk to a doctor/nurse and their patients. 

Privacy continues to be an issue dealt with for all individuals and is on the rise recently with the increase of social media. The concept of social media encourages us to share information about our lives. The information may be anything from a new job opportunity in Atlanta to a vacation in the Bahamas. When people post this information, they are making themselves vulnerable to less security. When an individual's Facebook friends know they are away in the Bahamas for a week, it creates a security issue. There is an increased risk for possible break-ins or property damage. There is also the risk about the privacy of things posted on the internet. A picture your friend posts with you doing shots at a party could have long lasting effects on you individually. Future employers may find this picture and it may hurt your chance for a future job (Jung np). It is important to remember that once something is released to the internet, it is released for everyone to see. Advertising your life on social media may seem like a very innocent thing, however there are serious repercussions. 

It is very important for professional athletes to monitor their social media as well. A professional athlete must treat their job in their chosen sport as any other job. Social media posts with alcohol, drugs, sexual references, or any other inappropriate behaviors gives the athlete negative publicity. In many cases, professional athletes are role models for the younger generation. Many boys go to the ballpark to watch their "hero" and hope to someday be out there like them. When an athlete posts an inappropriate image or tweet on social media this concerns our society. Why would parents want their children to look up to someone who posts a picture with marijuana? Athletes must control their social media in order to portray themselves in a positive light as an influential role model. 

A specific instance of poor social media monitoring with a professional athlete involves former Texas A&M quarterback and now NFL quarterback, Johnny Manziel.  According to Trevor Bell, the Media Lab Manager at Texas A&M University, a few years back, Manziel tweeted pictures of himself in a bar, appearing to be "drunk". After these images were posted, tweets were also posted with several vulgar and inappropriate words. This social media stunt created a huge backlash from his fans, the general public, and the media (Bell np). This is a specific instance of how social media can affect an individual's career. There is a negative connotation when his name is now mentioned, and although he still made it to the NFL, several scouts and organizations were concerned with his backstory. One silly mistake on social media can have a very strong effect on an athlete and his or her future in their field. 

Social media also has an impact on future athletes. In the article by Jim Seip, he discusses the story of a high school baseball player. The player had a very inappropriate Twitter username and the first thing he was instructed to do during the recruiting process was change the Twitter username. It was later discovered that many coaches stopped recruiting the individual because of his inappropriate Twitter username (Seip np). Another example was stated involving a young male baseball player named Joey Casselberry. Casselberry had made a very inappropriate comment involving a player in the Little League World Series. Within 24 hours the statement had made national news and Casselberry was suspended from the Bloomsburg University baseball team (Seip np). The article also quotes, how the athletic director from Annville-Cleona stated, "I'd say this is another example of how important it is to remember you are not communicating solely with a friend on social media.  ...  Your comments are available for millions to see" (Seip np). `This is a crucial example of how social media can have a life changing impact on an individual's life and in some cases may end their dreams and aspirations for the future, especially in the athletic field.

Social media can negatively affect individuals while they are working in their perspective career. According to the article, "Does Personal Social Media Usage Affect Efficiency and Well-Being?" by Stoney Brooks, 86% of online adults use social media and the average worker is interrupted 6-8 times a day because of social media. This is a significant amount of time, especially considering the amount of time it takes an individual to get back to the assigned task. Brooks also states that these interruptions result in a 28% decrease in the worker's daily knowledge. These interruptions may be from social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. A recent article written for the Houston Chronicle reports that according to Nucleus Research, Facebook reduces productivity by 1.2%. British companies also lost more than 2.2 billion dollars a year due to the social media phenomenon (Jung np). These breaks may seem harmless at the time, however they often become repetitive and becomes a habit for many individuals. 

There is a similar relationship to technology and social media in the classroom. 59% of student's access social media during their time spent in the educational setting (Brooks 26-28). Not only does this lead to a lower productivity rate, but it also allows the student to miss valuable information. Students often believe sitting in the classroom is enough to pertain information, however, being distracted by a social media website is not allowing the student to retain any information. The article also states that heavy Facebook usage and students with a low GPA have been associated together. Facebook may not be the only reason for a low GPA, but there is definitely a significant relationship (Brooks 27).  Social media is very distractive and creates an environment for lower productivity in the workplace and classroom. 

Humans rely on sleep for their functionality in daily lives. Therefore, sleep is crucial to an individual in their everyday events. A decrease in sleep and an increase in sleep disorders have been seen in correlation with social media usage. According to the article, "Study: Social Media May Disturb Sleep in Young Adults", social media affects our sleep and sleep habits. Individuals who choose to spend more time on social media will find themselves suffering from sleep disturbance. Individuals who spent less time on social media did not report these disturbances. 1788 surveys to people age 19-32 were distributed in this study and an average of 61 minutes was spent on social media daily while visiting 30 different accounts. Thirty percent of these individuals experienced sleep disturbances. Individuals who check social media more than three times a day were especially likely to experience sleep disturbances. The reason for these disturbances is linked to cognitive, emotional, and physiological arousal as well as the disturbance of our circadian rhythms. The simple light from our phones or computers can affect our rhythms and our sleep patterns. ("Study: Social Media May Disturb Sleep in Young Adults" np). The lack of sleep as a result of social media can have an extreme impact on someone's life and is crucial to consider when spending excessive amounts of time on social media. 

