Akram, Waseem, and Rekesh Kumar. “A Study on Positive and Negative Effects of Social Media on Society.” International Journal of Computer Sciences and Engineering, vol. 5, no. 10, 2017, pp. 347-354.
The article includes a brief review of the most popular social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, Tumblr, and others. Waseem and Kumar discuss that these services’ impact is beneficial in terms of communicational improvement and technology development and severe due to the consequent mental health and social issues. Besides, social media’s positive and negative sides are identified for business, education, society, and younger generations. The authors argue that web platforms and applications will inevitably change people’s lives, and legislative measures should be performed to decrease violence and protect children and teenagers from online abuse.
The two quotes suitable for the research are: “Social media diversifies teen’s social skills, which in turn helps them navigate successfully through modern society” (Akram and Kumar 353). “According to a report distributed by PewCenter.org, the greater part of the youngsters have progressed toward becoming casualties of the digital bulling over the past” (Akram and Kumar 352).
Allcott, Hunt, et al. “The Welfare Effects of Social Media.” American Economic Review, vol. 110, no. 3, 2020, pp. 629-76.
The review of social media’s effects is focused on its political aspects as the authors discuss how Facebook affects voting metrics and the users’ welfare. Hunt et al. offer evidence for Facebook’s effect on individual and social welfare measures. The experiment described in the article is based on surveys that appeared during the presidential election period, and the results showed the Facebook is beneficial in the users’ decision-making. The participants also had a 4-week detox from using the platform, and it significantly improved their well-being.
The two quotes suitable for the research are: “two-thirds of people agreed at least somewhat that “if people spent less time on Facebook, they would soon realize that they don’t miss it” (Allcott et al. 669). “Social media may create ideological “echo chambers” among like-minded friend groups, thereby increasing political polarization” (Allcott et al. 630).
Brooks, Bianca Vivion. I Used to Fear Being a Nobody. Then I Left Social Media. The New York Times, 2019.
The New York Times reporter experimented with leaving social media platforms to explore how a private life can change without constant online interaction. In the article, the influence of Twitter on personal traits and choices is described from a negative perspective. Modern society does not recognize an event as significant if it does not provide a reason to make a post. The author argues that giving social media up is difficult because people got used to sharing their lives’ occasions.
The quotes to apply in the research: “We feel we need as many people as possible to witness our lives, so as not to be left out of a story that is being written too fast by people much more significant than ourselves” (Brooks). “The idea that the happenings of our lives would be constrained to our immediate families, friends, and real-life communities is akin to social death in a world measured by followers, views, likes, and shares” (Brooks).
Donovan, Joan. “How Social Media’s Obsession with Scale Supercharged Disinformation.” Harvard Business Review, 2021.
The Harvard Business Review article discusses the strongly severe impact of fake information spread online. The author bases their thesis on the example of Russian influence on the U.S. election in 2016 and argues that social media platforms should not implement personal advertising algorithms. Then, the “QAnon” online community’s description is applied to discuss how the conspiracy theories wrongly perceived by society led to real criminal cases. Donovan concludes that establishing moderation and regulation policies for the social media platforms is crucial for the users’ real safety.
The quotes to implement in the research: “billions of advertising dollars were lost to fake impressions and clicks as more and more bad actors leveraged openness as a financial opportunity” (Donovan). “Social media moves the fringe to the mainstream, by connecting people with similar interests, tech companies must come up with a plan for content curation and community moderation that reflects a more human scale” (Donovan).
O’Reilly, Michelle, et al. “Is Social Media Bad for Mental Health and Wellbeing? Exploring The Perspectives of Adolescents.” Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, vol. 23, no. 4, 2018, pp. 601-613.
O’Reilly et al. analyzed the adolescents’ frequent usage of social media from the mental health perspective by establishing a study in the U.K. The participants aged 11-18 revealed that they find social media overuse dangerous for their mental health because it threatens their self-esteem, leads to anxiety, causes addiction, and is a place for cyberbullying. The research results argue that the approaches to use the platforms properly need to be studied at schools. Thematic analysis conducted by the authors submitted the adolescents’ awareness about the drawbacks of social media misuse; however, they lack self-control practices.
Quotes applicable for the research: “young people frequently report turning to sites such a Facebook and Twitter to escape from the external pressures threatening their mental health” (O’Reilly et al. 602). “The participants reported that social media exposes people to bullying and trolling, and thereby negatively impacts on mental health” (O’Reilly et al. 611).
Stier, Sebastian, et al. “Election Campaigning on Social Media: Politicians, Audiences, and The Mediation of Political Communication on Facebook and Twitter.” Political Communication, vol. 35, no. 1, 2018, 50-74.
The article explores the social media impact on society based on Facebook and Twitter’s political communication and provides evidence of how politicians influence the audiences. Stier et al. argue that people’s voting decisions are affected by these platforms’ algorithms, and the vocabulary used in messages might be confusing. Moreover, the study discusses the ethical aspect of utilizing social media in elections due to their impact on audiences’ behavior. The conclusion suggests that the real-world campaigns’ statements might differ from digital programs’, leading society to confusion and improper voting decisions.
Quotes to use in the research: “politicians and their audiences discuss different topics on social media than those salient among a mass audience” (Stier et al. 70). “Political audiences use social media overwhelmingly for Political Debates, to scrutinize the relationship between state and citizens and comment on Coalition Formation” (Stier et al. 65).