Impact of Social Media on Youth and their Relations

Impact of Social Media on Youth and their Relations Introduction In todays modern era, complete with digitization and technological advancements, social media such as online networking sites have been successfully integrated into the everyday lives of almost every individual on the planet. Social media has embedded itself in the foreground of this digitized age and has defined its place by attracting people, both laymen and researchers, due to their increased affordability and reach. Since the introduction of these sites, such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace, these online worlds have become so popular among the newer generations that they have been completely integrated as a basic part of their everyday lives. This warrants the need that is commonly seen in todays youth, where checking the notifications or news on online social platforms has become as necessary and integral as buying groceries or going to school. To understand the way in which social networking sites affect personal relationships and offline social life of the youth in todays generation, we first need to understand the core aspect and defining features of social networking sites and online social media in general. According to Ellison Danah (211), social networking sites can be defined as online platforms that help individulas by allowing them to create a profile, which may be public or semi-public. This profile can then be used to construct a list of other users with whom they share some kind of relation or connection. They can further traverse through numerous lists and build their social profile by creating more connections and strengthening their network of interconnected profiles. Social networking sites can also be differentiated on the basis of some subtle nuances that separate one particular site from another. The most basic difference is on the basis of the social culture that a particular site creates among its use rs. Some sites encourage and enable the strengthening of pre-existing connections by empowering people to connect with their loved ones, such as friends and family, on a social platform. Other sites encourage interaction between strangers on the basis of common interests and influences. These sites provide a platform for discussion and sharing of points of similar interests between total strangers. On the other hand, social networking sites also differ on the basis of the audience that the site caters to. Some sites cater to a wid and diverse population of audiences, while others are restricted to individuals belonging to a certain cultural or racial background (Ellison and Danah 210). By listing the basic aspects that make up online social platforms, we can now proceed to analyze the various means by which these sites affect the interpersonal relations of youth in an offline scenario. This area of analysis can be approached by dwelling into the basic reasons due to which the youth join social networking sites in the first place. Areas of Impact Of Social Networking Sites There have been numerous questions which have been raised in terms of the adverse and detrimental effects which social networking sites have on interpersonal relationships of the youth in today’s world. The major question that has been gnawing at the conscience of researchers, scholars and laymen is whether social media is becoming more of a tool for limiting and degrading the lives of the youth instead of just being a public forum or platform of discussion. Some of the areas in which social media has a high degree of impact are enumerated below. Privacy of the Individual Since the advent of the age of social media and social networking sites, there is only a fine line of difference between the public and the private life of an individual. According to Das and Sahoo (223), following the upload of any type of image, video or any other type of information, an individual is not at the liberty to control the distribution and reach of hat particular piece of information. On one hand, the person can fine-tune the privacy settings of his/her profile in order to ensure unwanted exposure, but nevertheless, any piece of information that is shared on social media is shared with an unknown web administrator. In today’s modern era, any aspect of your personal information may be accessible to your employer, teacher, parents, friends, marketing firms and cyber criminals. According to a research conducted by Gross and Acquisti (7), A thorough analysis of the facebook profiles of 4000 students belonging to the Carnegie Mellon University found several loopholes and threats which had stemmed from the result of extensive posting of personal information on the social networking site. The study found that only a meagre 1.2 percent of students made the effort to change the default privacy settings if their online profiles on social networking sites. It has been seen that there is a vast array of personal information, such as first name and last name of the individual, personal image, date of birth, ZIP code etc, which can be easily used for estimating an individual’s social security number and other types of sensitive information such as medical history and so on. This vast reservoir of personal information is now being used as a tool to determine an individual’s eligibility for jobs by several employers. According to Mooney (120), assessment of the facebook profile of one of its potential employees by a consulting company in Chicago led to the revelation of several aspects of the candidate’s personal life, with increasingly noticeable references to marijuana, obsessive sex and misanthropic disposition. This assessment proved to be dear for the candidate as it resulted in complete rejection by the company. Psychological Dependence Due to increased usage of social networking sites and other forms of social media, there are several risks related to dependence and addiction that can arise due to the same. Extensive usage of social networking profiles cosiderably reduces everyday face to face interactions between people and draws people them towards the virtual world of relationships. Due to easy accessibility and the need for instant gratification that becomes inherent in an individual once he/she joins a social networking site, there is very high potential for addiction. The ease and convenience associated with approaching people on nline platforms is something which cannot be replicated in real life interactions between individuals. Due to this , more and more youth are drawn towards the idea of forming virtual relationships on online platforms. According to the The Economic Times, 53 percent of the people in US check their profiles on facebook immediately after getting out of bed. They have been reported sayin g that checking their respective social profiles and news feed on social netwroking sites is one of the most essential ways for them to know the morning news. Further