Mercado 1

Leslie Mercado
Professor Lewis
English 113A
11 December 2015
People with Social Media
Changes in technology and improvements in social media are affecting the way everyone
interacts. Inside the world of a screen, people are drawn to keep their eyes on their phones,
tablets, and social media apps. Kids these days are not seen outside of the streets playing but
instead are on their tablets. There are families not interacting during a family dinner at home or
at a restaurant. In this case, Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram is the perfect example of how social
interactions have changed from the traditional face to face. Social media is taking the world in
many countries by providing useful applications on cellphones and tablets. Apps like
Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram can help the person view/send messages, photos, videos, and
view posts. These apps are free but one may have the option to pay extra for better quality. On
the other hand, its changed how people communicate and share their identity. People from all
over the world are sharing their cultural backgrounds, food cuisine, hobbies, holidays, photos
from family to friends, and everything. These apps have also helped advertised businesses and
promote awareness for special causes. With billions of users now, the world is not the same as it
was before. Everyone in the world before social media was available, focused on the television,
radio, and having social interactions with one another. People from all ages are now more
focused on using Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram instead of living their lives causing them to
not maintain a social interaction with anyone.

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Looking at the younger generation, I agree part out of social media is affecting their
potential for building people skills. Young people are destined to not have a long flowing
conversation about topics and are having a hard time concentrating. According to the Pew
Research Center, an article named Teens, Social Media & Technology Overview 2015 a study
has shown that 92% of teens report going online daily including 24% who say they go online
almost constantly (Lenhart). Based on a survey for teens done by Pew Research Center starting
from 2014-2015, 52% are on Instagram, 41% are on Snapchat, and 33% are on Twitter.
Ultimately, what is at stake here is teenagers are not caring to let the devices down and being
social. This is an issue that should be fixed because teenagers are to focused on celebrities, the
gossip, and fashion. Or always looking on how many likes and followers one has.
I believe that teenagers should focus more for building people skills instead of being
constantly online daily. Building peoples skills can help them transition well from high school to
college. It can also help them do well in getting a job and pursuing a career. Being online and
using these apps would not do anything but provide their identity for others to see. Some jobs
look into peoples names on these apps to see if they are appropriate for the job. Building people
skills can help build connections which can help them get recommendation letters. In other
words, teenagers are to be active in conversations and in life.
Using Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram is becoming a distraction on people when theyre
in social events and private parties. Social gathering is for individuals to gather and have a great
time while enjoying the social life. Raine and Zickuhr stated, Many Americans view [mobile
device] as harmful and distracting to group dynamics, even as they cant resist the temptation
themselves. I agree that mobile devices are harmful and distracting because I have seen people
not conversing and ignoring others as they hold a device on their hand. Whether it is on public

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transportation, waiting in line, walking, at a restaurant, family dinner, meetings, at a church, and
etc.
People are becoming antisocial during social gathering and that is a major problem in
society. They are too busy trying to catch up with the latest news or worried about posting a
picture to show everyone what theyre doing. Most people rather avoid others and would use the
device for entertainment. Its also affecting social behavior and its changing how people treat
each other. With bad influences on the media, its making people not be polite among others. For
instance, whenever I show up to class within 20 minutes before class starts, students are on their
devices. As a class, I think students should be open to getting to know one another or work on
homework together. Meanwhile as time passes, there would be a sound of a ringtone or music
video playing the latest song. Ive noticed that whenever people let go of their device, their
attitude changes. They become more stable and begin talking and laughing with one another.
The media is also displaying improper English and hashtags causing people to interact
differently in person. For example, there are always posts with pictures that say, #TGIF, #OMG,
#TBT. Meaning thank goodness its Friday, oh my gosh, and throwback Thursday. Most of the
time, people dont write in full sentences or use punctuation on their posts. This shows that
people are accepting the new way of communicating. In other terms, its affecting how kids and
teens are learning. This new way of communication doesnt come with benefits in the real world.
If I am doing a presentation for a meeting, I am 100% sure that I wouldnt speak in hashtag or
speak improperly. People need to realize that this form of communication is unpresentable and
shouldnt be used in the media.
Social media is causing people to lose their identity and privacy. For instance, the article
Your Private Instagram Account Actually Wasnt from the Huntington Post (Beres), A

