“Social media is changing the way we communicate and the way we are perceived, both positively and negatively. Every time you post a photo, or update your status, you are contributing to your own digital footprint and personal brand,” quoted by Amy Jo Martin. Social media is a worldwide phenomena; billions of people use a social media account and the number is increasing each day. As reported by the Pew Research Center, in 2005 only 12 percent of young adults used social media, significantly the number has risen to 90 percent today. At present, social media is part of everyday modern life and impacts our world today. With this in mind I will be exploring the advantages and disadvantages of social media.
The first social …show more content…
Many people argue that social networking is dangerous and has a negative impact on society. Since social networking has gained popularity in society over time among children, teenagers, adults, and elders, there are dangers involved. On social networking sites the requirement to join is usually 13 or 18 years old, but because of how easy it is to fake your age many underage children and older adults can make an account and lie about their age. This becomes a way of how online predators can pretend they’re children and talk to other children. According to the National Sex Offender Public Website, the majority of juvenile victims of internet-initiated sex crimes met the predator willingly face-to-face and 93 percent of those encounters included sexual …show more content…
Several studies have found that long use of Facebook can possibly cause depression. Researchers funded by the National Institute of Health discovered that the longer people stay online, the more likely they can become depressed. As well as a research team in the UK found that 53 percent of users said social media has changed their behavior and 51 percent said it was negative behavior due to the decline in confidence they felt. Behavior changes such as depression and anxiety have also been a cause of cyberbullying. The organization Enough is Enough, surveyed teenagers and learned 95 percent of them have witnessed cyberbullying. Cyberbullying can cause psychological, emotional, and physical stress and consequently lead to suicide. Over the years, young teens have committed suicide as a result of cyberbullying and this is ongoing as cyberbullying is the third leading cause of death for teens each year in the U.S. The most tragic evidence is 12-year-old Rebecca Sedwick who was bullied by dozens of girls online and jumped to her death in 2013. Sedwick received messages including, “go kill yourself” and “why are you still alive?” on a social networking