Throughout history, people have always strived to improve the way communication and human interaction can be made. From writing letters, to talking on the telephone, to the new social media that is now used around the world. Social media is a means of exchange in which people form and share info and ideas in virtual communities and networks. It is accessed by computers, cell phones, tablets and many other devices due to advancements being made every day. There are many different opinions about how social media affects our society. But the question remains in hand: “is the new social media hurting our society?,”. People argue that the new social media is bad and is a danger to privacy, while others oppose them and say it is good, bringing new evolution in communication. New social media hurts our society in more ways than it helps. It is bad and destructive because it is a distracting and stress causing source that influences crime and harms the people that use it.
Some have said that the debate between the pros and cons of social media will always be tied and will never have a victor. Even though it can be helpful, the detriments of social networking sites will always overshadow the benefits. Sites like Facebook and MySpace allow you to showcase yourself and interact with the world. These sites can also allow someone to abuse your privacy and exploit your information. People use YouTube to upload videos onto the Internet. Some of these videos may be offensive, vulgar, inappropriate for children, or used to harass certain people. In 2010, a Rutgers University student committed suicide after a video of him engaged in gay acts with another man was posted on a social networking site. If a site like that can get you killed, there are critical risks in using it. An event like this occurring shows the dangers and harmful influences that social media has on society. New social media has been used for cyber-bullying, identity theft, and as a means to start fights and conflicts. In 2009, the British Daily Mail had a report on the “world’s first divorce by Facebook.” A woman by the name of Emma Brady confronted her husband Neil when she read a message saying, “Neil Brady has ended his marriage to Emma Brady.” The couple acted like everything was fine until a few months later; Neil Brady was convicted of attacking his wife during an argument. There are many other cases like this, where individuals have had disagreements on these sites and it escalated into physical problems between them. Social media is also distracting and can stray a person off their initial intended motive. It is not rare that school students often wander away from their homework assignments, just so they can see what their friends are up to on Facebook or Instagram. When this happens, their grades are in jeopardy of going down and they could encounter inappropriate websites that could corrupt them. Privacy is another reason why social media leans toward negative rather than positive. A lot of people don’t want their information on the Internet being seen by the world. Online activity may lead to identity theft and even hurt future college admissions and employment. If every student in your school or coworker at your job can view your profile, why can teachers, managers, college officers, and law enforcement see it too. Some school students have been suspended and even expelled due to the reckless content on their social media. One student was denied college entrance because of an admissions dean reading hostile comments on his LiveJournal account. The term “dooced” is a new phrase describing the epidemic occurring in our society. Getting “dooced” means being fired from your job because of a blog or website. Since al these people have access to your social networking account and can see your information, it is possible that they can use it for their own purposes. They can access your personal possessions or even frame you. Recently, law enforcement has begun