Walker Dunaway Ms. Lehmann English 2-2A 6 February 2020 Social Media is Complicated Seneca once said, “Everything that exceeds the bounds of moderation has an unstable foundation.” This applies to social media as well. Social media’s impact on teens is complicated, affecting well-being, connections with others, and even academic performance. In order to be wise users of social media, teens need to know how it impacts their well-being. The effect of social media on teens’ well-being is complicated. Social media offers teens the ability to talk to people with similar experiences, challenges, and struggles anonymously, which gives them desired support. James et al writes, “The ability to communicate anonymously can mitigate barriers, such as shame, that interfere with support-seeking offline” (72). The authors explain that social media allows teens to ask for help and receive support they might not ask for otherwise because they can remain anonymous. While social media does offer anonymous support, that is not the only way adolescents use social media. Often times, people who use social media compare themselves to others or even experience crimes such as cyberbullying. James et al explain the negative impacts of social media on young adults’ well-being. “Several investigations document correlations between heavy media use and reduced well-being – related outcomes, such as diminished life satisfaction, internalizing negative experiences, and various dimensions of ill-being, such as depression, anxiety, attention problems, and stress” (James et al 72). When social media is used too much or irresponsibly, it can have serious, negative effects on people’s lives. Limiting time on social media and using it responsibly could help increase the positive effects on well-being while decreasing the negative. Social media not only impacts well-being, but can influence our relationships to other people as well. When examining the effects of social media, we cannot only examine the media itself, but must also consider the personalities of its users. “The child’s personality – not the platform – is the more important factor when determining the influence of social media” (K.Y. 18). Every social media user is different, so its impacts are different for every user. The one consistent finding is that an excessive use of social media increases negative effects. The amount of time teens spend on social media has increased since 2012. “The proportion of teens who use social media multiple times a day has doubled over the past six years. In fact, 38 percent of teens today say they use social media multiple time an hour, including 16 percent who say they use it ‘almost constantly.’” (K.Y. 18). The excessive use of social media has led to the loss of physical communication. This causes the lack of face to face communication can lead to depression of even loneliness. Some argue the social media has only positive effects. While this sounds good, the reality is that social media’s impact is complicated and can be negative. Research has shown that too much time spent on social media has a negative impact on academic performance. Peir-Velert et al writes, “Regarding academic performance, overall sedentary SMU[screen media usage] is indirectly related to it, either because screen time displaces homework and learning... or because it involves intermediate processes that negatively affect academic performance” (7). When young adults use social media excessively, it lowers sleep time, which causes lower academic achievement. It is obvious that social media’s effects are not all positive. Social media is complicated and should be used responsibly. Teens can control how social media affects them. If teens use social media wisely, it can improve their well-being, connections with others, and academic performance. Monitoring time spent on social media can curb negative effects. When spending time in person with others, teens can strengthen connection by putting down their phones. Scheduling time to be off the phone and sleep can improve academic performance. By exercising moderation in social media use, teens can create a more stable foundation for their lives.
Works Cited
James, Carrie, Katie Davis, Linda Charmarman, Sara Konrath, Petr Slovak, Emily Weinstein
And Lana Yarosh. “Digital Life and Youth Well-Being, Social Connectedness, Empathy, and Narcissism.” Pediatrics, vol.140, no. S2, November 2017, pp. 71-75. Academic Search Premier, doi : 10.1542/ peds.2016-1785F. Accessed 21 January K.Y. “Social Media and Teens.” School Library Journal, vol.64, no. 10, pp 18-18 October2018,Academic Search Premier, Accessed 21 January 2020. Perió-velert, Carmen, Alexandria Valencia-peris, Luis M. Gonzales, Xavier Garcia-Massó, Pilar Serra Añó, and Jose Devís-Devís. “Screen Media Usage, Sleep Time andAcademic Performance in Adolescents: Clustering a Self-Organizing MapsAnalysis.” PLOS ONE, vol.9, no.6, June 2014, pp 1-9. Academic Search Premier, doi : 10.1371/journal. pone. 0099478. Accessed February 2020.
1. Explain the process you went through to write this paper. Please be specific. First we need to read the research paper that someone else wrote to then start the cornell notes to help us in the writing of the research paper it's self. 2. What qualifies this paper as an argumentative essay? What are the requirements for this genre and how did you meet them? A argumentative essay needs to include an argument, rebuttal, quotes, and title. 3. Explain one thing you learned about reading research or taking notes on research that you can apply to your next research paper. I learned that cornell notes are way more important than a person may think.