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Rachel Karrer
Adam Padgett
English 1102
1 April 2014
Is Social Media A Problem For Students?
Social media is becoming a widespread past time for a lot of people in society. Sitting in
a coffee shop on my college campus I couldnt help but notice the lack of communication people
have and how they are constantly engaged in some form of technology. Social media provides so
many people with a completely different world to engage in. In Blomfields article on the
negative effects of social media he states, Individuals with little in common aside from an
Internet connection now have access to an interaction medium that can neutralize tremendous
cultural or geographic differences. Often I find myself using social media more than I probably
should. With so many social media sites in our society its easy to get sucked into this lifestyle of
selfies and electronic communication. Most of my college friends have all of the different media
sites such as facebook, twitter, instagram, myspace, ect, making it very easy to get distracted
from priorities. I personally think that social media is a huge problem in the lives of students
today, although social media is not all bad, providing networking and enhancing some forms of
communication, I think that it has a large negative impact on how students conduct their studies,
and their performance in school. Pointing out the negative impact that social media has on
college students emotionally and mentally might help society to see that the desire for
entertainment electronically could be detrimental to their schooling and health mentally and
emotionally.
One of the main problems with college students using social media is that it can really
Comment [AP1]: Imnot sure it is past time per se.
Comment [AP2]: Okay, so a good clear thesis here.


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affect their studies. Classes can now be taken half online; hybrid classes, and then there are
completely full online classes. These online classes can really affect students grades. In some
ways its very beneficial because it can help students form a schedule, knowing when their
homework is do, and being on time. In other cases the online and hybrid classes can really hinder
a students grades if teaching themselves is not the students common practice. Another negative
reason for students using these sites is the fact that it makes using social media more available,
causing more distractions. Ninety-four percent of undergraduate students currently report
spending at least 2hours/day on the Internet. The recent explosion of social Internet usage has
drawn interest because consumers are spending the majority of their time online in these venues
(Chinsch). Being able to have these media sites at our fingertips whenever we want them really
proves to be a large distraction when it comes to students studies not only because of distraction
but also because of procrastination.
Each social media site contains features that the other one lacks, this is what makes using
social media so time consuming because generally people are switching back and forth between
the different apps and sites. A very large amount of people are constantly wasting their time
updating statuses and posting pictures, that it can negatively effect their time management. One
of the biggest issues that comes with social media is what people decide to post, what people
feel the need to show not only their friends but the entire world. In an article by Natasha Singer,
she goes on to explains how high school students tweets hindered them from getting into certain
colleges. Students social media and digital footprint can sometimes play a role in the
admissions process, its something that is becoming more ubiquitous and less looked down
upon. The fact is people post things on these social media sites and dont think that there can be
any consequences for their actions. As students at the high school in Singers article found out,
Comment [AP3]: Youve already said this.
Comment [AP4]: okay, but couldnt we make the argument that some people do better in online classes rather than in-person classes?
Comment [AP5]: Assuming that social media is a negative thing, which you have to convince your audience of first.
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colleges actually do look into social media sites and it can hinder their chances of getting into the
college of their choosing. Aside from taking students away from their studies or hindering them
from doing their assignments or achieving their goals, social media can cause a number of
mental and emotional effects.
One main thing that almost every human being on this planet wants is some form of
respect. Everyone is created equal, and that is what we are taught, to respect others and they will
respect us. Its the golden rule, but when social media portrays words and images that can be
hurtful and disrespectful, there are damaging effects from that disrespect. In contrast, female
youth who had an SNS (social networking site) profile reported significantly higher levels of
depressed mood, and lower self-esteem, than female youth without an SNS profile. Previous
research has indicated that females use the Internet to seek feedback about themselves from
others and as the tone of feedback has been linked to self-evaluations(Blomfield). When people
are posting pictures of themselves, otherwise known as the selfie, they are not just posting a
picture but trying to gain approval from others, which often leads to ill feelings about their own
selves. The things that people post and the words that they say can be hurtful and can cause
depression and other emotional problems. Our generation has learned to accept this way of
communication and has become accustomed to hearing about teen suicide and the negative
affects from these words and actions, but continues to delve deeper into the world of social
media. Why would people that see the consequences of these things continue to post them all
over public venues? Is it just that the current generation has no concern for others, that they dont
care about the things they say? The complete disregard for respect that the current generation
has, is one of the things that is slowly making face to face interaction with other people so rare in
comparison to the amount of conversing that takes place over technology.
Comment [AP6]: So what is your recommendation then?
Comment [AP7]: Have you ever watched a Rodney Dangerfield routine?
Comment [AP8]: This is really good and insightful research here.


