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Dane Rape

Writing II

31 August 2013

Does Social Media Really Enrich Your Life?

I think that it is fair to assume that everyone is familiar with social media.

However, the phrase social media has such breadth, that the essence of the phrase is

difficult and elusive to define. Instead of attempting to find, or produce an explicit,

infallible definition; I will focus solely on the differences between traditional and social

media, thereby defining social media implicitly. Wikipedia demarcates traditional and

social media by considering reach, frequency, usability, immediacy and permanence

(1). Assuredly, the fundamentals of the phrase may be ascertained by analysis of each

division. While a plethora of social media pathways exist in a categorical sense; it is my

aim to analyze blogs, social networking sites and virtual social worlds specifically.

Certainly, the majority of readers have had intimate experiences with one, or more of

these social media outlets. Many assert that the advent of Twitter, Facebook, MySpace,

Second World, or other social media sites has contributed to their quality of life. Users

of the aforementioned sites or services utilize these virtual creations in unique ways.

Some use them for business; others use them in a strictly social sense, while some may

use them for both. Every year, the number of people using these types of sites and

services is increasing at an incredible rate. Dont think for a second that it is just

because a new generation has reached internet age. What was once thought of by

many as a generational fad has quickly blossomed into a universal interest. While

research shows that 83% of American internet users in the 18-29yo age group use

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social media, I was shocked to find that 52% of American internet users in the 50-64yo

age group use social media. Further, in the 65+yo age group, 32% of American internet

users use social media (2). Clearly, the younger among us are much more likely to use

social media. However, the statistics show that large percentages of internet users from

all age groups are currently utilizing these services. International statistics reflect the

same pattern. With such a large and diverse group of users, it is difficult to reduce the

use of social media to a simple pros and cons argument. However, it is my opinion that

the use of social media has some drawbacks that are universal. When one considers

their own privacy, productivity and mental health; does social media really enrich your

life?

Using web sites like Facebook or Myspace, or a virtual world like Second Life is a

detriment to a persons privacy. Some claim that this assertion is false by citing the

privacy settings provided by certain mediums. While it is true that in most cases one

may assign the level of privacy they wish to attain, I believe the argument is generally

flawed. It is not flawed in the sense that it is impossible to maintain your privacy while

using social media, but in the sense that most people simply will not. To elaborate,

consider Facebook. Most of us are content with allowing just friends to see the more

intimate details of our channel (2). How many friends do you have? The average

Facebook user has 262 friends (3)! I am inclined to question the likelihood that anyone

really has over 200 friends. Regardless, does anyone mean to insinuate that this is

somehow private? The ridiculousness of such a statement would be incredulous. One

must be sure to consider all of the intricacies. Anything a Facebook friend can see may

be copied and reposted anywhere they see fit; hence the just friends malarkey goes

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out the window. Perhaps instead of considering how well your Facebook friends know

you, you should consider how well you know them. For those not akin to maintaining

their privacy on Facebook, real consequences of airing their dirty laundry exist. How

might a client or work colleague react to the personal aspects of your life? Even if you

live a clean life by all accounts, is it really professionally appropriate for a hiring

manager, coworker, or customer to be able to browse thru your personal life? Facebook

is an exemplary example. It is the most widely used social networking website (3) and

its particular privacy settings provide a good basis for argument. One may suggest

restricting privacy further than the familiar just friends setting, but with such stringent

privacy settings, what would be the point of using social media at all? It seems logical to

suggest that the pros of social networking are in direct proportionality with privacy: the

more you get from social networking sites, the less privacy you maintain. Certainly, the

use of blogs or virtual social worlds has similar impacts of personal privacy.

