The internet and the ability to access a virtual social media network has revolutionized technology, but more significantly it has changed the way in which human societies interact, and function. In 2016, around 40% of the world population had an internet connection, meaning there were around 3.42 billion users with an internet connection (Internetlivestats.com). More specifically, American users referred to as millennials between the ages of 25 to 34 had the highest monthly internet usage amongst all group ages in 2016 ( Statista.com). Due to these already high and increasing numbers for world internet usage, many claim that social media is changing humans in a negative way. The rise in internet usage has caused arguments to surface that
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Those who view social media sites as harmful and non-beneficial would say that social media sites turn people into shallow, status-seeking narcissists. Yet actually, social media sites do not turn people into narcissists but can instead reinforce narcissistic behavior. The internet and social media sites are a tool that has many functions and one of these functions is the ability to share personal content such as photos and videos. Rosen discusses this in Virtual Friendship and the New Narcissism, stating that social media sites, “...offer opportunities for both self-expression and self-seeking. They can display egotism and modesty, self-aggrandizement and self mockery” (Rosen). As Rosen indicates, social media sites present individuals with the ability to engage in narcissistic behavior or display self-confidence. Narcissism and self-confidence often get confused, but those who post content online in a narcissistic manner are doing so as a result of their societal …show more content…
The reason technology should be embraced by millennials is because it has become integrated as a daily part of our lives, that allows for instant communication and access to information. Because we have been given the privilege of the internet, it is in our best interest to exploit and use it to our benefit as it opens the door to a new realm of possibilities. The internet has expanded the realm of communication by making it simple and quick to contact someone anywhere in the world as long as they have an internet connection. The internet has also made it simple to obtain almost any type of information immediately, such as when the government raided Osama Bin Laden’s Fortress in Pakistan and a nearby citizen was live tweeting his observations of the whole situation through the night (Laundry). Having a single citizen live tweeting what they observed may not seem extremely beneficial or significant, but for example, if someone was live tweeting a war or a certain tyranny the person live tweeting the events would allow for the world to know, and spark possible activism. The internet and social media give us humans an immense amount of power and millennials should embrace these technologies as they allow for the truth to be revealed, and for people to come together, being important to the function of societies
Those who view social media sites as harmful and non-beneficial would say that social media sites turn people into shallow, status-seeking narcissists. Yet actually, social media sites do not turn people into narcissists but can instead reinforce narcissistic behavior. The internet and social media sites are a tool that has many functions and one of these functions is the ability to share personal content such as photos and videos. Rosen discusses this in Virtual Friendship and the New Narcissism, stating that social media sites, “...offer opportunities for both self-expression and self-seeking. They can display egotism and modesty, self-aggrandizement and self mockery” (Rosen). As Rosen indicates, social media sites present individuals with the ability to engage in narcissistic behavior or display self-confidence. Narcissism and self-confidence often get confused, but those who post content online in a narcissistic manner are doing so as a result of their societal …show more content…
The reason technology should be embraced by millennials is because it has become integrated as a daily part of our lives, that allows for instant communication and access to information. Because we have been given the privilege of the internet, it is in our best interest to exploit and use it to our benefit as it opens the door to a new realm of possibilities. The internet has expanded the realm of communication by making it simple and quick to contact someone anywhere in the world as long as they have an internet connection. The internet has also made it simple to obtain almost any type of information immediately, such as when the government raided Osama Bin Laden’s Fortress in Pakistan and a nearby citizen was live tweeting his observations of the whole situation through the night (Laundry). Having a single citizen live tweeting what they observed may not seem extremely beneficial or significant, but for example, if someone was live tweeting a war or a certain tyranny the person live tweeting the events would allow for the world to know, and spark possible activism. The internet and social media give us humans an immense amount of power and millennials should embrace these technologies as they allow for the truth to be revealed, and for people to come together, being important to the function of societies