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Jacob Gooden

Professor Padgett

ENGL 1102

30 March 2014

What Does Social Media Really Do?

Technology has changed the ways that people live their lives, its innovative ways have
made some tasks that were at one time grueling and tedious become as easy as hitting a few
buttons. Specifically, technology has enabled individuals to keep immediate contact with people
around the world and stay in contact with relatives and friends more than ever before. Social
Media is rapidly progressing over recent times from MySpace to Facebook and now the ever so
popular Twitter and Instagram. All of these outlets generally perform the same function with
slight variability between, but in a nutshell, it allows the user to post pictures and write about
their daily activities which are shared to all of their friends and followers. These friends and
followers are allowed to comment their reactions for you to respond. Social Media users are
increasing at an exponential rate because accessibility is higher than ever. With smart phones
being as cheap as they are when you sign a long-term contract everyone across the social
gradient has the access to Social Media. This in turn allows teens and children to get their hands
on it (through their parents phone or their own) and the exposure is having a huge impact on the
young population. As a nation, we are at a point where we must look at ourselves in the mirror
and to fully understand where this technology has brought us and the ramifications that it has
upon us. I really want to examine the future of America (teenagers) to see where we could
potentially be headed as a nation. If you were to ask anyone above the age of 30 how their
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childhood compares to that of today, it would be like night and day. Kids today are exposed
things that were unheard of twenty plus years ago and we as a population are mishandling it.
When social media is given to teens they handle it the wrong way through addiction, negatively
affecting overall mental health, and the sedentary lifestyle it promotes.
Addiction has always been an issue and will always be an issue when it comes to
drinking and drugs. With recent forms of technology a new definition of addiction has occurred,
particularly in teens. As stated in Media and Children, US children ages 8 to 18 spend on
average 7 hours and 38 minutes on social entertainment per day. Which is a baffling amount
considering that is a third of their day, assuming they sleep for eight hours and go to school the
other eight hours it leaves them no additional time for family or additional studying. Allocating
that much time towards one thing forms bad habits that will be very hard to break and the child's
responsibilities continue to increase whether it comes by having to find a job to help the family,
or taking on a harder course load which requires substantial time outside of school for them to
succeed. (21 Agarwal) With teens spending this much time on social entertainment it could
potentially lead them to believe that virtual world is reality. Meaning they could resort to the
ways of violence as depicted in their entertainment to solve their real life conflicts. An example
of what Social Media can lead too is Columbine, Eric Harris created a blog that was initially
made to discuss a video game with his friends. However, it quickly turned into an outlet for
information to make homemade bombs and cause destruction as well as making death threats to
people around the community and his local high school. Harris used this site to plan the high
school massacre, had we Americans been more informed about the consequences these social
media outlets can have on teens then maybe we could have done something to change the
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Adam Padgett 5/1/14 12:16 AM
Comment [1]: Okay, this seems like a good
clear thesis.
Adam Padgett 5/1/14 12:18 AM
Comment [2]: Im wondering what the
point is in pointing this out. So what are you
saying?
Adam Padgett 5/1/14 12:19 AM
Comment [3]: Is this the name of an article,
a journal, or a book? Who is the writer? I need
more clarity here.
Adam Padgett 5/1/14 12:50 AM
Comment [4]: This seems like a little bit of
a stretch to blame the internet for a school
shooting. Dont you think this over-simplifies
a complex issue? What exactly are you
implying here?
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outcome. (39 Agarwal) The addiction to social media entertainment can change a teen from who
they truly are because they lack the discipline to know otherwise. With social media being a
direct news outlet, it can cause teens to be obsessed with trying to become the next internet
sensation. As stated in Jayson Sharon's article in USA Today, teens are now intentionally posting
on social media to be discovered whether its for showcasing a talent, trying to become a model,
or wanting to been seen as an up and coming actor. Teens will constantly look at their idols
liking and commenting their posts in hopes that they will follow back. This obsession often turns
into a teenager changing themselves to resemble celebrity role models which can hamper their
relationships with friends and family because they view themselves above society. (Sharon, J) In
some cases, teens depict themselves as a completely different person online and form fake
relationships with complete strangers because they are unhappy with the way things are going in
the real world. Their double life can have a huge impact on their relationships with close friends
and family because they are constantly posting and communicating with their friends associated
with the fake profile. With the teen population being so dependent upon social media for
everyday living they are becoming unknowingly addicted more than ever before which leads
them away from being a well rounded individual that could be the future of America.
Before going into the detail, I first and foremost want to say that there are positive affects
that social media has on mental health. For instance, individuals can receive news that is going
on around the United States and the rest of the world at the click of a button. This allows them to
be a more informed citizen, however staying current with the news is a fraction on our teen's
priority when they are on social media(22 Agarwal). Social media can quickly become a
negative impact on teen's mental health because they primarily post about their occurrences at
