[infographic align=”left”][/infographic] – a nearly tenfold jump in the past decade. Nearly everywhere a person goes, they have access to the internet. Social media has affected many things in everyday life such as, school, relationships, political deliberations, news consumptions, teenage life, and stress levels in good and bad ways.
According to Pewinternet.org, 65 percent of adults now use social networking sites – a nearly tenfold jump in the past decade. Nearly everywhere a person goes, they have access to the internet. Social media has affected many things in everyday life such as, school, relationships, political deliberations, news consumptions, teenage life, and stress levels in good and bad ways.
Social media can spread information like wildfire. Pewresearch found that Facebook is the obvious news powerhouse among the social media sites. Roughly two-thirds (64 percent) of U.S. adults use the site, and half of those users get news there — amounting to 30 percent of the general population. Many traditional media reporters and editors use sites like Facebook and LinkedIn for story research. Most people find out about breaking news on a social media sites, sometimes minutes within it happening. According to Socialnetworking.procon.org, Social networking sites are the top news source for 27.8 percent of Americans, ranking close to newspapers (28.8 percent) and above radio (18.8 percent) and other print publications (6 percent).
The con to this ability to spread information quickly all over the world is that some information is often unreliable. For example, On Sep. 5, 2012 false rumors of fires, shootouts, and caravans of gunmen in a Mexico City suburb spread via Twitter and Facebook caused panic, flooded the local police department with over 3,000 phone calls, and temporarily closed schools.
Social media also impacts teenage lives and stress levels. According to a new study from Pew Research Center, 92 percent of teens report going online daily — including 24 percent who say they go online “almost constantly,”.
“In one week, I spend about 12 hours on my phone. I really like snapchat,” senior Ashley Craig said.
If kids are spending so much time on social media, how are they completing their daily task and responsibilities? Studies have shown that students who use social media had an average GPA of 3.06 while non-users had an average GPA of 3.82.
“I am on twitter and snapchat and instagram a lot but I still am able to keep a high gpa,” senior Janessa Schroeder said.
Social networking sites can also lead to stress and offline relationship problems. According to a Feb. 9, 2012 Pew Internet report, 15 percent of adult social network users had an experience on a social networking site that caused a friendship to end, 12 percent of adult users had an experience online that resulted in a face-to-face argument. Like it or not, social media is one of the most prevalent ways people learn about new movies, music, fashion, books, or other products. Twenty-eight percent of people say their friends on social media influence the music they listen to, 36 percent the TV shows and movies they watch, and 36 percent the brands and products they buy, according to Huffington Post. Maybe we can’t afford all the fancy new products our friends are buying. Maybe we’re too busy to follow the trends in music or fashion. Whatever the reason, it’s clear that the more we pay attention to our friends’ activities, tastes, and possessions, the more stress we report in our lives.
Another effect of all this social media is influence: We feel pressured to portray our ideal selves for everyone to see. We want people to see how fantastic and happy our lives so they think we are successful.
It’s obvious to see that there are many pros and cons to social media. It can help spread news and information, but it can also cause stress to to teens these days.
