Social media has exploded over the past several years into a sort of extension of modern society, making it easier for everyone connected to keep up with friends, find a quality local deli, stay up to date with local, national, and universal, or even find a job. However, these perks don’t come without punishing factors. Because of social media, many members of today’s younger generations have found themselves lost in a world where anyone can destroy their reputation with a single post to Facebook. Teens and adolescents often find it hard to concentrate on doing work for school when their social life is only a few clicks away. When all of the consequences of social networking are observed, it is clear to see that the negatives outweigh the positives. Thanks to the creation of an alternate society of social media, members have become less and less interested in the real world. Students will spend more time on Facebook when they have access to a computer than doing homework; employees will spend massive amounts of office hours checking their notifications or updating their statuses. Computers are always available, and when they aren’t, there’s an app for that. Nucleus Research did a study and found that Facebook shaves 1.5 percent of office productivity, which may not seem like a big deal, but business is all about maximizing productivity in order to maximize profit, and these social networks are preventing that from happening. Another study, this one by Morse Research Group, discovered that British companies are losing over two billion dollars a year because of social networking distractions. It is simply impossible to keep employees and students glued to the real world when these networks have become such a huge part of everyday life.
It’s no secret that being an adolescent or a teenager is difficult and tiring, and sites like MySpace and Facebook have only made it harder, adding a whole new place for rumors to spread and hearts to break. Cyber-bullying is probably the most talked about social networking repercussion. According to a 2010 CBS News report, forty-two percent of the youth have been victimized by cyber-bullying. It has been a serious problem since the beginning of social media, and no social site has been able to find a successful solution. On sites, such as Facebook, which display names, many teens and adolescents try to boost their social standing amongst peers, even if it means knocking a few people down along the way. Anybody can say anything about anyone without any confrontation whatsoever, and more people will see it than ever before. The lack of confrontation has discarded the emotional aspect of insulting a person. It is hard to insult a person to his face because the offender has to watch the reaction of the victim. Whether it be that he cries or says something back or even fights over it, it will always be easier to attack someone through social media. Another problem is with the speed by which social media works. It is possible that when something is posted, an entire peer group may know about the post before the person who directed gets a chance to see it, forcing the victim to explain what could be a misunderstanding to an entire social group; whereas, if the offender had talked to the victim, the problem could’ve been handled much more easily with less drama and pain. Many of these offenders have never learned how to talk to people about problems they have between them, however, because social media and texting has eliminated the need for any sort of real communication. Because of how quickly social media has become this medium for social politics, younger generations don’t simply see themselves as connected through these networks; rather, they see themselves as a part of a social society where it pays to be on top. These networks have created a sort of alternate society where success is measured by how many “friends” one has on Facebook or how many follower one has on Twitter and so on. Another