surveys also reveal that about 35 percent of people in the US check their social networking profiles or accounts several times a day. It has been said that the advent of social media and social networking sites has made accessibility much more simpler and convenient in today’s world, making it much easier for people to connect with friends, families and strangers on an online platform, in order to discuss similar interests and several issues that plague the world today. On the other hand, the advent of digitization and the boom of social media prevalence has also become the cause of some of the major instances of social isolation ever recorded in the history of mankind. Due to the ease and convenience that social networking offers in terms of social relationships and the responsibilities associated with it, people are finding it more and more difficult to keep up social relationships in an offline mode of life. Individuals are more attracted towards the life and relationships which are prevalent on social online platforms and prefer to interact on these social networks than on a face to face basis with peopl e in everyday life. This can have several problems for people who may be faced with several anti-social feelings when asked to interact on an offline basis of life. It has been observed repeatedly that electronic media has been detrimental to the aspect of social interactions in everyday life, which has seen a huge fall since the advent of the former. Addiction to Social Networking Sites The phenomenon of addiction to social media and social networking sites is widespread and surpasses boundaries, race, ethnicity and cultural background. This aspect proves the fact that social media has in turn contributed to a large scale social isolation in all parts of the world. The addiction caused due to social media is directly related to the psychological dependence that people feel towards social online platforms. This widespread addiction disorder has been the cause of several discrepancies in terms of social relationships and responsibilities. It has in fact been the cause of a scenario where people are so immersed in their online and virtual social life that they do not have the time and patience to appreciate and introspect on the physical world around them. In certain advanced cases of addiction to social networking sites, chronic users of social networking sites loose all perspective about the physical world around them, making it increasingly difficult for them to pur sue social relationships in an offline scenario on a daily basis. An article in The Economic Times gives several references to the degrees of addiction which people exhibit towards social networking sites. As study found that individuals under the age of 25 were most likely to loose sleep over a particular post or discussion that is facilitated over a social online platform. Other interesting statistics which were garnered by the study include the finding that 17 percent would willingly check their social profiles during acts of sexual intimacy while 63 percent would do so in the toilet. Day to Day Relationships Social media and social networking sites were once thought to be the epitome of unity and integrity. The basic ideals behind social and electronic media was that these easily accessible forms of communication and information were a perfect way in which people around the world could connect to each other on the basis of similar interests and thought processes. Though most of the aforementioned principles and ideals have been implemented to a great extent due to the subsequent rise of social media, there have been several factors related to the same that have been the cause of social isolation and have resulted in the severing of numerous relationships all over the world. A survey was conducted by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML), whose major finding revealed that Facebook was one of the major reasons behind one out of five divorces in the US. The survey further accentuated the fact that approximately 80 percent of divorce lawyers use the social networking profiles an d accounts of their clients and the other party in order to gather substantial evidence in case of infidelity. Extensive analysis of personal messages, images and online relationships which a person shares on an online networking site can be used as potential evidence in order to prove infidelity in a case. According to Grohol (1), there was an extensive survey conducted on 308 participants and their social networking profiles. The results of the survey estimated that a majority of the candidates, which amounted to about 74.6 percent of the total candidates present in the survey, were likely to add previous sexual partners or individuals with whom they shared personal and intimate relationships with as friends on social networking sites. This reinforces the fact that social media is being used as a platform to facilitate illicit sexual relationships and has become a sort of online dating portal or platform. This can be further lead to several complications and misunderstanding betwe en married partners if one (or both) of their friend lists contains their previous sexual partner or friend. Conclusion There is a good as well as a bad side to every aspect of our lives. The only thing that matters is how we choose to utilize these aspects and in what way we choose to approach them. Instead of being psychologically dependent on social networking sites and other forms of social media, we can limit our usage of online platforms in order to strengthen social bonds and to connect with people with similar interests and passions. There should be enough awareness among people in order to understand the various effects that psychological dependence on social media can have on interpersonal relationships on an everyday basis. People should strive to appreciate the physical world around them and give as much importance (if not more) to relationships and social responsibilities in an offline and face to face scenario. After all, it is not our Facebook profiles or status that defines us, it is the personality which we exhibit on an everyday basis in the physical world that gives us substance. Works Cited Das, B and J, S. Sahoo. Social Networking Sites- A Critical Analysis of Its Impact on Personal and Social Life. International Journal of Business and Social Science (2011): 222-228. Ellison, N, B and M, B. Danah. Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (2007): 210-230. Grohol, J, M. Facebook reinforces relationship jealousy. 2014. psychcentral.com. Document. 15 August 2014. Gross, R and A. Acquisti. Information revelation and privacy in online social networks (the facebook case). Proceedings of the Acm workshop on privacy in the electronic society (wpes) (2005). Mooney, C. Online Social Networking. Gale Cengage Learning, 2009. The Economic Times. Peoples addiction to networking sites on rise: study. The Economic Times 25 March 2010.

