Running head: WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH SOCIAL MEDIA?

What is the Deal With Social Media?

Sara Lespron
University of Texas at El Paso

WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH SOCIAL MEDIA?

Abstract
Social media is a growing epidemic that serves a variety of purposes. Because of this,
there is not one exact purpose as to why social media is so popular. With the advancement in
technology, it has become very easy to have access to the internet everywhere you go. Now it is
even easier to share your experiences with friends and family wherever, and whenever you want.
Social media is a powerful tool that when used correctly, it becomes beneficial. When it is used
without any knowledge of how social media works, then danger may be right around the corner.

WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH SOCIAL MEDIA?

What is the Deal With Social Media?

Introduction
Technology has advanced tremendously over the past few years. It all started out with
just a simple mobile device that allowed individuals to communicate with each other by phone
call. Now it has become so advanced that it seems that we cannot add to what has been
accomplished already. With this advancement in technology comes a variety of new ways to
communicate with each other. Text messaging, FaceTime, and now the new platforms of social
media. Social media plays a major role in todays society, but the question remains as to whether
or not it is beneficial.
What is Social Media?
Social media is an online interactive platform that allows individuals to communicate and
network with each other by sharing information. It is a tool that is used to meet new people,
share ideas, or even just to share a picture of what they ate for lunch. There are several social
media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. These platforms have
become increasingly popular among the younger generation as well as the older generation.
According to the Pew Research Center (2013), Fully 95% of those ages 12-17 use the internet.
With the majority of the youth using the internet, the purpose of social media is not fully
understood, for there may be infinite reasons as to why they use social media.
Social Media is Unhealthy
The purpose for social media platforms such as Instagram, and Snapchat, is to allow their
users to share information through photos and videos. These platforms have created an epidemic
of selfies. The term selfie, as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is, a picture that

WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH SOCIAL MEDIA?

you take of yourself especially by using the camera on your smartphone. With a variety of
filters, individuals can edit their photos to their liking, and share it with their friends/followers in
return for likes and comments. As they receive more likes and comments, they take more and
more selfies. This epidemic leads to a self-absorbed (narcissistic) society. Narcissistic traits
have reached epidemic proportions with serious consequences (MacDonald, 2014). These traits
are detrimental to the wellbeing of an individual. If their selfie does not receive the desired
amount of likes or attention, they may start to feel insecure. When they become insecure, their
confidence level drops lower and lower, and eventually they envy other social media users, or
people in general, for the amount of attention/approval that they receive. Once they develop a
lower self-esteem, they tend to focus more on how they look instead of what really makes them
happy.
Since technology has become part of the average person's everyday life, it has become
normal to use social media on a day-to-day basis. Being used as much as it is, social media is
becoming an addiction to society. According to AsapSCIENCE, 5-10% of internet users are
actually unable to control how much time they spend online, and Though its a psychological
addiction as opposed to a substance addiction, brains scans of these people actually show a
similar impairment of regions that those with drug dependence have. The constant use of social
media is slowly adjusting your brain to desire the feelings that you experience while using social
media.
In addition to social media affecting the wellbeing of individuals in todays society, there
are other dangers when it comes to privacy. According to the Pew Research Center, from 2006 to

WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH SOCIAL MEDIA?

2012, there has been an increase in the number of individuals who post personal information
online. 1

Also, 16% of teen social media users have to set up their profile to automatically include
their location in posts (Madden, 2013). Social media is open for anybody and everybody to use,
and with that comes the danger of fake profiles and stalkers. Yes, an individual can set their
profile to private, but they may never know how many of their followers have fake identities.
These fake profiles can basically see all the personal information that is not meant for them to
see. If the location is setup to automatically appear when an individual posts a picture, then they
are setting themselves up in real danger.
Social Media has its Perks
Social media has changed society in a variety of ways. It has allowed individuals to meet,
and interact with new people who share common interests. Facebook allows it users to create
groups so that they can have their own private page where they can socially interact. This is a

Source: Pew Internet Parent/Teen Privacy Survey

WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH SOCIAL MEDIA?

great tool for organizations to create their own page, or account in order to attract more
followers.
A great way to use social media is for marketing. Of course, there is the traditional type
of marketing such as newspaper ads, radio commercials, etc. Social media allows businesses to
target more customers. They are able to attract followers by having exclusive discounts that can
only be found through social
media, or by selecting random
winners for a free product.
Another tool that is used by
businesses is that they offer
free products to individuals
who have a high number of
followers, but in return, they
need to promote the product
that they received by posting a
picture with a tag of the business. 2
The Solution
Social media plays a major role in today's society. Individuals need to take the time to
really understand the dangers of the the information that we put for everyone to see. One way to
achieve this solution is to have public service announcements to educate society about

Source: http://monitorgroup.org/tag/strategy

WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH SOCIAL MEDIA?

everything we need to know about social media. Also, to educate the people how to take a break
from using their phones all day.

WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH SOCIAL MEDIA?

References
MacDonald, P. (2014). Narcissism in the modern world. Psychodynamic Practice, 20(2),
144-153. doi:10.1080/14753634.2014.894225
Madden, M., Lenhart, A., Cortesi, S., Gasser, U., Duggan, M., Smith, A., & Beaton, M. (2013).
Teens, social media, and privacy. Pew Research Center, 21.Retrieved from
http://www.lateledipenelope.it/public/52dff2e35b812.pdf
Miller, D., Costa, E., Haynes, N., McDonald, T., Nicolescu, R., Sinanan, J., . . . Wang, X.
(2016). Academic studies of social media. In How the World Changed Social
Media (pp. 9-24). London: UCL Press. Retrieved from
http://0-www.jstor.org.lib.utep.edu/stable/j.ctt1g69z35.9