Social Media Negative Effects On Society

Social media is an integral part of today’s society and has become very popular upon today’s society. Although social media is very popular, it has its positive and negative effects in society. To understand the different point of views about the arguments of the positive and negative effects of social media, I have analyzed two different articles and gathered reasons and evidence that support the authors’ claim. I am going to argue that, of the two which is more effective based upon reasons and evidence pertaining to the claim.

The first article, written by Brian Jung begins to argue about the negative effects social media has on society and individuals. Jung starts the article out by stating that “Browsing these sites can make you feel connected

People have never known a time without Wi-Fi or social media, but now the existence of both is now dismissed as nothing but a fact of life. “Born during the smartphone era, this generation is actually the first digital cohort” [¶1]. Chell presents numerous reasons that supports her claim about the positive effect social media has on society. Chell’s first reason mentioned is that social media helps develop awareness and empathy. Social awareness includes consciousness of the hardships and difficulties people in society face. Chell provides an example by mentioning that someone stole a homeless man’s violin, and a social media user photographed him and posted it on Facebook with the caption “In hope that a Good Samaritan has a violin to give.” Exposure to these kinds of things can help people develop compassion and empathy. The second reason mentioned is that social media can improve social skills. Studies show that social media can positively impact friendships and help people to develop closer relationships with family and friends. Chell mentioned a young boy named Matthew who was suffering from depression. He decided to make an Instagram account and he received kind words and support from family, friends, and even strangers. Social media helped him to recover from depression and it also shared a message of hope with others like him. The third is that social media enhances creativity. Social media makes it easy for people to read about other people’s views and learn new insights from real people around the world. On Instagram for example, people can discover unique techniques and encourage each other to take up photography as a hobby. Will the trend of social media continue to latter into different generations “Social media is here to stay, so we most definitely better learn to live with it.”