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Meron Kahsai

ENGL 115

Professor Rodrick

21 September 2019

Technology

The technology of our time has had an impact on many of our lives in ways that we don’t

even notice. Though many people know about the harms that come from it, there are many

positives that have come from it that has caused a positive impact on the world and our society.

The most popular and influential form of it that is known throughout the world is social media.

Social media is websites and applications that allow people to share information and content or

take part in social networking. This kind of technology has made an environment where people

can help one another and share awareness with the rest of the world.

Social media has created a huge impact on our society when it comes to mental health. It

has created an environment where people can share their thoughts and feelings without having to

share who they are. This anonymity has encouraged many people to find help and support online

in a way that they may not have had the courage to do in real life. The article “Social Media and

Adolescent Health” shows how social media can be both a positive and negative influence to the

health of adolescents. According to Naslund, Aschbrenner, Marsch, & Bartels, “Individuals with

serious mental illnesses report benefits from online communities that include enhanced social

connections, feelings of group belonging, and coping with the daily challenges of living with a

mental illness”(Naslund, Aschbrenner, Marsch, & Bartels, 2016). Through these online

communities, people are able to share how they feel with other people who may be struggling

with the same things that they are. This communication helps many people to find help in the
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real world, learn ways that they can improve on themselves, have an outlet where they can share

their personal feelings, and to just get support from others who they can relate to.

Social media has also improved on the way that people view mental health. It has also

pushed for more awareness of it to people online. Throughout the years more and more people

have been taught more on mental health because of discussions and posts that are on social

media. According to a research made about social media, “Direct emotional and empathetic

support via online networks can contribute to lowering barriers to self-disclosure, through

increased anonymity and reduced non-verbal inhibitors, thus promoting the help-seeking

process” (Ko & Kuo, 2009). Throughout social media there has been an increase of people who

push for the wellness of mental health and work to bring more awareness to the topic. This is

because our society is becoming more open towards mental health and being more

knowledgeable about what it is. This acceptance towards this topic has influenced more and

more people to share information about it online.

Another benefit of social media is the vast amount of communities that are in it.

Communities are a place where people who share something in common can communicate

amongst each other. Social media has made it so people around the world can communicate with

others who share similar qualities and create connections with those people. According to

Guinta, Maggie, and Rita John, “Social media communities have emerged recently as open and

free communication platforms to support real‐time information sharing among members.”

(Guinta, Maggie, and Rita John, 2013). Social media has allowed people from different types of

social groups to exchange information and communicate amongst each other. This has created

opportunities for people of different social groups to communicate with people who may have a

different way of living and learn things about them that they may not have had the opportunity to
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do outside of social media. Social media has influenced people to learn about different cultures

and ways of living through posts and communication between people.

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Work Cited Page

Best, et al. “Online Communication, Social Media and Adolescent Wellbeing: A

Systematic Narrative Review.” Children and Youth Services Review, vol. 41, 2014, pp.

27–36, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0190740914000693#s0100.

Accessed 13 Sep 2019.

Cao, Qilin, et al. “The Roles of Bridging and Bonding in Social Media Communities.”

Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, vol. 64, no. 8,

2013, pp. 1671–1681, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/asi.22866.

Accessed 22 Sep 2019.

Guinta, Maggie, and Rita John. “Social Media and Adolescent Health.” Pediatric

Nursing, vol. 44, no. 4, 2018, pp. 196–201,

https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=EAIM&u=csunorthridge&id=GALE%7CA553340727&v=

2.1&it=r. Accessed 22 Sep 2019.

Lampe, Cliffe. “ Is Social Media Good for You? | Cliff Lampe | TEDxUofM” Youtube,

TEDx Talks, 6 April 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po01VlNvCcQ. Accessed

22 Sep 2019.