Niman Sarwar

CST 1100 D022

Cons of Social Media

In today’s world, we have been surrounded by social media which has revolutionized the way

we access information and connect. But with this convenience of instant conversation and a

universal reservoir of information in our hands comes the potential for adverse effects on the

quality of the information and the relationships we have with each other. Misinformation has

spread like wildfire throughout social media; unfortunately, many of our younger generation

including me have fallen victim to this. We take in this info without a grain of salt and believe it

to be true and this overdependence of the internet/ social media has hindered our ability to come

up with our conclusions and think for ourselves. Social media, while it has directly allowed for

more conversations to happen at once, has left many with comparisons and envy. This further

drives the feeling of isolation as we try to one-up another, living a lie on social media. This all

contributes to the harmful effects on social relations and the way we perceive reality and each

other.

Verduyn∗, Philippe, et al. “Do Social Network Sites Enhance or Undermine Subjective Well-
Being? A Critical Review.”
Https://Selfcontrol.Psych.Lsa.Umich.Edu/Wp-Content/Uploads/2017/01/Sipr12033.Pdf,
Jan. 2017, selfcontrol.psych.lsa.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/sipr12033.pdf.

Social media has an impact on the way engage in our relationships but also our social

relationships and on our ability to assess reality. Some of the harmful effects of social

relationships are highlighted by the exposure to these "idealized images" of other people's lives
on social networks (SNS). These images lead to a decrease in self-esteem. This can lead to

increased social competition, damaging social relationships as people may feel envy or

resentment towards their significant others Instead of building a genuine connection of support

and understanding. Additionally, using your impressions in social media can lead to people

presenting an exaggerated version of themselves online that is different from who they are in the

real world. This difference between our online persona and our identity in real life can damage

trust and the authenticity of our online relationships and the information we receive. People like

the Kardashians often present an image of themselves that is not all accurate and what people

will do is compare themselves to them. And in some cases, these people will go to extreme

lengths to obtain this beauty/look that isn’t natural. While many of us know these people enhance

these images or even go under the knife to enhance their beauty, the problem is these celebrities

won’t outright tell their fans the truth. So younger people particularly are more susceptible to the

false realities on social media. Many times, avid social media users may find it difficult to

balance their social media and real life. While many of us like to post things to just show how

life is we also do it for the likes and the attention it can bring. But we can get so hooked on social

media that we just forget about our actual lives and start to live a life for those clicks. And when

we aren’t getting attention we doubt our self-worth and would do anything to get the high of

social media.

Caled, Danielle, and Mário J. Silva. “Digital Media and Misinformation: An Outlook on

Multidisciplinary Strategies against Manipulation.” Journal of Computational Social Science,

vol. 5, May 2021, https://doi.org/10.1007/s42001-021-00118-8.

to come by. Caled Danielle focuses on how social media has become a place as an alternative

news source for many people, how these stories start to flood our other reputable sources, and the

dangers of this. The idea is when information is scarce on a certain topic/situation we tend to see

people stray away from their typical news outlets. This is when we are likely to see unverified

information flood social media, creating a chain reaction. With the lack of answers, people

attempt to answer these gaps in their knowledge with this information. These people on social

media create a juicy story that is bound to get people clicking and sharing the story because there

is no way to check the information. We may even see news outlets pick up on these stories and

what once a trusted source that viewers read has become tainted with this misinformation. It

gives this information a “credibility stamp” and now larger and larger news sources are,

“encouraged to replicate the story until it is no longer possible to find the source”. While

eventually these stories may be debunked these rumors have already done enough damage. The

sheer repetition of this info starts to be reinforced in one’s mind and it becomes difficult to

counteract these ideas. We see this a lot in the shaping of political beliefs and as many of us

know it is tough to change one’s mind about these beliefs. Influencing the public perception with

the spread of these rumors can cause “dissemination of fear, hate or euphoria, causing protests,

destruction of property, defamation of brands and public entities, and other undesired effects.”

The spread of these harmful narratives creates a spread of hate speech to a certain group of

people, we saw this with the increase of antisemitism. People like Kanye West pushed this kind

of info to his viewers, and it just started another wave of hate towards Jewish people. Social

Media influencers often skew the way we think and unfortunately, media literacy is not common
in our generation, so already we see people cling to certain ideas with no bearing because their

favorite celebrity said “this” etc.

“Social Media - Pros & Cons - ProCon.Org.” Social Networking, 21 June 2023,
socialnetworking.procon.org/.

Social media also brings about positives in our society by building a community of relationships

that otherwise wouldn’t have lasted. In this article it is documented that many young people feel

as if they are more connected because with social media we can share more. People who are

shy/have social anxiety have another means to be able to connect to other potential friends whom

they may never talk to because of their fears. Social media has also become a great place to get

civic and political engagement in our youth. With the rise of social media, we have seen a rise in

young people expressing their views on politics and trying to send a message to our government

that we demand a change which otherwise would be a lot more difficult to do. Social media is

essentially giving a voice to people who otherwise wouldn’t be heard. Social media is a melting

pot for ideas, cultures, and people.

“Social Media - Pros & Cons - ProCon.Org.” Social Networking, 21 June 2023,
socialnetworking.procon.org/.

“Social Media promotes cyberbullying that spills into online life.” According to The Pew

Research Center, 59% of American teenagers have been bullied online. A lot of bullying can be

focused on a person's skin color, sexual orientation, etc. For many people, social media may be a

place for those who are already bullied. And when their only safe place is compromised with

cyberbullying they may be flooded with self-harm or other ideas that potentially harm their
mental state. Some might just say to these people to just close the screen but for many of them,

they are so addicted to social media and the continuous cyber bullying diminished their mental

state.

For many of us in this generation, social media has had a grasp on our lives by influencing the

way we engage with others and access information. While this technology is exceptional at

bringing/ connecting people it has also crept its way into not only spreading misinformation but

the destruction of relationships and assessing our reality. As discussed by (Caled and Silva

(2021), the spread of this misinformation has become a major concern with online platforms

serving almost like a breeding ground for unverified stories and rumors. This swarm of stories

has fueled hate speech and divisions within our society and the credibility of other news sources.

Cited Page :

- Caled, Danielle, and Mário J Silva. “Digital Media and Misinformation: An Outlook on
Multidisciplinary Strategies against Manipulation.” Journal of Computational Social
Science, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2022,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8156576/#Sec7title.

- Verduyn∗, Philippe, et al. “Do Social Network Sites Enhance or Undermine Subjective Well-
Being? A Critical Review.”
Https://Selfcontrol.Psych.Lsa.Umich.Edu/Wp-Content/Uploads/2017/01/Sipr12033.Pdf,
Jan. 2017, selfcontrol.psych.lsa.umich.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/sipr12033.pdf.

- “Social Media - Pros & Cons - ProCon.Org.” Social Networking, 21 June 2023,
socialnetworking.procon.org/.

I used the same one for the last two because it had both pros and cons.