Social Media Influences Thoughts And Morality

We now live in a world where social media has changed the way we interact with the world around us. At a young age we are programed to worry about how strangers view our lives and our decisions. People are worried about how many likes they get and social acceptance. Though these outlets individuals build their social foundations that will later become the building blocks of their careers. People tend to fall short excepting criticism, communication skills, and analyzing information.

Article by Mark Andrejevic ‘We Are All “Lab Rats” ’ talks about how we underestimate “real” power of social media, that social medias do more that jus helping people to socialize. He says that social media is “ongoing controlled experimentation” that we don’t understand deep enough to see that they want something in return, maybe more than we give them.

Social Media is a form of communication in which a person shares information, personal ideas, and thoughts online. The foundation of social media began in 1997 when the first social media site Six Degrees was developed. Since 1997, social media has become an iconic name and has become part of this generation's conversation. There are over 100 million people using social media to gain access to the digital world, with over 20 social media sites including Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram (Milanovic 1). Roughly 80 percent of teens and 20 percent of adults use social media daily and almost half of the users were bullied or criticized for a single comment. Comments that include discrimination, sexism, or political beliefs can be retweeted to thousands in a matter of hours. “Accusations go viral, globally, within hours, and instead of having dozens of angry voices baying for your blood, you have tens of thousands” (Haley 1). Although social media has made it easier to communicate these sites, make it easier to be critical or prejudiced to others online instead of face-to-face.

Social Media is affecting our society in a negative way. From being the number one cause of divorce, ruining people’s careers, and being a haven for teen suicides, many misfortunes arise due to social media. People may not notice its damaging side effects yet it is slowly but surely proving detrimental to all involved in the game. By taking a step back and maintaining self-control, any human being immersed in the frenzy of social media can enjoy its perks without getting caught up in the whirlwind of unfortunate events.

In recent years, America has become a world of social media. On September 14, Facebook reached 1 billion users, which is about one seventh of the world’s population (Vance). Though social media allows everyone to share their opinion with whomever they want, it is also used by some as the only avenue to learn information. In 2010, 6.1 million students were taking at least one online course (Lytle). Many citizens also accept information off the internet as true without validation. People become “followers” and can base their opinions on what somebody else says.

Through the power of social media and technology, people have the ability to become more aware of and involved in different organizations, or see the respectable deeds that others are doing. This “power” may inspire people to make a change in themselves, but potentially in the world. But, this power can be so overwhelming that people may make poor decisions. For example, it is a well-known fact that many underage teenagers drink alcohol regularly. So, say if an underage teenager who does not typically drink, sees their peers drinking, they could potentially feel pressured or tempted to join in and drink, which is a poor decision. Again, going back to the idea that social media and technology allow for people to look into other’s lives, some people may become insecure about who they are or look like, and feel the need to change themselves to fit this idea of what society likes to see, which is ultimately hurting the person’s

The emergence of social media in the contemporary society has created a more gullible population that is susceptible to believe and imitate what they read online. According to Psychology Today, a magazine website related to current news in psychology, “we choose to imitate either because we’re uncertain about the best course of action or because we want to fit in.” The issue of fitting in is a debate because it seems as if half of the users online believe that

Person perception is influenced by many social and cognitive biases that shape our impression of others. Social cognition is how people gather information, process it, and apply it in their social situations.The cognitive process plays a significant role in shaping many of our social interactions. This is evident when we hear the case of Tony. Tony was able to convince people he was insane much easier than he could convince them he was not.

Social media has become one of the most popular sources of communication for the upcoming generation. For young people growing up in today’s society, social media outlets such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have provided pictures and news that have become the first thing that their eyes see in the morning and the last thing that they see before bed. These pictures have provided unrealistic standards as to what is considered beautiful in today’s society. As young people refer to these images as a form of comparison, it has created harmful circumstances. These influences on the lives of young people have forced them to take extreme measures and in some cases, has been the cause of death. Social media in today’s society has proven to

Social media are a highly influential part of society these days. The main reasons for this being that they are easily accessible and require very little forethought and research skills. These are also the reasons why it is often argued whether or not social media are hindering critically thinking. The problem with social media platforms, in relation to critical thinking, is that they leave little room for thoughtful response to issues and offer more room for readers to do a quick scan and go. With word limits and like buttons in use on social media sites, Jason Brooks finds, "people often resort to sentimental platitudes that endorse their opinion rather than support it". However, this leads to the thought that people were more efficient in

The statement implies that all communities set morals for what is right and what is wrong, but that stereotypes communities. Some communities contain a lot of behavior that is considered wrong that may not include consequences with them. Teenagers can get the wrong idea of what is acceptable and an unrealistic point of view of what life is like due to watching their community. Lastly, opponents say social media is an essential part of today’s society and that is provides loads of information making it the fabric upon which today’s society is built (Austin 1). Although this is also true, not all of the information being provided by American society through social media is fit for adolescents. Different age groups, receive different information that is appropriate for them, but at times, information that is not appropriate to younger users of social media can be brought to their attention. This may give teens the wrong outlook of their present life because they are comparing it to the information learned that was meant to be received by adults. Although many of the opponent’s points are valid, they do not prove that American society gives teens a realistic point of view on

However, this exemplifies the fact that not all social media opinions are truthful. In the case of television, morals can be seen, positive or negative. Within the world of social media, opinion can be easily corrupted; however, the speed at which information can be shared is astounding. Finally, celebrities hold influential positions in that they can share their views easily and effectively. All of these sources of opinions are worthwhile in that they aid in telling both sides to every argument. Public opinions provide a wide range of stances as well. Unfortunately, when these beliefs do not come from reputable sources, they may be untrue, therefore worthless to a position in an argument. Nevertheless, the ability to share, post, and even tamper with published opinions endorses the idea of democratic values. Freedoms of speech and press are nurtured through the availability of posted information and attitudes. Finally, these opinions also allow for citizens to fulfill their responsibility to stay informed of current political, social and worldly

Social media has caused an uproar in recent times. Political figures such as President Trump, have used social media to embarrass himself and the country, countless people lose jobs everyday due to posts on social media, and Kids are influenced into making bad decisions because of trends. One of the major key events in all of this is the development of “Facebook”. Facebook was one of the very first platforms that allowed everyone to access it, ever since then, our modern lifestyle has been in a decline. Social media is a common tool in modern life, however, it has caused many problems, including a corruption in our political system, damaging careers, and having a negative impact on children. With social media having such a value to society today, it is crucial to correct these errors in social media.

Technology is changing the world in a fast pace. This is evident most especially in social networks. Due to the widespread and growing use of these new social media, especially social networking sites such as Facebook, researchers began to study its ethical implications.

Social media. We have all heard of it. We have all raved about it at some point in our lives. There is no doubt; it plays an imperative part of people’s lives today – users are reliant on social media. It is great that Mark Zuckerberg reminds us to say, “Happy Birthday” to our friends. Yet, we have all seen the dangers it can cause. From identity fraud to cyberbullying - we become exposed to the dangers of the internet. Not only is it hackers and frauds that cause destruction, but social networking posts. Every day, you scroll through Facebook, or Instagram - liking, sharing and commenting on posts. What people don’t see is how words on a ‘status’ or ‘tweet’ can hurt someone. They can’t see that a person’s feelings behind the screens on a computer have been destroyed, because they can’t see what they don’t want to see.