The effects of cell phones have been inevitable. Ever since cell phones came around there have been negative and positive effects due to their creation. Cell phones especially affect teenagers like the students at Hazelwood West High. I want to give teens a new perspective on social media. The positives of phones are that phones help people have better communication with family and friends, help reporters get the news out to more and more people around the world, and it also help people gain more knowledge. There are also some not-so-good things that cell phones have given people an opportunity to do. Social media can affect a person’s self – image, more people are lazy and don’t want to get out as much because of their cell phones, and you never know if you’re really talking to someone safe or dangerous and never know if they say who they say they are.
Cell phones have helped us communicate in an easier way. I think it is good to get into contact with family members especially if they do not live in the same area as you do. Communication is key to having a good relationship with friends or family and I just feel that social media has made that much easier and better to do. A source that I found explains how social media helps us communicate better. (Social media and communication). Social media connects us to all parts of the world and gives us a new way to express ourselves. We communicate in a lot of different ways and how social media has made that variety of ways much larger.
Social media makes it easier for people to get news or information out into the world. Social media helps us get the really important information and details out. We are also able to share with a wider variety of people from all over the world. In an article I found it states how the people that use social media use its power to build a colony of people around a cause and the users encourage those colonies of people to take a type of action. Social media can make a genuine impact even if certain circumstances are horrific because the information is still getting across. The site this was on was, (The positive side of social media).
People gain more knowledge from social media. Social media has a wide variety of sites and apps that people can go to and use for research or for fun. I also believe that when you talk and connect with different people of a different diverse area that you can also learn something new about the culture of that diversity or the lifestyle of how different people live. In an article that I found it states how people interacting with peers and exchanging their opinions can help you learn about the people you are interacting with. People who live in different states can learn from another state that isn’t theirs and open up their variety of knowledge. You can also take different kinds of classes online if you want to learn more about a certain subject. The article source I found is, (How does social media transform online learning?).
Social media can damage your self – image. I believe that social media has only ever made people’s insecurities worse. I know that both young women and young males have experienced wanting to look like someone else that they’ve seen on the internet. Social media has given people the chance to see what other people think the definition of perfect is and then those people looking at the “perfect people” start to feel insecure and hate the way they look or their bodies. I believe that every young female has experienced the feeling of hating the way they look and feeling like they are not good enough. In an article I found it states how social media has given people the chance to earn others approval for their appearance and comparing themselves to others. People who spend the most time posting on social media are the most exposed to self – image issues. The article I found is, (Pros and Cons of Social Media).
Social media has made everyone more lazy and not want to get out as much anymore. I feel that people are more obsessed with the internet and texting or posting or just scrolling through their phones that they lost sight of getting outside or doing something that does not involve their phones. Phones have made people just sit around the house all day and not socialize in person. In an article that I found it states how the more time you spend on social media the more you forget to socialize in person. When you spend so much time on social media it makes you forget simple tasks and then you just get lost in your phone. The article I found is, 7 (Ways In Which Technology Has Made Us Lazy).
Bullying has been made easier to perform due to social media. Social media introduced cyberbullying, where people can hurt you way easier, people can post hurtful things where thousands can see it. Whenever you post something it never truly goes away even when you can delete it and people can get those posts and use them against you. People can also hide who they are and bully you. In an article I found it states how cyberbullying won’t only affect the victim but a bystander and make them feel scared, helpless, and sad. Cyberbullying can affect someone’s self – esteem, cause them to be more isolated, and cause them to self harm. Cyberbullying can also affect people physically and make them feel sick sometimes. Cyberbullying gives people depression, loss of concentration, shame, and embarrassment. The article I found was, (Effects of Cyber-bullying).
Now that you have been exposed to some positives and negatives of social media, it is time for you to pick your side. After hearing how social media helps with better communication, getting information out, and gaining and learning more OR how social media has had an impact on a person’s self – image, has made people lazy, and how cyberbullying is possible because of social media. After hearing those decide if you think social media has been more positive or negative for our society.