Perhaps the most shocking statistic I may present, the average American social

media user devotes over 3 hours per day to social media (4). The unbelievable statistic

is thought to be a result of the advent of smart phones, which allows users to access

social media wherever they may go. How is this affecting our productivity? To me the

answer is resoundingly obvious, but proponents of social media may claim that there is

no effect on productivity. I think it would be wise to get to the crux of what I mean by

productivity. I am not restricting, but certainly not excluding the sense of the word to an

on the job setting. The context of productivity I wish to discuss may include but not be

limited to work, leisure, enlightenment, etcetera. Certainly, this is a major issue in the

work place. However, it is easy to overlook some of the other losses of productivity one

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may incur by investing so much time in social media. It seems fair to assume that

devoting so much time to anything has effects on true personal relationships. How does

the use of social media affect your personal relationships? Do you believe that social

media has the ability to distract you from your immediate family or significant other? If

you are an average user who spends over 3 hours on social media daily, perhaps it

would be more intelligent to ask the rhetorical question: how could it not? I seek to

dispel any notion that such investments of ones time are warranted. Consider what else

you could be doing with your time. By any account, in the near term, 3 hours is a long

time. I beg the question: What would America be like if its people chose to study

mathematics and the sciences, or read Hemmingway and Faulkner 3 hours a day?

Allow me to remove some of the grandeur. What if people chose to exercise, or invest

time in their families and relationships? What if students decided to do their homework?

The possibilities are endless. If everyone would substitute activities into their lives that

were actually enriching, we would all be happier and more successful. When put into

these terms, isnt it clear that average users of social media are cheating themselves?

While I admit that some benefits of investing your time in social media do exist, it is

clear that they are overshadowed by the exceeding preponderance of other enriching

possibilities.

Social media has an effect in the mental health of users. Many studies have

shown that a link exists between low self-esteem, decreased ability to concentrate, and

a feeling of loneliness to average use (1). Sites like Myspace and Facebook have been

specifically linked to low self-esteem and loneliness. I believe this may be a result of

viewing the profiles of other users. Consider that a typical user of such mediums

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wouldnt want to post negative or embarrassing media for obvious reasons. While not

posting the bad, it is natural to exaggerate the positive. This gives an unrealistically

positive view of the lives of others. I think that it is sensible to gather that this would

contribute to low self-esteem or a feeling of loneliness. Concentration is also certainly

effected. Sites such as Twitter have been linked to decreasing a persons ability to

concentrate (1). It is thought that the instantaneous accessibility of such sites may make

everything seem boring or uninteresting in comparison. Perhaps the most unhealthy use

of social media is reserved for virtual social worlds. Second Life is the most popular

member of this category. Second Life is a virtual world, wherein one may create an

avatar, or character to role play through. Users may have any experience they could

have in real life. Marriages, murders, break-ups, etcetera, it all happens in Second Life.

Studies have shown that the use of virtual social worlds by users with low self-esteem

increases the likelihood that a user will develop an obsession with such virtual worlds

(5).

While some advantages of using social media do exist, obviously some

disadvantages exist. The way you do or dont use social media is a personal choice that

each of us must make individually. For some, a happy medium may be found. Others

may choose to not use social media at all. Whatever your choice may be, the

disadvantages cited in this paper come with the territory. The detrimental effects are

clear whenever one considers personal privacy, productivity and psyche. The issue is of

course bigger than this paper, or our personal situations and experiences. With so many

of us using social media on a daily basis, the implications of these detriments could be

more devastating than we can imagine. After all, we are in the infancy of a social media

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experiment, arent we? With such a high percentage of young people investing so mu ch

of their time into social media, will this generation be prepared to inherit a world full of

real problems? I always try to be an optimist, and I sincerely hope that I am wrong. I

hope that the young among us will be prepared to move to the next level, and meet the

adversities of a complicated world head on. Try as I may, when the average college

student devotes over 3 hours a day to social media, I have my doubts. Is social media

really harmless?

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Works Cited

Wikipedia. Social Media. Accessed by Web, 02 May 2013

Pewinternet. Social Networking. Accessed by Web, 03 May 2013

Statista. Average Number of Facebook Friends. Accessed by Web, 03 May 2013

Marketingcharts. Average Time Spent Using Social Media. Accessed by Web , 03 May

2013

Tme. How Second Life Effects First Life. Accessed by Web, 04 May 2013