Alexandria university

Faculty of Fine Arts

Décor department

Dr. Mohamed Shaker

Student : Noran Khaled Aly Elsaid Wafy

(412)
Book cover
 Dedication

This work is dedicated to:

 The sake of Allah. my Creator and my Master.

 My great teacher and messenger, Mohammed
May Allah bless and grant him
 And to my parents who have never failed to give
me moral support ,
for giving me all my needs and for teaching
me that even the largest task can be
accomplished .

moreover, I dedicate this Project to all the people

who have worked hard to help me complete this.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

Special thanks to my supervisor, Dr. Mohamed

shaker thank you for your patience, guidance, and
support. I have benefited greatly from your wealth
of knowledge .

Also thanks to all the staff who worked hard to

help all of us .
 Contents

 introduction
 Chapter 1 : why social media is so important?
- Social Media Connects Us With The World
- Social Media Allows Easy Communication
- Social Media Gives An Insight Into Human Psychology
- Social Media Promotes Creativity
- Social Media Provides Useful Information
- Social Media Improves Site Traffic

 Chapter 2 : impact of social media on various fields

- Impact of social media on education
- Positive effect of social media on education
- Negative effect of Social media on education
- Impact of Social media on business
- Positive effect of Social Media on business
- Negative effect of social media on business
- Impact of social media on society
- Positive effect of social media on society
- Negative effect of social media on society
- impact of social media on youngsters
- Positive effect of social media on youngsters
- Negative effect of social media on youngsters
 Chapter 3 : Is Social Media Beneficial Or Damaging?

Advantages of social media :

- A Place for noble causes and practices
- Use of social media for promotion and advertising
- People can connect through social media
- Assists in the formation of people’s communities
- Social media can reach large audiences
- Governments Benefits from social media
- Mental Health with social media

Disadvantages of social media :

- Cyberbulling
- Hacking
- Addiction
- Scams
- Relationship frauds
- Health issues
- Loss of social and family life
- Depression and anxiety
- Criminal activities
- Lack of privacy

 Chapter 4 : how does social media affects relationships ?

Positive effects of social media on relationships :

- Helps boost connectivity

- Helps improve communication

Negative effects of social media on relationships :

- Fuels functional impairments

- Decreases quality time and relationship satisfaction
- Provides an avenue for infidelity-related behaviors
Introduction

Social media plays a big role in our lives today. We have the access to
any kind of information at just a button push away. Anything that is so
vastly expanded has both positives and negatives related to it. The power
of social media is very high and has its effects on each individual. It is
difficult to imagine our lives with social media today and we do pay a
price for excessive use. There is a lot of debate about the effects of
social media on the society as a
whole. Some feel that it’s a
boon whereas other feels that it
is a curse.

The social media has

undoubtedly changed the way
we communicate and interact
with each other. It has brought people closer and helped them connect
with each other in ways that were never before possible. It is now
becoming one of the largest means of communication and rapidly
gaining popularity. Social media enables you to share ideas, content,
information, news, etc., faster.

Social media can be broadly defined as the set of interactive Internet

applications that facilitate (collaborative or individual) creation,
curation, and sharing of user-generated content. Examples of social
media platforms are numerous and varied. They include Facebook,
Friendster, Wikipedia, dating sites, Craigslist, recipe sharing sites (e.g.
allrecipes.com), YouTube, and Instagram. Social media platforms all
share the abovementioned characteristics, but are unique from one
another in many respects. In particular, platform soften vary in their
architectures, structures, norms, and user bases. In working to
differentiate between different kinds of social media platforms, scholars
distinguish and label several subsets of social media, with a particular
remphasison social network sites.boydand Ellison(2007)explicitly
differentiate social network sites from social networking sites. They
argue that social networking implies meeting new people and making
new connections, which contrasts with actual user practices.
Specifically, social network site users tend to interact with existing
rather than new—social contacts. Examples of social network sites
include Facebook, My Space, YouTube, and LiveJournal.
 Chapter 1 : why social media is so important?