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Quartz report published Monday revealed a privacy hole on Instagram has been exposing the
photographs posted to private accounts. Meaning that anyone can have access to your account
via Instagram could click on one of your photos, copy its URL, and share it with anyone else.
Anyone with the URL could view the photo. It was reported by Instagram that the problem has
been fixed in response of Quartz (Beres). Knowing that privacy with Instagram is at risk, people
cant be confident if their account is private. No one is safe with a private account because
people can take screenshots. In result, some people who take screenshots are bond to bully and
say harsh words. Harsh words can affect the persons body image and self confidence within
themselves. Putting things on social media like Instagram for likes or followers shouldnt be the
option to satisfy others by the things were doing.
The media is making people compare their lifestyles among others by sharing pictures,
videos, posts, and body image. This is leading people to become self conscious of themselves
and become negative. These pictures, videos, and posts are becoming our ideal version of the
new trend nowadays. As an Instagram user, I like to view the new trends in clothing and look
upon my friends photos. I notice many of my friends get their ideas from accounts who post
trendy looks of the season. Many of these accounts are from popular businesses. Macys,
JcPenny, Gap, and more share deals for the holidays. Looking on my friends photos, they like to
post pictures on Snapchat to the places they go. Most of the time there would be videos that
appear mountain hikes and shopping. Whether its pictures of the new trend or sight seeing, it
becoming a huge influence on people to try new things or get the trendy look.
Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram play a role of danger on people because there are
predators and stalkers out there. These bad people can cause online users to lose their identity
and insecurity. It is often shown on the news how many teens are disappearing and are found

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dead. From the website of Enough-Is-Enough, it states, teens are posting tremendous amounts
of information on their online profiles, so it is vitally important that teens use strict privacy
settings and are say about the individuals they allow to view their social networking profile
(Allen). Many teens dont understand the importance of not keeping an account on private. Id
say its best if people limit on what they share online so there wouldnt be any problems in future.
With the media improving, danger rises, that is why its important for parents to view
what their child is doing. For instance, parents should set standards and limits on using Twitter,
Instagram, and Snapchat. Twitter is commonly used by teens and adults. In all of these sites,
people can send nudes pictures online and give their address to strangers to meet up. This can
cause a threat to teens because they may find it normal to easily make friends. Meeting someone
you dont fully know can affect the person. The stranger may be a child abuser or a serial killer
looking for victims to attack. We often hear the phrase stranger danger, but we dont take it
seriously. Another way to protect teens and adults is to properly educate and tell them the
dangers of social media.
The causes of not maintaining a social interaction are the apps that have Snapchat,
Twitter, and Instagram. Other than socializing, its affecting their potential for building people
skills. Being on these sites is distracting people to living their lives. People should be protecting
their identity and privacy. It maybe nice to share pictures, videos, and posts but one should think
twice about it. The best way to maintain a social interaction would be setting the phone, tablet,
laptop, or device aside. Or if going out to eat at a restaurant, you can leave the device at home in
a drawer or inside the pocket. One can be active at park, go hiking, or swimming with friends
and family. Another option is taking photos but wait later on the day to post them. These options
can help anyone maintain an interaction.

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Work Cited
Lenhart, Amanda. Teens, Social Media & Technology Overview 2015. Pew Research
Center. The Pew Charitable Trusts., 9 April. 2015. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
Rainie, Lee, and Zickkuhr, Kathryn. Americans Views on Mobile Etiquette. Pew
Research Center. The Pew Charitable Trusts., 26 Aug. 2015. Web. 11 Nov. 2015.
Beres, Damon, Your Private Instagram Account Actually Wasnt. Huffington Post, Huff

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Post Tech., 12 Jan. 2015. Web. 29 Nov. 2015.
Allen. Ernie, Dangers of the Social Web. Internet Safety 101, Enough Is Enough., Web.
29 Nov. 2015.