
Open the door to any coffeehouse or dorm room today and one would find a multitude of people of all characteristics engorged in their phones, social media, or other forms of mass media and electronics. The rapid rise in uses of social media and advancements in technology and communications has established a new set of societal norms and factors that tend to take on a lifestyle that has its owns rules and regulations. It is now strange when people don’t tweet or snapchat about everything they’re doing. While technology and advanced communication has skyrocketed the human race to levels of interaction never seen before, it presents detrimental negatives that inhibit the progression and growth of the newer generations. Implementing methods for reducing these negatives and capitalizing on the positive outcomes of mass media is worthy of attention because of the remarkable benefits modern technology offers. 

Observations of individuals captivated by their technology is on the rise, with people losing so many opportunities of engagement with their fellows face-to-face, so much more than previous generations. At the same time, the advancement of communication technologies has brought forth the ability for one person to connect with anyone around the world on a scale never seen before. With this said, this paper seeks to identify and analyze those issues in depth in association to the benefits that social media provides likewise. The benefits that it provides is almost beyond belief, bridging communication between families, friends, and even strangers across the world. While these benefits exist, a few negatives also show up in moderation. The benefits of social media outweigh the negatives because it helps people gain new professional opportunities and keeps people connected to family, friends and people around the world; offering interconnectivity not previously possible. 

Social media is the most common activity amongst children and adolescents in today’s society. Social and emotional development is occurring while utilizing the Internet and cell phones. It is extremely rare that you find a person from this generation without a smartphone. Research shows that about 75% of teenagers’ own cellphones, and 25% of the 75% use them for social media (O’Keeffe). Many of them rely on technology to complete tasks more efficiently online that are also important offline. Such as, “staying connected with friends and family, making new friends, sharing pictures, and exchanging ideas” (O’Keeffe). Social media is beneficial to children and adolescents because it enhances communication, social connection, and furthermore, technical skills. Facebook is a way to enhance conversations by incorporating photos or videos, while LinkedIn is a way to network with people in your industry or career field. When communicating behind a screen misinterpretation sometimes gets in the way. With photos and videos, people are able to visualize what is being said. 

Not only is social media helpful with students’ communication skills, but it also enhances students’ learning opportunities. O’Keeffe states, “Facebook and similar social media programs allow students to gather outside of class to collaborate and exchange ideas about assignments” (O’Keeffe). Students who may feel too shy or intimidated to raise their hand in the classroom may feel more comfortable if they were to express themselves on a social media discussion. Students in today’s generation have grown up interacting on social media so it may be what they are naturally used to. Social media is making school work assessable not only inside the classroom, but outside as well. Hundreds of educational applications are available for teachers to incorporate into their teaching in order to make lessons more engaging or interesting for students. In an article written by the Social Team at McGraw Hill Education, they make a point that, “As our world becomes increasingly globalized and as technology becomes a bigger part of societal framework, it becomes more apparent that in order to be successful after school, educational technology is greatly needed in school curriculum” (Social Team). Technology is only going to keep advancing from here so people need to learn how to make use of it and learn how to communicate through writing, as well as phone calls and video chats.

As children and adolescences grow into career seekers and college students, social media continues to benefit them. It has become the latest networking technique because its fast and easy. The positive or negative outcome of what others find on your social media depends on what you decide to show them. Kelly Wallace points out in her article, “Forty-seven percent said what they found had a positive impact on prospective students versus 42% who said what they discovered had a negative impact” (Wallace). While Jacquelyn Smith continues to state that, “Half of all job seekers are active on social networking sites on a daily basis, and more than a third of all employers utilize these sites in their hiring process” (Smith). Social media will benefit people trying to succeed in life a larger percentage of the time. 

Social networking such as, LinkedIn, Monster.com, and other sites, allows employers and college admissions officers to see the accomplishments you couldn’t fit on your application. LinkedIn is more than just a resume; it can tell a lot about who someone is as a person and help better peoples’ chances of getting jobs and college acceptances. Alan Katzman, founder and chief executive officer of Social Assurity, states that, “about 80% [of students he’s worked with] who create LinkedIn profiles and include them on their applications, report that someone from the college they’re applying to has looked at their profile” (Wallace). In today’s competitive society, this gives students an opportunity to show college admissions officers something extra and improve their chances of acceptance into their dream school. A high school student created a LinkedIn profile and he attached the link on his application to Harvard. Soon after, he got a notification that someone from Harvard had viewed his profile. The student now attends Harvard (Singer). Although LinkedIn may not be the immediate reasoning for this student’s success, there is a chance it helped him in one way or another. 

Social media is something that keeps the world connected. The second something happens in France, the United States is already posting prayers, and trying everything in their power to help them. In Meyrowitz’s book, No Sense of Place: The Impact of Electronic Media on Social Behavior, he states, “We can now speak to someone while we are sunning in Florida, we can experience distant news events as they are happening…” (Meyrowitz 13). Space, time and physical barriers are no longer issues tied to communication. Conversations have been taken to a level never seen before. 

People aren’t just having one on one communications. Conversations are going from the casual one-on-one to one with the world. In Beasley’s book, Social Media and Living Well, she states, “Conversation shifted away from being a me-to-you proposition… it’s become a me-to-all-of-you-all-about-me world,” (Beasley 16). The world has become a place where everyone knows everything about you. We are constantly posting things about ourselves. Conversations are no longer you to your friend but you to all of the people who follow you on social media. People are constantly on their phones. It’s not because they’re addicted, but because social media has become such a huge part of everyone’s daily lives. You are with your friends at the touch of a button. 

