P2

Positives and Negative Effects of Social Media 

Primary Research 

Questionnaire sheets:

For the question overall do you think social media is good or bad they said that it depends but then said overall they think that social media is bad.





For this persons answer for their answer for social media being good or bad was that it depends on how they use it, they didn't say it was good or bad but it was both but can depend.





For this persons answer they said that social media was good but didn't give a reason on the sheet but when I asked them they said it was fine if you don't have people who complain a lot however when we continued to talk about it and I brought up something about it they agreed with it being bad and ended up saying that it depends.

Overall they thought that social media was bad and said because it brings out the worst in people.






Overall they said that social media is good and also said in their answers that it isn't social media that's bad it's the people who use it.

Summary 

From the questionnaires the most common answer for is social media good or bad was both being good and bad and it depends. Two said it was good however one said that it's not perfect implying it's not completely good and the other just said it was good. Then the people who said it was bad, one thought it was just bad and the other said it does depend but then came to a conclusion about it being bad, showing that they thought about it but think it's bad. Then two said it depends but one when going into more depth about social media thought that it was actually bad but is still good. These answers show that people still think it's bad, meaning that social media isn't just good because it has many flaws and theres always some negative to it, it doesn't just have positives and it shows that people have had negative experiences with social media otherwise they could've just said that social media was just good but some say it depends and someone like I said before said it was good but not perfect and in their other answers show that they think it is negative too.

Secondary Research 

Research from online

Website name: TECHMAISH.com

Link to website: https://www.techmaish.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-social-media-for-society/

On this website they describe both positive and negative effects social media has on society. On the website they give 10 disadvantages and 10 advantages of social media. By the sounds of it the advantages of it mostly include connecting with people but you can also do that in real life, education, help - sharing your issues, information and updates, promotion,, awareness, noble cause, improving business, builds a community , connectivity, these all relate in some way, however they are all not necessarily completely positive in my opinion.

The positives about social media all can be categorised in a similar way since promotion could be promoting businesses - which links with the business reputation and it can promote awareness and awareness can fit in with the help idea, since they could post something to make people aware and then if it happens enough they could promote awareness and the disadvantages such as cyberbullying, hacking, addiction, fraud scams, security issues, reputation, cheating and relationship issues, health issues, social media causing death, these are things that can effect a lot of people and its all to do with people in this case effecting them with their lives, the positives effect business but can effect people in a good way however it can cause negatives since you don't know who you can trust online.

The website says that there are positives and negatives on society but these are enough advantages and disadvantages to decide which was to go on the social media, so its like its saying you make the decision because there can be positives and negatives either way, so you choose yourself since they are saying they both balance each other out.

Website name: SocietyMediaToday

Link to website: https://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/social-media-good-thing-or-bad-thing

On this website SocietyMediaToday they discuss if social media is a good thing or bad thing. They said that there are two sides of everything and that it depends on your perspective on how you perceive it. Some of the positive effects they said were friends and relations, because it starts as a place to connect with your friends in an easy and convenient way. Another was that it reduces communication barriers, because they are able to communicate our thoughts and perceptions over different topics with a large number of audiences and raise our voice. The final example of a positive effect they gave was that it gives opportunities for businesses, this way they can promote their products.

Some of the negatives they talked about was that it leads to addiction, they said that many studies have shown that extensive use of social media can actually cause addiction to users since throughout their day they feel the need to post something on their pages or check others posts. Another negative they said was that it leads to isolation and said that extreme usage of social media has reduced the level of human interaction because of social networks the interaction with other people has become effortless and people have isolated their lives behind their online identities and that face to face communication and meetings has been reduced and many have lost the flavour and charm to be together under one roof. The last negative they talked about was that it is affecting productivity and they said that mostly businesses use social media to find and communicate with clients but is a great distraction to employees, who may show more interest with what their friends are posting than in their work tasks. They also said Wired.com posted two studies which demonstrated damage to productivity caused by social networking.

After discussing both of these on the website they did a conclusion and in it they said that they have mentioned a few positive and negative points of social media but it doesn't explain that social media is a good or bad thing, they also said that it stands somewhere in between. 

Website name: Makeuseofus

Link to website: https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/negative-effects-social-media/

On the website Makeuseofus they start off by saying if you can't imagine your life without social media, that's a sign that you're fallen a victim to the evil power and the impact of social networking, and then say that it also means that you've experienced one or more of the negative effects of social media on society. After this they say that while social media can have a positive impact too, that doesn't mean it's all hearts and flowers. They then talk about exploring the darker side of social media and how (and why) it's bad for you.

One of the seven bad effects social media has on people/society that they mention is that it causes depression and anxiety and then after they say that it can cause that they say so how can you use social media without causing yourself psychological distress and tell you that the recommended time is half an hour per day and say as with many things in life, it's all about moderation. However this isn't a very good strategy in my opinion since like previous points it can be addictive and it can or could still effect you psychological distress and it could possibly make it worse since you might feel the need to do something like everyone else.

