The Affects of Social Media
Broc Fulmer
Daniel Skoglund
English 111
March 11, 2013
The Affects of Social Media in Our Culture We see it everywhere we go, most of the people we know are involved with it, and it is only getting bigger, what I am referring to is social media. Facebook is the largest social media site and the most used. In the book Social Media Usage and Impact, Hana S. Noor Al-Deen states, “ With over 500 million active users, Facebook provides a virtual reality in cyberspace where users can enact identities for their friends, acquaintances, and a larger passing public.” It is a great way to meet new people, catch up with an old friend, and promote your business. But with the growing population and use of these types of social media sites comes problems. Social media is weakening our face-to-face communication skills and is not policed at all, but many do believe that it is a great way to interact. As a child of the social media era I have been exposed to everything good and bad that happens on these sites. I have seen everything from cyber bullying, pornographic material, and illegal drug use and sales. Creating fake profiles is just as easy as it is to make your own. Hacking of people’s personal accounts is not a rare act on the web. These problems need to be addressed and taken care of. College students are some one of the largest populations on social media. We have easy access and like to stay connected to new and old friends. According to the book Social Media Usage and Impact, Al-Deen explains “A number of challenges exist in college students’ use of social media. The first challenge is possible abuse of social media. The attention span of this generation of students is decreasing and when they are engaged in something, they are often multitasking”(118) This affects the ability to study, focus, and most of all be successful in earning a degree from a university. In my lecture class experience whenever I look around the auditorium, nearly every student has his or
Daniel Skoglund
English 111
March 11, 2013
The Affects of Social Media in Our Culture We see it everywhere we go, most of the people we know are involved with it, and it is only getting bigger, what I am referring to is social media. Facebook is the largest social media site and the most used. In the book Social Media Usage and Impact, Hana S. Noor Al-Deen states, “ With over 500 million active users, Facebook provides a virtual reality in cyberspace where users can enact identities for their friends, acquaintances, and a larger passing public.” It is a great way to meet new people, catch up with an old friend, and promote your business. But with the growing population and use of these types of social media sites comes problems. Social media is weakening our face-to-face communication skills and is not policed at all, but many do believe that it is a great way to interact. As a child of the social media era I have been exposed to everything good and bad that happens on these sites. I have seen everything from cyber bullying, pornographic material, and illegal drug use and sales. Creating fake profiles is just as easy as it is to make your own. Hacking of people’s personal accounts is not a rare act on the web. These problems need to be addressed and taken care of. College students are some one of the largest populations on social media. We have easy access and like to stay connected to new and old friends. According to the book Social Media Usage and Impact, Al-Deen explains “A number of challenges exist in college students’ use of social media. The first challenge is possible abuse of social media. The attention span of this generation of students is decreasing and when they are engaged in something, they are often multitasking”(118) This affects the ability to study, focus, and most of all be successful in earning a degree from a university. In my lecture class experience whenever I look around the auditorium, nearly every student has his or