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In an experiment performed by Zheng Wang, the author found that Social media (SM)
have become increasingly pervasive in American society. As of 2011, two thirds (65%) of adult
internet users engage in activities on social networking sites, compared to less than one third
(29%) three3 years ago, and less than one tenth (8%) six6 years ago. For young adults between
18 and 29 years old, social media use is even more commonas of 2010, it was at 72%. Its not
a secret that technology is being used more today than it was a few years ago. I remember when I
was in middle school, I didnt really even know what Ffacebook was, now not only do I use
Ffacebook but I also have twitter, Ttumblr, Iinstagram and numerous other interaction linked
social media sites. Before, when these sites didnt exist it was easier to communicate with other
individuals, but the sudden advance in technology sparked a whole new field of conversation that
I believe causes the problems that society faces today such as depression, ADD, ADHD and
many others.
Im not trying to say that social media is entirely bad; I agree that there are also positive
advantages of using social media. Further on in Wangs article it says SM enables wide and
quick distribution of self-disclosed information, and research has shown that appropriate self-
disclosure fertilizes and strengthens interpersonal relationships. While this may be true, its also
something to be careful of because when people put things on the Internet, it goes from being
personal to being completely impersonal. Anyone can hack into accounts and access peoples
personal information, it happens every day. Social media can make relationships grow but it also
can tear relationships apart, its almost gotten to the point where certain social media sites
become so impersonal that its hard to develop real relationships with people outside of that
technological sphere. Becoming friends with complete strangers is not hard to do, especially
when people are often more focused on the amount of people that are viewing and following
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them. In the end it almost seems like social media is just another form of self promotion instead
of what it was originally intended for, which was communication with others.
When it comes to social media and college- aged students, or any students in general,
there are negative as well as positive effects of these social media sites. We know that academic
and co-curricular engagement are powerful forces in both student psychological development
and academic success (Junco). It is the current generations job to make sure that the new forms
of media and technology that are constantly appearing, do not distract from the things that are
most important such as scholastics and personal health. Although social media is a contributing
factor when it comes to these negative effects, this is something that continues to be a huge part
of society. With the many useful advantages of social media and the even more appealing
freedom from being bored, social media does not appear to be leaving our society any time soon.
By learning to use social media in a beneficial way students can actually improve their
academic and social life through these sites. A study was conducted to show the role that
Ttwitter played on a students academic life and grades, Junco found that Our results suggest
that Twitter can be used to engage students in ways that are important for their academic and
psychosocial development. When these social media sites are used correctly, they can prove to
be very beneficial, but when students continue posting harsh things and putting these sites before
academics they prove to be unbeneficial. Social media causes good and bad things, just like
every aspect of life, but its up to the consumer to use the sites the way that they are intended and
if the consumer cannot do that then maybe its time to retire the use of social media or reevaluate
their purpose for these sites. Not all social media is bad but at times it really leaves one longing
for the old face to face interaction.

Comment [AP9]: Howso? It seems to me that you are charging social media with a heavy indictment and then saying its someone elses problemto solve.


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Rachel,
I think youve done a good job making the case that social media, in excess, is bad for people.
But Im not quite getting a sense of purpose here. So why are you writing on this? What sort of
social change do you hope to see? You write with a repulsion for all things digital, but you write
assuming that your audience feels the same way and dont really write with a sense of what to do
about it. I like that you seem to have identified your audience in the beginning, but simply
bringing their attention to the issue isnt really enough. Not that you need a solution either, but
maybe you need to lay out more specifically what the implications are for the individual and how
maybe a person can live healthily in this new digital world in which we live.


Blomfield, Corey. "Social Networking Cite." Wiley Online Library. Australian Journal of
Psychology, Mar. 2014. Web.
Chinsch, Christian. "Http://uncc.worldcat.org/title/the-impact-of-frequent-social-internet-
consumption-increased-procrastination-and-lower-life-
satisfaction/oclc/5185299533&referer=brief_results." The Impact of Frequent Social
Internet Consumption. Wiley Online Libabry, Mar. 2014. Web.
Junco, R. "The Effect of Twitter on College Student Engagement and Grades." Ferris.edu. N.p.,
n.d. Web. Mar. 2014.
Singer, Natasha. "They Loved Your G.P.A. Then They Saw Your Tweets." New York Times.
Bowdoin College, n.d. Web. Mar. 2014.
Wang, Z. "A Dynamic Longitudinal Examination of Social Media Use, Needs, and Gratifications
among College Students." Computers in Human Behavior. British Library Serials, n.d.
Formatted: Font: Italic
Comment [AP10]: Your citation here is incorrect.
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Web. Mar. 2014.