The next negative effect they said was cyberbullying, they said that someone can be bullied online anonymously and that while social media made making friends easier, it also made it easier for predators to find victims. They then say that the anonymity that social networks provide can be used by the perpetrators to gain peoples trust and then terrorize them in front of their peers. After saying this they go on to say these online attacks often leave deep mental scars and even drive people to suicide in some cases and said you'll be surprised to find out that cyberbullying isn't just affecting kids, but also full grown adults.

The third negative effect that they said was FOMO (Fear of Missing out) and they say that its a common negative effect of social media, since its anxiety that you are missing out in a positive experience or emotions that someone else is getting, this fear is constantly fueled by your social media engagement.

The fourth negative effect they addressed was unrealistic expectations and go on to say that it helps you form unrealistic expectations of life and friendships and said that the networks that did it the most are Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, those are social media platforms that severely lack online authenticity. They said that a simple way out of that is for everyone to quit lying on social media but in the era of Instagram celebrities and YouTubers who earn millions but that isn't going to happen anytime soon.

The fifth negative effect is body image they say that today, body image is an issue for many people of both sexes and that of course seeing those perfect in agreement with society standards people on a daily basis makes you conscious about how different you look from those pictures and not everyone comes to the right conclusions in this situation.

Their sixth negative effect was unhealthy sleeping patterns they said that on top of increased rates of anxiety and depression, spending too much time in social media can lead to poor sleep and numerous studies have shown that increased use of social media has a negative effect on your sleep quality and they said that if you feel sleep patterns have become irregular and that this is affecting your productivity try and avoid spending a significant amount of time on social media.

Their final point was general addiction and they said that social media is often described as being more addictive than cigarettes and alcohol and they said with the worse social media apps being Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat when it came to addiction. Overall this website talks about the negatives showing that social media is mainly negative.


On the same website on a different page of it they did one on just the positives.

Link to website: https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/positive-impact-social-networking-sites-society-opinion/

For this page they had only six positives and they had seven negatives. One of the positives they said was social media makes it easier to make friends and said that one of the biggest positives of social media is that it has never been easier to make friends. Just a few decades ago it was pretty tough to connect with people, unless you were the overly outgoing type able to make conversation with anyone and everyone at a party. The next positive was social media fosters empathy, they said they will listen to what you have to say and help you deal with any problems you may be facing. The next positive was social media allows for speedy communication. The positive after this was social media makes the world seem smaller, they said that it isn’t just your inner circle of close friends and even closer family members that social networking sites allow you to communicate with easily and effectively. One of the good things about social media is its power to open the world up to you, making it a smaller place than it has ever been before. The fifth point was social media helps you build relationships and then said that social networks can put you (back) in touch with people who you have lots in common with, and that common ground is often the starting point for long-lasting relationships. Their final positive was social media helps you find common ground and they said that as previously mentioned, social networking sites can help you find people you share interests with. Facebook, for example, asks you to list who and what you are interested in right from the start. This makes it much easier to find common ground with other users.

Overall they say that there are positives and negatives and that it depends even after listing six positives.

Website name: WEBHOSTINGMEDIA

Link to website: https://webhostingmedia.net/social-media-effects/

On this website they talk begin with people share their weekend, their food, their clothes and anything else from the most important to the most ridiculously unimportant things and say that its just how things are now and say how we get addicted to things like likes and social media impressions as if they actually meant something in real life, so within the first couple of paragraphs they are saying that it can be bad but say that there isn't anything wrong with the platform itself and say how no social media network did anything wrong, the problem is the way a lot of people use it and the role it plays in our lives, which sounds like they are saying social media would or could be good but people ruin it.

They came up with eight reasons for why social media is bad and before they start listing them they say that it doesn't do anything to people it only reveals them and say a couple more valid things about it but I also think that social media can change people over a while due to the problems with social media. Some of the reasons were:

1. It's incredibly addictive - They say that most experts have already proven that internet and computer addiction is a real thing and people are constantly hooked on their phones, seeking a distraction and that by now there might even be s facebook addiction disorder, because it matches the criteria of an addiction, they then explain how it is.

2. Self-image issues - They say that the notion that advertisements, magazines and movies affect teens and even adults body image has been around for quite some time and that it enforces a thin ideal, an idea of manliness and influences the idea people have about what they should look like and say that in 2016, psychologists have found plenty of evidence in numerous cultures, on how social media affects body image concerns and that social media sites provide tools that allow people to earn others approval for their appearance and the possibility to compare themselves to others. They then say that thanks to all the social media and simple photo editing tools, all the selfieholics can now alter their bodies and censor what they don't like about themselves and say how they put make up on at home and post an image on Facebook or Instagram and say that it's like a beauty pageant everyday.

3. The illusion of control - They said that if you really double down on it and spend some time crafting decent social media profile, you can really seem like you got your things together and that it can actually make you believe if you work at it and that there are many aspects you can't control when it comes to how you look.

4. It can make you feel lonely - They ask a question for you to think about and say ever spent some time sitting alone in a room, scrolling on social media and thinking how utterly lonely you felt, which shows that social media can make you feel lonely.

