Thursday, October 11, 2012

The Negative Effects of Facebook and Its Impact on Future Generations

Facebook has become one of the fundamental social networking services that has changed the course of social interactions on a individual and global scale. The social media site, created by a college student Mark Zuckerberg and his roommates, contains over a billion users worldwide which provides connections to families, friends, schools, organizations, businesses and more. It is still a growing force that has become apart of the growing process of the youth across the nation and the world. Facebook has created a link between the virtual and real worlds in peoples lives and gives the actions committed on Facebook real life value. This gives way to new problems that have developed with the rising usage of the site which is depression and obsession. Younger generations are growing up with social media juggernauts such as Facebook and greatly impact their psychological growth and socialization skills.

Facebook studies reveal negative psychological effects.

According to a study by Larry Rosen, a psychology professor at California State University, “excessive indulgence in social media portals–especially Facebook–leads to increased antisocial behavior and hampering psychological disorders”. In Rosen’s study, students who frequently used Facebook during studying resulted in worse grades than those students who didn’t use it. Also, it cause “sleeping problems” and increased “anxiety and depression”. Younger generations are exposed early to social media sites and are on these sites for long periods of time. Social interactions in-person are replaced by those online interactions that impact the self-esteem and communication patterns of the younger users. How you are viewed online affects your self-image and those interactions online, such as likes and comments, effect how you view your self-worth. A video from an ABC affiliate details the experiences of students and adults and the negative impact it can have on their lives including depression and overall emotion.

 Facebook linked to depression rise

The negative impacts are clear but the key need for Facebook can not be ignored.

Dr. George Gates explains that the new social media frontier is challenging to define and deal with because it is being used by so many so fast. Personal negative effects cannot be ignored but usage is the key to prevent these issues. Facebook helps connect and create mass amounts of information that is needed for the growth of our society. The internet is key for educational and social development as well. It is up the people to know their limits within using this new technology so it helps their lives rather than create new problems. Dr. Gwenn O'Keeffe, a Boston-area pediatrician and lead author of new American Academy of Pediatrics social media guidelines, agrees that benefits should not be overlooked in this MSNBC article. “Benefits of kids using social media sites like Facebook shouldn't be overlooked, however, such as connecting with friends and family, sharing pictures and exchanging ideas. A lot of what's happening is actually very healthy, but it can go too far." Awareness needs to be made to identify these problems and teach old and new users of social networks how to properly use these sites so they can benefit rather than hinder.

Facebook has personally affected my emotional and informational ties.

It may be easy to dust off the effects stated above. Some may say, “These are just extreme cases, they don’t pertain to me.” I disagree. The number of friends you have, the number of likes and comments directly impacts your self-esteem and self-worth. If I lost friends on Facebook, whether they are “real” friends or not, I would feel less connected to the world and less important than before when I had that large friend counter on my profile. It provides a comfort knowing that you are known and loved. The point of posting a “status” in the first place is to receive feedback and attention from others that you could not get in your personal lives. Whether we like it or not Facebook and other social networks have a direct impact on our personal lives and our psychological state. It is a phenomena that has been entrenched into our globalized society and it is our duty to use this as a tool for the better rather than an addiction or obsession. Too much of anything is never a good thing.

4 comments:

  1. This is an awesome post with interesting data, story structure and explanatory head/subheads. Excellent!

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  2. Curtis, the explanatory titles of each paragraph were very helpful in quickly understanding and preparing for what I was about to read. I agree that the monitoring of number of likes and comments directly correlates to self esteem. I know that personally if I post a status, I feel better about myself if there are multiple likes and comments on it. I'm sure people abstain from posting on Facebook because of a fear of not being "liked." This issue definitely can cause psychological issues to the insecure Facebook user. However, the ramifications behind Facebook go beyond the psychological effects. In fact, the development of Facebook and its endless bounds to networking has become increasingly dangerous to relationships. Now more than ever, girlfriends and boyfriend, husbands and wives are all under the strict magnifying glass of Facebook. If you get a poke from someone random, it could be the end of your relationship. If you feel the urge to contact another female and then your wife or girlfriend sees your conversation.. well, your relationship can be over. The endless ways to ruin a relationship through Facebook is ridiculous. Many people are even deactivating their accounts to spare them the worry of covering up their tracks. In 2011 alone, a third of all divorce filings contain the word "Facebook," and numerous Facebook pages have been pulled up in depositions to justify the breakup. The danger of Facebook is ever extending because it essentially encompasses the entirety of ones life. If you have something to hide, or something you are guilty about, don't put it on Facebook, or your happy relationship may soon come to an end. (source: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/facebook-relationship-status/story?id=16406245#.UHsPa7RGz2A)

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  3. This is an excellent and interesting article and I have a great understanding of how dangerous 'Facebook' can be. To piggy back off of Ben's comment I also related this blog post to an article that I read for a mass media class I took last semester. In the article they discuss how 'Facebook' is not only leading to an increase in divorces, But it is also becoming the main source of evidence in divorce cases. This article shows that a negative effect 'Facebook' has on relationships, But also it's ability to ensure the truth of the relationship is presented in court. Cheaters can be exposed and innocent spouses are not punished for the infidelity of their partners.
    http://allfacebook.com/facebook-becoming-main-source-of-evidence-for-divorce-lawyers_b22702

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  4. It is simple, we should all use technology wisely and responsibly to avoid negative effects.

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