One of the most dangerous effects of social media includes cyber-bullying. According to the Kansas Association of School Boards, Bullying Seminar in September of 2008, University Business cites that cyber-bullying is defined as, "bullying or harassment by use of any electronic communication device which can include but is not limited to email, instant messaging, text messages, blogs, mobile phones, pagers, online games, and websites" (Clayburn and Will np). With the recent rise of social media, cyber-bullying over the cell phone has increased drastically. Clayburn and Will even write that while this article was being constructed, there was a suicide being investigated. The child was a 15-year-old freshman who took their life after being bullied on Facebook. Cyber-bullying is so incredibly dangerous because people can be victimized 24 hours a day. A 2007 PEW survey by Amanda Lenhart reported that 32% of teenagers have experienced cyber-bullying. This number is alarmingly high, as almost 1/3 of all people who use the internet will be cyber-bullied (Clayburn and Will np). Cyber-bullying can lead to many emotional and long- term effects such as depression, low self -confidence, and in some cases even suicide. This is an extremely scary and sad situation in today's society.

We live in an age where people can sit behind a computer and make fun of someone completely anonymously. The cite Ask.fm is a recent social media phenomenon that is especially dangerous because of its anonymity. Ask.fm is a cite that allows you to create a personal profile where other people can ask questions and comment on your profile, but they are completely anonymous. The app was created for a fun thing for people to do and an easy way for people to occupy their time. However, the app turned to be threatening very quickly. According to the Scientific American article, Social Media Cyber Bullying Linked to Teen Depression, in 2013 there was a span of suicides linked to this social media phenomenon. The website was very concerned by these claims and launched new safety features in an effort to help stop cyber-bullying. (Pappas np). This is just one example of how a simple social media website that is designed to be fun can change someone's life. 

Brian Jung, the author of, "The Negative Effect of Social Media on Society and Individuals" worries about the false sense of connection social media creates. We live in a world where "likes" and how many "favorites" you can get on a post may determine how you feel about yourself. "If I don't reach over 200 likes, I must look ugly in the picture and I should take it down," can be heard out of someone's mouth. It is scary to live in a society where someone would believe this is the case. People often also forget about relationships they have with individuals because of social media. Since we are Facebook friends does that mean we are real life friends as well? People focus too much on the general concept of who is their Facebook friend and how many people they can get to follow them back on Instagram. This is a major concern because this could weaken in person relationships. If someone spends too much time focused on their "internet relationships" it is difficult to maintain in person relationships. These internet relationships take time out of an individual's life and one may even become obsessive over checking their latest "friends" status (Jung np).  It is concerning with how involved and connected people are to their social media that it effects in person interaction. These fake/obsessive online relationships are harming our in person, humanized relationships.  

There are many objections to the idea that social media has only a negative connotation to our lives. There are some positives to social media. Social media allows us to communicate around the world within seconds. We can reach people on the other side of a continent or across an ocean at all times of the day. Social media also gives us the option to post pictures and posts to advertise our lives to our friends and family in other places within minutes. These pictures help keep long distance relationships updated with the current things happening in our lives (Smarty np). Social media is especially helpful with college students as they try and stay in contact with their friends and family that may be states away. I am able to post an Instagram picture and my entire family can see the picture and stay updated with my life. The ability for instant communication is a strong positive to social media, however there is still the possible issue of addiction and not knowing when enough is enough. People spend hours a day posting statuses and pictures and often forget to enjoy the world that is happening around them.

Social media can also be very beneficial to businesses to help spread information and advertise for their company. Businesses may use social media to release coupons or promote a new product they have released. Social media is also heavily used in politics and spreading political campaigns and issues to the general public. However, social media can also be extremely dangerous for releasing information. Falsified information could be released to the public and the information can spread so quickly and possibly harm someone's campaign or business (Smarty np). It is very difficult to determine what is accurate on the internet and this just adds another aspect of complexity to social media and how it affects us personally. 

In conclusion, social media may bring some positive aspects into our lives, but it also offers a large array of negatives that directly correspond to us. The rise of social media and recent prevalence of it in today's society is creating a negative impact on our personal lives. Social media can affect our work/athletic careers, create distractions, create a lack of privacy, effect our sleep, lead to cyber-bullying, and create many more negative consequences. By taking a look at these negatives, we can evaluate our lives to see where a change can and should be made. Simply cutting back our time on social media would be extremely helpful. It is acceptable to access the media a few times a day, but it must be in controlled amounts. Starting with reduced access, we may be able to train ourselves not to depend on social media and even eventually not need social media. It is very feasible for us to make a conscious effort to get off of our phones and communicate with people in person. By cutting back on social media we can appreciate more what is going on around us in the real world, instead of behind electronics.  Reevaluating and/or eliminating social media usage could lead to a happier, safer, and more successful life. 