Out of This Furnace by Thomas Bell Essays -- Papers Immigration Bell F

Out of This Furnace by Thomas Bell Out of This Furnace tells a impressive story of a multigenerational family of Slovakian immigrants who comes to the United States in search of a better life in the New World. The patriarch of the Slovak family was Djuro Kracha, who arrived in the New World in the mid-1880s from the "old country." The story tells of his voyage, his work on the railroad to earn enough money to afford the walk to the steel mills of Pennsylvania, his rejection by the larger mainstream community as a "hunkey," and the lives of his daughter and grandson. As the members of this family become more generally acculturated and even Americanized, they come to resent the cruel treatment and the discrimination they suffer. For the Kracha family, a slow rise to proud business ownership was ended by a series of events: (1) a summer of drunken abandon by Djuro; (2) his return to the steel mills (3) his daughter's (Mary) marriage to a fellow countryman also in the mills; and (4) his grandson's growing discontentment with unfair labor practices and abuses. These events in the Kracha family's lives become intertwined with the story of America's own transformation between the 1880s and the 1940s. At the time that this family arrived in the United States, a new wave of Eastern European immigration - spurred by growing industrialization and the advances in technology leading to the establishment of steel mills and other manufacturing and raw material processing factories and plants - was reshaping the American labor force. Djuro's experiences, and those of his son-in-law, Mike Dobrejcak, reflect a certain level of hostility towards these Eastern and Central Europeans from "mainstream" Americans and earlier, more acc... ...erica has come to mean many different things to many different people. At the very heart of the "American dream" are the twin ideas of freedom and equality. This nation was founded on the republican principles of justice for all, friendship with all nations, and entangling alliances with none. These basic principles have, over time, undergone some changes. The United States today has, for example, any number of "entangling alliances" that are highly influential in shaping its domestic and foreign policies. Nevertheless, the principle of "justice for all" remains in force and continues to attract new immigrants each year, while fostering conflicted efforts to determine what actually constitutes "justice and equality." Works Cited: Bell, Thomas, Out of This Furnace: a Novel of Immigrant Labor in America, Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh, 1976.

