Negative Impacts of Social Media

Negative Impacts of Social Media
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Negative Impacts of Social Media
Social media is a blessing to the 21st-century generation as well a curse to all human races today. Communication has become more comfortable through social media platforms (Hanna, Kee & Robertson, 2017). For this discussion, social media refers to Facebook, Youtube, Myspace, and Instant messaging platforms like WhatsApp. However, there are several social media platforms which fall under the categories of the already outlined media genres. Social media exists to make people relate quickly in addition to aiding in other spheres of life like communication, sharing educational materials, among others, but, it is also among the reasons of rising antisocialism among its users (“Body image the pressure of ‘normal,’ 2017″). Social media disconnects people seated in the same room while connecting people from different parts of the world at the same time. Although there exists some positivity about social media, there are downsides to the technological achievement (LaRose et al., 2014). Documentation attributes social press to negativities such as lowered performance among college students, addiction, and interference with making important life decisions among social media users (Wang, Chen, & Liang, 2011).
Social media, especially Facebook contributes to lowered grades among its users. In 2011 a study released by Ohio State University revealed that students who were Facebook users spent less time on their studies as compared to the time they spent on the social media website (Wang, Chen, & Liang, 2011).

As a consequence of eating up into their time for studies, the students recorded unsatisfactory performance when weighed against their peers who use social media minimally. Still, at the University of Ohio, a doctoral candidate did present a paper on the impacts of social media on school grades among college students; the thesis of the study pointed at social networks for low GPAs among the students (Wang, Chen, & Liang, 2011). Those opposed to the presented thesis, indicate that there is no relationship between grades and social media by asserting that positive use of social media sites has benefits (Wang, Chen, & Liang, 2011). From the assertions of those contesting the attribution of social media to low GPAs, they do support the thesis of this paper by the fact that they invoke the phrase “positive use.”
Social media addiction is a problem that concerns the community in the contemporary times. Many people especially the teenagers are vulnerable to social media addiction (Sriwilai & Charoensukmongkol, 2016). Today, activities get accomplished in twos; one is on a social network while doing something else at any given time. The integration of social media into every second of a person’s life leads to addiction. Social media addiction raises concerns in society for it is the genesis of other addiction-related problems such as emotional exhaustion and inability to deal with stress (Sriwilai & Charoensukmongkol, 2016). Social media addiction has acquired the description of an urge driven disorder with a robust irrational constituent. Frequent access to Facebook is related to clinical symptoms of mental disorders (Sriwilai & Charoensukmongkol, 2016). Social media tends to remove a person from their surrounding thus limiting the levels of mindfulness of social network users. Mindfulness is a universal quality of attention; hence, its importance in each activity and every day, but with addiction, it is challenging to concentrate on any task (Sriwilai & Charoensukmongkol, 2016).
A point reaches while using social media where the usefulness of the technology gets outlived; that phase is now called the connection overload (LaRose et al., 2014). Researchers tend to conduct a case per case analysis of the various social websites to determine their effects while ignoring the cumulative impact of all the social media sites a person uses at a go (LaRose et al., 2014). For a people who wish to keep their media platforms active all the time, they will have to remain connected always to attend their audience. What the effects of such a situation are a distraction from critical live happenings around them and failure to take necessary life actions when needed (LaRose et al., 2014). Continued insulation of the online world on the user from the real world leads to a connection overload when the user decides to live in the virtual world. As much as those persons online are real people from the other part of the country or world, real-life connections for those around the user need to continue flourishing.
In contrast to the thesis of this paper, there is literature to the contrary of the already discussed. There are real positive impacts that social media has on its users. Social media improves work dynamics as per the assertions of McAfee (Hanna, Kee & Robertson, 2017). The proponents of the positivity of social media, content that negative thoughts on social media are sensational stories. McAfee goes on to discourage the banning of social media at the workplace; continued use of social media platforms while at work increases the chances of landing business opportunities (Hanna, Kee & Robertson, 2017). In essence, social media has no adverse effects according to McAfee, the more it is used, the better the organization is on opportunities, innovation, and communication.
The intensity of social media usage cannot directly get linked to better job performance in the face of addiction and disconnect with the real world. While McAfee thinks that allowing intensive social media usage at the workplace is advantageous, it is hard to strike a balance between careless and constructive usage of social networks (Hanna, Kee & Robertson, 2017). There is the possibility of suffering from connection overload, hence the downside of encouraging the massive use of social media at the workplace (LaRose et al., 2014). Also, chances of addiction are high with lengthened exposure to social media. It is not possible as per the explored literature to have a productive work environment by integrating social media.
Social media is a new concept whose positive and negative effects are yet to get explored extensively. However, by the fact that there is a likelihood of students scoring low grades, people getting addicted, and losing connection with reality, the importance of social media suffers a blow. Since there are a few positive attributes of social media, it does not render the adverse subject moot. There are, and there will exist adverse effects of social networks on the individual and those around social media users.

References
Body image the pressure of ‘normal’ (2017). Community practitioner, 90(8), 12-13.
Hanna, Kee & Robertson (2017). Positive Impacts of Social Media at Work: Job Satisfaction, Job Calling, and Facebook Use among Co-Workers. SHS Web Of Conferences, Vol 33, P 00012 (2017), 00012. doi:10.1051/shsconf/20173300012
LaRose, Lee, Li, Hales & Connolly (2014). Connection Overload? A Cross-Cultural Study of the Consequences of Social Media Connection. Information Systems Management, 31(1), 59-73.
Sriwilai, K., & Charoensukmongkol, P. (2016). Face it, don’t Facebook it: Impacts of Social Media Addiction on Mindfulness, Coping Strategies and the Consequence on Emotional Exhaustion. Stress And Health: Journal Of The International Society For The Investigation Of Stress, 32(4), 427-434. doi:10.1002/smi.2637
Wang, Chen, and Liang (2011) “The Effects of Social Media on College Students.” MBA Student Scholarship. 5. http://scholarsarchive.jwu.edu/mba_student/5