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school that day and converse with each other about who's hot and who's not. Teen's that receive
the not hot label feel they can never measure up to their peers and often have very low self-
esteem. Social Media can be detrimental to a teen's mental health because it is a popularity
contest on who can get the most likes or comments on their status or photo. (11 Keep Your Teen
Safe) Teen's also tend to be very naive when it comes to giving out personal information.
Research shows that every category ranging from phone number to street address saw an
increase in the amount of post relative to the teen population. Teen's have a false sense of
security when it comes to how protected they feel their information is when their profile is set to
private. While having this information exposed, it really leaves them vulnerable to sexual
predators that hunt for young teens that they can manipulate. The predator can engage in a
conversation by simply giving a complement, which can easily open the door for more dialogue.
Vulnerable teens can think too much into their simple relationship which could lead to sexual
harassment, cat-fishing or rape. (Bayliss) The consequences that social media can have on the
overall mental health of teen's is evident. No matter the severity, it is very clear that most teen's
lack the mental maturity to fully handle themselves on the web without some sort of supervision
from an adult. With more restrictions I feel that young people, will be able to better understand
the capability of social media, which will allow them to use it to better their overall intellectual
wellness.
Social media dependability does not just impact the mental health of teens but has
implications on their physical health as well. The current generation has been to exposed to so
much that it has radically changed the American Childhood where kids come home from
school everyday and play out in the yard with their friends until they are called in for dinner.
Adam Padgett 5/1/14 12:51 AM
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Adam Padgett 5/1/14 12:53 AM
Comment [5]: This needs to be plural, not
the possessive form.
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With the amount of time teens use technology today it has completely eliminated sufficient
physical activity amongst the majority of the population. To combat this trend, social media must
promote physical wellness by showing the health negative affects associated with extended use.
NFL's play 60 program is very avid with their advertisement and it preaches that all kids should
be physically active for an hour per day to fight obesity rates amongst youth. They are able to
make kids be more active by making them do activities that they enjoy such as riding a bike,
playing basketball, or any other activity that requires movement. It is proven that kids involved
in the this program have a better shot at maintaining the exercise routine rather than if they were
going to a traditional gym and running on the treadmill for exercise. (21 Roberts) Whether we
like it or not America's teens have the keys to the future of the country, with that, if they don't
have the discipline to restrain from developing these unhealthy habits then our country will have
to tackle epidemic level obesity rates because they will pass down the same traits to their own
children.
Technology has grown at an exponential rate and as a population we are still trying to
catch up with the innovative times. Social media is truly an incredible thing, to know that we can
have instant contact with our friends and family that are across the country and have them take
part in our daily routines by reading our posts is something some of us could never fathom.
However, social media use amongst our teen population is absolutely an issue that must take
initiative to fix. They continue to take use to the next level and the health effects are evident both
physically and mentally. As a nation, we must encourage online discipline to better our teen's
mental and physical health to lay a foundation for the future generations of America so that issue
can be put to rest for good.
Adam Padgett 5/1/14 11:30 AM
Comment [6]: Why must they? Isnt a
social media site, like any enterprise, only
interested in making profit? Why should they
promote physical wellness?
Adam Padgett 5/1/14 11:41 AM
Comment [7]: Okay, so this is the NFLs
choice (which probably has more to do with
PR than anything), but you still havent made
the case that Facebook should be promoting
anything besides itself.
Adam Padgett 5/1/14 11:44 AM
Comment [8]: Can you be a little more
specific than saying it is proven? who has
proven?
Adam Padgett 5/1/14 11:45 AM
Comment [9]: Arent we already dealing
with this? Also, are you making reference to
social media here or exercise?
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Jake,
I really like the thesis that you are promoting here about how social media can promote a
sedentary lifestyle. However Im not sure that you are adequately making the case for
sedentariness or adequately linking the social media to obesity. There are instances where I think
youve made very large stretches that border on conjecture. Heavily linking internet access to a
school shooting seems like a stretch. Are you implying that if it werent for the internet, school
shootings would happen? I dont think this is what you are implying, but you need to be clear
about what exactly your point is when making these comparisons. While I really like the
argument you are making, Im not sure that you are making a strong enough case. You should be
making strong connections to your research, not vague nebulous connections (as youve done
with the NFL analogy). Also, this needs to be proof read closer.

Works Cited
Agarwal, V., & Dhanasekaran, S. (2012). Harmful Effects of Media on Children and
Adolescents. Journal Of Indian Association For Child & Adolescent Mental Health,
8(2), 38-45.
Agarwal, V., & Dhanasekaran, S. (2012, April). Media and Children. Journal of Indian
Association for Child & Adolescent Mental Health. pp. 20-24.
Bayliss, S. (2013). Pew: Teen Social Media Use Rising. Library Journal, 138(11), 28
Keep your teen safe from social media. (2013). Prevention India, 11
Roberts, A. (2011). POINTS FROM A PRO. Scholastic Choices, 26(6), 21.
Sharon, J., @SharonJayson, & USA, T. (n.d). Social media setting the stage for kids who want to
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.. USA Today