Eating Disorders Essay

Eating disorders are devastating and harmful behavioral patterns that occur within people for numerous reasons. The three types of eating disorders I will be discussing include the three most common of the disorders: anorexia, bulimia, and compulsive overeating (known as binge eating). Though the disorders take physical damage on the body, they are not in fact physical illnesses. You cannot â€Å"catch† and eating disorder. Rather, they are mental issues that develop more frequently within females but do affect the male population somewhat as well. Eating disorders are very common in our culture many people have them or know someone who does. With our cultures unrealistic views on what is beautiful the supper skinny models that woman see everywhere makes many people think that they have to live up to those standards. Some people feel if they cannot be up to these standards that they are not good enough and this causes them to do things that a person in their normal state of mi nd would never do. When people starve themselves to like in anorexia they end up developing many different psychological problems and find excuses to keep up with their destructive habits. There are also people who are addicted to eating they use eating as a way to feel a void that they feel like they have. They lean to use eating as a cooping tool in turn they become obese then they use eating to deal with their depression which works as a double edged sword. What they love is what is destroying them physically as well as mentally. This can also be considered emotional eating this is eating when you’re angry, sad, or even anxious. Many cultures have different views as what is considered attractive these variables play a large part in what peoples diet habits are this can be seen in the magazines and television from the area to show what they culture is  expecting people to look like and what they are expected to eat. Women have been the main ones with eating disorders but men with them are on the rise this is due to the unrealistic thoughts on them as well. Men are more prone to work out more than what is really necessary that way they get lower body fat. Many men think the lower their body fat the better they are this can cause many other mental issues that were not originally perceived as a female problem. With the current changes in culture the rise in men having eating disorders will keep rising. Bulimia occurs with or without anorexia symptoms. Individuals with bulimia tend to binge eat then self induce vomiting. However, binge eating is sometimes not a component of bulimia. Individuals may eat normal a mounts, and then excuse themselves to the bathroom. Another common trait is the use of laxatives, diuretics, and enemas in thoughts that it will excrete those calories. Bulimics are not necessarily underweight. Some are even over weight if not at a normal weight, and they almost always have a swollen appearance to their stomachs. Compulsive overeating is a disorder in which individuals overeat, often using food as an addictive substance. As others may turn to alcohol, drugs, or gambling to alleviate stress, compulsive overeaters turn to food. Eating disorders can plague women, and men of any age. With treatment people can overcome eating disorders and regain a normal lifestyle. They of course will always struggle with their initial issues related to food, however the treatments can teach them and give them the strength to overcome the impulses.

The Role of Women in the Metamorphosis and the Stranger

| World Literature Essay | Role of Women in The Stranger and Metamorphosis | | Maria Fernanda Contreras | 6/17/2010 | | â€Å"The woman kept on crying† (10) – this ability to experience and express emotions is shown as something both the protagonists in both novels - The Metamorphosis written by Franz Kafka and The Stranger by Albert Camus – lack. Women are usually portrayed as the element of society who are more likely to show this ability which connects them to the world surrounding them and keeps them (and men) from being â€Å"strangers† to society. The protagonists have especial difficulties relating to women in a profound level because of their lacking this ability. Their relationship with women symbolizes their relationship with†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"For the first time in a long time I thought about Maman. I felt as if I understood why at the end of her life she had taken a â€Å"fiance†, why she had played at beggining again† (122) Finding himself in a similar situation as her, he finds a way to comprehend her actions. This final unders tanding of her mother still implies his inability to relate to women, since his mother, the only woman he managed to relate to, was dead by the time he managed to relate to her, indicating he might not truly understand her since he no longer remembers her that well. Similar to Mersault’s relationship with his mother, Gregor’s relationship with â€Å"the lady dibe yo up in a fur hat and a fur boa..† (1) increases his inability to connect to society. The woman in the poster cannot reflect any emotions, thus it requires no effort to â€Å"understand† her and cope with her, just like with Mersault’s dead mother. Nevertheless, the poster is one of the few things in the room that keeps Gregor human. 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