Most people are seemingly unaware of the Sociological effects of social networking as touched on in the essay “The Fakebook Generation” written by columnist Alice Mathias. This essay will elaborate on those views by arguing the sociological effects of major social media forums. The following will explore the isolating negative effects of social media as an agent of socialization. This essay will investigate social media’s influence on the enforcement of social roles, social status, and stereotypes. It will expand upon the negative consequences of the digital age and how it is keeping us apart.
The primary function of social networking appears to be communication, access to information, and entertainment. …show more content…
Powerful social information is put out into the world in such any easily accessible way; this information has the ability to perpetuate a culture of exploited stereotypes and elitist communication control. Networker’s behaviors have become mostly performative and curated to appease their peers. It is a platform where everyone can become a reality television star, and befriend like-minded peers. The essay “The Fakebook Generation” by writer Alice Mathias Explains, “ My generation has long been bizarrely comfortable with being looked at, and as performers on the Facebook stage, we upload pictures of ourselves cooking dinner for our parents or doing keg stands at last night’s party; we are reckless with our personal information” (230). Most adolescents and social media fluent adults will utilize social media to present a certain social status. Peers validate unrealistic views of both men and women. Enforcing views of sexism, racism, and prestige; projecting only dominant ideologies. Women are expected to adhere to gender roles and are often objectified or shamed by their peers. Minorities are ignored, oppressed, and stereotyped. Social networkers often fall prey to stereotypes that perpetuate an inaccurate portrayal of reality. These are societal issues of social stratification but are being spread and enforced at an alarming …show more content…
Users have created a cyber world that mirrors the social struggles of the physical world. Social networking forums have slightly different norms for appropriate or inappropriate communication; as a result, one might say or share something they are not likely to do face-to-face. On a micro level, social networkers might be more prone to post or communicate something racist or sexist behind the safety of a computer. On a macro level, this is a direct result of social influence. In America, specifically, the dominant ideology is mostly precipitated by the “elite” or rather, rich white males. In this excerpt from “Editor 's Introduction: Media(s) and the Mediation of Ethnic Identity” Martha Cutter explains “It behooves us, then, to think through how different forms of media inflect and mediate different messages about ethnic identity. In the same way that print texts have been enriched by the proliferation of other media forms and these media forms in turn have been influenced by print media, we may find that various media forms - when interrogated with a degree of depth, skill, and sophistication - ultimately enable the development of ethnicity into more complex and generative formations and formulations” (9).
In closing, the argument proposed remains the same; social media is a different medium for greater social issues. Social networking, despite its advantages, does not bring society