Considered the first of all social media, SixDegrees.com existed from 1997-2001 as a site on which one could create a personal profile and connect to friends online. Friendster, which catapulted social networking into popularity, came next in 2002, but was overshadowed by MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter – in that order. These sites’ user demographics began with young people, but as time has gone by, more people over the age of 50 have joined. Many of these people use social networking to document their personal lives, and keep in touch with friends, but many also use sites to stay informed with modern events and politics.
This upcoming September will mark my six-year “Twitterversary.” Just two years shy of my “Facebookaversary,” I have spent a combined total of eight years using social media sites. As a nineteen-year-old, this is almost half of my life. All this time, I have known the exact consequences of my use. I know that I encounter quite a lot of unappealing, hateful, false, or irrelevant information, but still I read. I know I waste a tremendous amount of time using social media when I could be doing other more productive things i.e. schoolwork, but still I scroll. I especially know that my twitter use has negatively affected my mental health, but still I tweet. One might wonder why I, and so many others, continue to use social media knowing the negative effects, and many do argue that social media should be done away with completely for those reasons.
Most arguments for and against social networking usage can be boiled down to aspects that can affect users and the environments they live and work in, each aspect having a positive or negative flipside to them. When examined, the opposition tends to demonize social networking for its negative effects, putting the blame entirely on sites as if they are living, breathing entities, capable of possessing malicious agendas. Social media was intended to be helpful and useful, however, when improperly used, it can have negative effects i.e. the cons. The solution to this problem is fostering proper use of social media to mitigate the negative aspects. More productive use can be established by limiting overall use while increasing purposeful consumption, and decreasing passive consumption.
A major component of social networking usage is the economic impact. Social networking sites offer business women a unique support system not found offline where female CEOs of fortune 500 companies are outnumbered 474 to 26 (Pew Research Center). Twitter is the main platform available and used by women to speak and “support each other, give and receive peer knowledge, and have guest speakers share expert knowledge” (Said-Moorhouse & Backer). Furthermore, social media sites often help job seekers find employers, and vice versa. Many people use sites like LinkedIn and Craigslist, popular social networking platforms created solely for connecting job seekers to employers for professional positions or even odd jobs. 96% of recruiters polled used social media during the recruiting process, and 48% of jobseekers credited social media for helping to find their current job (Jobvite).
The flipside to this is that social networking poses a direct threat to productivity in the workplace, and it can actually harm job stability and employment prospects, when used negligently. An online survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management found that 50% of workers check their social media profiles at least once during work hours, (SHRM) and 67% of US workers access Facebook during work hours (Nucleus Research). This kind of behavior could cost a 50-person company 6,500 hours of productivity a year (GFI Software). Many recruiters also reconsider hiring applicants based on social media activities, and had negative reactions to profanity, poor spelling or grammar, guns, alcohol, sexual content, and references to illegal drugs (Morrison).
At its roots, social media was made to facilitate connectivity. The internet has brought every corner of the globe to one watering hole in the last 20 years. Many people report using Facebook to connect to their families, as well as current, and past friends (Duggan, Ellison, Lampe, & Lenhart). A vast majority of teens use sites like Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat to communicate with friends and most of that majority reports that those sites make them feel more knowledgeable on their friends lives and feelings. About half of teens also report that they make new friends via social networking (Lenhart, Smith, Anderson, Duggan, & Perrin).
On the complete contrary, social networking can almost completely disconnect users from relationships in the real world, and it can cause massive amounts of stress. About a third of teens have reported fighting with a friend either online or because of something that happened online (Lenhart). Procon.org references a study conducted in 2016 by students at UNC Chapel Hill that found that “overuse of social media as an adolescent could decrease success in relationships later in life because online communication hinders the development of conflict management skills, and awareness of interpersonal cues,” (UNC Chapel Hill). Another study also found that "active Twitter use leads to greater amounts of Twitter-related conflict among romantic partners, which in turn leads to infidelity, breakup, and divorce" (Clayton).
Some people flat out believe we should stop using social media altogether. This is not only impossible, but unnecessary. The Guardian asked readers if they’ve quit social media, and what effects that move had on their life. Many responded that they are less anxious, feel less like a failure, do not feel pressure to mold themselves into an internet personality, and have a more positive outlook on life now. These people said social media lacked genuine personas, and instead of seeing how their friends were doing they say what they were “liking” and sharing (Marsh). Monitoring the Future also conducts a survey of 8th through 12th graders every year, asking more than 1,000 questions about how happy they are, and how much of their leisure time they spend on various activities. The results are clear: the less time teens spend on social media, and the more time they spend actually interacting with one another, the happier they are (Twenge). So, is quitting completely the only way to handle the negative effects of social media? If users quit completely they miss out on the positive facets, so what if there was a way to reach a happy medium?
James Hamblin, MD, is a writer and senior editor at The Atlantic. He hosts the video series If Our Bodies Could Talk, and he is the author of a book of the same name. In the videos, and book, Hamblin draws from his own medical training as well as interviews with distinguished scientists and practitioners. He communicates answers to health questions often oversimplified or mischaracterized by the media. Hamblin, in a recent Atlantic article, suggests that users take a “day off” from social media, every other day. It is not necessary to completely do away with social media, but limiting use and breaking the “Pavlovian reaction” to notifications and alerts will create a different relationship with online sites (Hamblin). For younger users, who are often more susceptible to depression because of social networking use, The American Academy of Pediatrics agrees there is a productive method of use, and it involves reducing time using, and parental supervision. Limiting time does not mean cutting kids off socially, it means parents must encourage meaningful interactions with their children and others. Supervision allows users to carefully consider the content they post or the content they view, which creates more meaningful consumption of media (O’Keefe).
In all, social media is not what the public often thinks it is. Yes, there are negative outcomes when obsessively and constantly using social media – just like any other thing. There are also positive outcomes when social media is used properly and productively. Users must use social networking less, more carefully consider the manner in which they use it, and they must actually go outside and live in the world instead of through a screen.