Without social media, people might feel disconnected. Because of the fact that more people are using social media to communicate in today’s generation, if you aren’t using these applications you may miss out on crucial conversations or major events taking place in the world. Social media is a way to make you feel like you’re a part a of society and gives you the opportunity to always be interacting with someone, even when you’re alone. Although not all conversations may be face-to-face, we are constantly learning how to interact with others. 

It is normal that some people may feel like social media is a bad thing. A few negatives show up in moderation. Some may say we trade our privacy for social media. If people were to post questionable or perhaps even illegal activities on their social media, they may lose a job or future education opportunity. For example, if an underage teenager posts a picture holding a beer can, college admissions officers or employers may see this and say “this person is unprofessional and not ready to become an adult”. This is something to be worried about, but this is also something that is easily fixable. Every social media application has the option of privacy settings. With the privacy settings, you are able to decline or accept friend requests. This allows you to block the content you post from people you don’t want to see it. Limit the people who are seeing your posts to people you know and trust. You are the one in control of your social media account and what you post. If you know you’re in the college or job market, you should be mindful about what you post and about who is seeing your posts. Try to refrain from posting about every move you make because these things can’t be taken back once they’re out there.

Moreover, social media can be detrimental to relationships. Whether it be friends, family or your significant other. For example, if my friends were to leave me out of something and then start posting snapchat stories having a good time, that would make me feel horrible. Social media is deceiving. People edit pictures, talk to people they never would in person, and make outings look more fun than they really are. I know from my own experience that sometimes I will be having an okay time while out, so I post tons of stories to make it look like I’m having the time of my life. Everyone does it. Another example would be if your boyfriend/girlfriend were to like another girls/guys Instagram picture. You may feel like they are interested in this person, but in reality, a “like” is just the tap of a screen. I like everyone’s pictures on Instagram and most of the time I don’t even look at them. If you’re going to have social media you need to learn how to use it in the right way and not to hurt other people. Social media can be crucial to keeping in touch with people you have relationships with. You are able to see what they’re doing and feel like you’re almost with them even from hundreds of miles away. My best friend moved to Florida from New Jersey and I get to see what she’s doing and even facetime her every once in a while. Social media can be great for relationships if used for the right intentions. 

In addition to privacy and relationship upkeep, the most common negative that people correlate social media with is addiction. Technology is almost like an addictive substance such as cigarettes or alcohol. Once you have it in your life you feel like you can’t live without it. But technology only makes life easier now that we do have it. In short, if we compare it to that of an additive substance we are saying that it is consuming our lives for the worst. In Renny Gleeson’s TED Talk “Our antisocial phone trick”, he talks about how the availability of technology makes us feel like we have an obligation to use it. Since technology is so readily available people feel like they need to use it. People unconsciously will pick up their phones while in a full conversation, not even meaning to be rude just because it has become so habitual to them. This has become a part of our culture. In the article “Is Social Media Making Us Anti-Social?”, Brain Harke describes an experience he encountered with a student being rude on his phone at a dinner party. He states that, “As a result, he [the student] missed out on good conversation and more importantly, the opportunity to make a good impression on instructors and business professionals” (Harke). The student’s phone took him away from all the opportunities happening in his immediate reality, in order for him to stay connected in the digital world. Harke continues to state, “It is my observation that when we become intertwined with technology or things like social media, we become hypnotized and fall into a techno trance where things like common sense, manners and awareness often get pushed aside” (Harke). Social media can become a distraction to people’s lives, and cause them to miss out on real-life social skills, but a simple solution to this is to limit phone time. Ironically, social media has the power to weaken in-person connections, but on the other hand it gives us new opportunities for connection.

There are many methods of self-regulation in order to get away from your phone and refrain from posting about every move you make. One way would be to monitor your time using social media. Set time limits for the day and keep track of it. Limit the number of social media applications you have so you don’t need as much time on your phone. Another method would be to prioritize. Put your phone down and get your work done before going on any social media. It may seem hard to do these things but it’s not impossible. Limiting your phone time allows you to keep social media without worrying that it will become a distraction and consume your life. Furthermore, if you start to feel like social media is becoming almost like a real addiction start taking the same steps someone who’s an alcoholic or a drug addict would take. Remove all of the addictive “substance” from your sight and talk to a specialist. 

The few negatives of social media that present themselves, fail to negate the utility of social media and internet usage. Social media usage benefits people of all ages and races. It is becoming a crucial for our daily lives and futures. As stated above, the negatives that people may associate with social media are easily resolvable. Social media is becoming the number one tool for people to network and communicate. Whether people like it or not technology is not going to just stop advancing. Instead, we as a world need to practice how to use it for the better and not the worst. We need to accept the fact that technology has integrated itself into our lives from this generation and on. 

The advantages of online networking exceed the negatives because it helps people gain new professional opportunities and keeps people connected to others in their lives and around the world. This gives people opportunities they may have never been offered before. Social media makes communication and other normal everyday tasks easier than they already are. People should use social media more often to communicate and network because of the benefits it offers. Although tasks can still be completed without social media, nobody is opposed to being able to do things more easily, quickly and efficiently. The way we do things is always changing. Our society will continue to use technology more and more as the future progresses, so people need to be aware of how to use it in a way that will benefit their lives. Now walk through the door of that coffeehouse or dorm room and one would also find that all these people are using their phones, social media, or other forms of mass media and electronics for a multitude of benefits.  