5. A fear of missing out - On the website they say that studies conducted in 2016 have shown that people, especially teens and young adults who spend more than two hours on social media sites, are much more likely to show psychological distress and they say that this is partially why people feel isolated when using social media. They also say more on this like they do with all of the points.

6. It drives more sadness than happiness - For this point they said that by constantly using Facebook as a distraction and to establish a feeling of connectedness, we achieve the exact opposite and that a study conducted in 2013 with young adults has shown that a constant use of Facebook brings less moment-to-moment happiness and that the fact that people are able to instantly connect is pretty awesome but in continuous use it actually brings a feeling of social isolation.


7. The delusion that it elevates your mood - They said that since its addictive, we keep coming back to social media, seeking that extra dose of dopamine, thinking that it actually makes us feel good, it's similar to an addiction to alcohol or any other substance, e think that another hit will help us.

8. The rise of cyber bullying - They have said that cyberbullying is a growing concern, due to the horrific effects it had on teens over recent years and with growing social media platforms, anyone can be subjected to trolling and bullying and everyone had at least one friend who posted an unwanted picture of him or her and sometimes it doesn't stop there and people are made a laughing stock in a matter of hours and you just have to look at the comments section of a post that ignited any kind of conflict.

They then talked about the positives, they listed five positives, which were; it can save you in case of an emergency because during a tornado season, the interconnectedness social media platforms offer can be great for help, if people see bad weather approaching on the horizon they can repost it instantly on Facebook or any other platform and it had apparently saved hundreds of people in the United States in 2011. Another one of the positives was enhanced connectivity and they that the line between enhancing our communication and relying on social media for it is very thin and they said it can definitely do what it was made to do, which is cultivate and strengthen relationships, they also said that of you feel in a really bad mood, social media provides you with the possibility to engage with a friend, which can be a life saver sometimes.

Another was that it can be a voice of reason because they seek awareness to certain social issues and they help people with disabilities and others. The next reason they said was it's a place for content discovery because it's easy for you to find content that serves your interests, it also offers an opportunity to creative individuals to showcase their work or market it as a product, that makes people think outside the box and allows them to come up with content that shares valuable information. They said that another positive was it helped in getting help because you can share your issues and interests or connect with a group that shares them with you. They also said that it's easy to post questions regarding specific problems and someone helps out. The final positive they said was that it provides an awesome marketing tools and that social media created a brand new phase in marketing because it provides interaction and say that it's about engaging in a conversation with potential clients and that business use Facebook and Twitter to establish a reputation and gives you a stronger online presence and to build their brand.

Their conclusion was social media doesn't change anybody into an egoistic selfieholic, it only reveals them and that while there may be too much personal broadcasting going on through these sites, that's not what they are all about, they can both genuinely connect us and help us communicate more efficiently, or just feed our egos and our need for others approval. And their overall opinion was that at the end how we use it depends on the individual decisions we make.

Summary 

After going on four different websites one of which has two different pages one made for the negatives and one for the positives, I have gathered that social media can be both negative and positive depending on how you use it, however I'd say that it is mostly negative from these websites since one said it was bad and on the positives said it depends, showing that they think it's more bad otherwise they could've said at the end of the negative page that it can depend and most websites have more negatives about social media than positives and most of the positives are the same and all the negatives are very different. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion I think that social media is bad. Sure there are positives to social media but for every positive there is a negative side to it and for every negative side there isn't always a positive, such as meeting new people, yes it can be a positive but sometimes people can fake their age and they can stalk you on social media and if you did meet a new person it can affect you since you might become good friends and then you meet more people and it's all good at the start but then it can fall apart easily because of what they are actually like and many things can happen. If you are using social media and say something appears on your feed or something and say if it's of a person and they look the way the media want them to look like it can make you self conscious about how you look and can make it worse for them and it can make them depressed because everyone tries to look the same because of the media saying that this is how people should look through photoshop or them getting  plastic surgery. They can cause a lot of damage to a person and then people can become obsessed and becomes very negative and can ruin relationships because it can cause trust issues and social media can make people hostile and you can't tell how the other person sounds and people can assume the worse and because they have the freedom to say anything they can say anything they want and sometimes social medias like Facebook don't even care about looking into something if it's been reported sometimes so they don't take it down and you can't report something if its inappropriate, you have limited options for reporting something. Like I said social media has it's positives but they have negatives and there are more negatives than positives because of how people are and that won't change and this can bring out the worst in people, which is why it's harder to make friends since everyone has different ideas of friends and even though it's easy to talk to people and find them, they aren't always the right people and can make your life worse and can make you have problems with yourself because you think you aren't good enough so it makes it harder to make friends and when you hangout with people because some are so obsessed instead of just hanging out with the person they go in their phone and some check it every now and then because they want to see news about something they follow, if there is any and can ruin things and I honestly think it's better meeting up in real life than talking online, since you can hear how the person actually feels and they don't need to or can't hide it and you can show them you care through actions because it's like that saying actions speak more than words and social media just brings out the worst in people. Another thing is social media can make people isolated or antisocial because they become so used to speaking online that when they come to meet the person in real life it might become difficult since they've never met them or haven't spoken to someone in a while in real life and get used to talking online only and so on.