How Does Social Media Affect Society Essay

Social media has taken a big toll on our everyday lives. Social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat allow you to connect with just about anyone. According to Cornell University’s Steven Strogatz, social media sites can make it more difficult for us to distinguish between the meaningful relationships we foster in the real world, and the numerous casual relationships formed through social media. Social media has become an unquestionable part of our everyday lives. According to Booth, studies have shown that people actually are becoming more social and more interactive with others, but the style of that communication has changed so that we’re not meeting face-to-face as often as we used to and he also says, â€Å"We’d rather email than meet, and we’d rather text than talk on the phone. â€Å"Hearing from our friends and family makes us feel important and loved†¦. We don’t want to be the last to know about some important, or even trivial, event of interest,† says Dr. Joanne Cantor. And our gadgets help quell that insatiable curiosity that we’ve had since we were babies. Social media isn’t always negative. It can help build self-esteem such as when you post a picture on Instagram or Facebook and you see comments saying, â€Å"You’re beautiful† or â€Å"that’s a pretty picture.’’ Negative Effects of Social Media Teenagers are negatively impacted by social media view by the way they show their personal image and beauty standards. The sizes of celebrities often influence teens. Magazine advertisements also encourage teens to think they have to look a certain way to be considered beautiful or handsome. Teens should be taught to value their own talents and beauties. TV and movie programs encourage characters to use drugs, alcohol, and violence. The satisfaction and successfulness of drugs, alcohol, and violence are making it hard for teenagers to make responsible decisions. It is up to the parents to teach their teens about the negative consequences  that come with risky behavior activity. Being on to much social media can lead to addiction and take away time to do other tasks. Secondly, kids can see images on social media that encourage violence and sexual activity. Another negative affect of the social media is that users shares too much information which can pose a threat to them. Even with the heavy security settings your personal information may spill out on the social sites. Posting your videos or pictures and copying your status is an easy task and can be done within few clicks.