1.1 Social Media Connects Us With The World

Social media is a great way to reach

out and connect with people from
different parts of the world. We can
keep in touch with people we
haven’t met in person, maintain
relations with friends and family
living far away, and stay up-to-date
on current events around the world.
Various influencers on media
platforms post content that is relevant to their audience. You can
connect with other people who might be interested in similar things
and share your own opinions as well.

1.2 Social Media Allows Easy Communication

Social media allows us to communicate in a very effective way that

has never been possible in the past. We can use varied formats to
share messages, images, videos, etc. It is an extremely efficient
mode of communication that helps connect with people from all
over the world. Social media has now become an important part of
our daily lives thanks to the many benefits it offers. Social networks
are now being used by millions of people around the world as a tool
to stay in touch with friends and family.
1.3 Social Media Gives An Insight Into Human Psychology

Social media is a great medium to gain insights into the human

psyche as it gives an overall picture of people’s perceptions and
thoughts .It allows you to see how people from different
backgrounds, locations, and professions, perceive things differently
and react accordingly. You can learn about other cultures and
appreciate how different people think in a certain way.There is a lot
of content shared on social media about human psychology. This
insight helps us understand why people behave the way they do.

1.4 Social Media Promotes Creativity

2 Social media is a great place to promote creativity among users as they engage with cntent
that interests them.

Social media platforms offer an excellent opportunity for creative

people to share their work and get recognition from the
online community. Social media is also a great place for budding
entrepreneurs who might not be able to promote their products
offline due to a lack of resources. They can use various social
media platforms to promote their products and services without
having to spend much on marketing.
1.5 Social Media Provides Useful Information

Social media platforms offer us a chance to learn new things from

a variety of people from various walks of life .Users can follow
experts, influencers, celebrities, politicians, and other professionals
on social media to stay up-to-date with the latest information about
their field of work .It’s not just limited to being a tool for
professional purposes as you can also learn new things on sites like
YouTube and Reddit.

1.6 Social Media Improves Site Traffic

Social media sites do more than just marketing, they also get more
traffic to your site. Many experts believe that social media has
become the number one driver of web traffic in recent years. In
2014, business-related pages received approximately seventeen
percent of their overall traffic from social media sites.The more
visibility you get the better chances of more people finding out
about your brand and visiting your website. You can use various
marketing tools which help integrate social media profiles across
various platforms to help boost your site traffic.
 Chapter 2 : impact of social media on various fields.

2.1 Impact of social media on education.

- As per the survey of previous research, 90% of college students use

social networks. Technology has shown a rapid development by
introducing small communication devices and we can use these
small communication devices for accessing social networks any
time anywhere, as these gadgets include pocket computers, laptops,
iPads and even simple mobile phones (which support internet) etc.
For the purpose of education social media has been used as an
innovative way. Students should be taught to use this tool in a
better way, in the educational classes’ media just being used for
messaging or texting rather than they should learn to figure out how
to use these media for good. Social media has increased the quality
and rate of collaboration for students. With the help of social media
students can easily communicate or share information quickly with
each through various social sites like Facebook, Orkut, and
Instagram etc. It is also important for students to do some practical
work instead of doing paper work. They can also write blogs for
- Teachers as well as for themselves to enhance their knowledge
skills .Social networking sites also conduct online examination
which play an important role to enhance the students’ knowledge.
 In the table 1 it is clear
that, internet usage for
the respondents was for
mailing and surfing the
net with 33% and 26%
respectively. Mainly
two traditional reasons
for using Internet i.e.
Mailing and Surfing. In
India, social
networking sites are growing fast to gain popularity but it haven’t
reached the expectation of global scenario. Just 17% reported social
networking sites as their principle reason for Internet usage.
Alternating reactions were downloading internet content,
purchasing online goods, studying and reading e-books .

Among the Indian youth

95.7% of the members are
connected with the social
media. These figures are
increasing day by day.
Whereas only 4.3% of
members are not connected
with the social media .
- Positive Effect of Social Media on Education .

 Social media gives a way to the students to effectively reach each

other in regards to class ventures, bunch assignments or for help on
homework assignments .
 -Many of the students who do not take an interest consistently in
class might feel that they can express their thoughts easily on
social media .
 Teachers may post on social media about class activities, school
events, homework assignments which will be very useful to them .
 It is seen that social media marketing has been emerging in career
option. Social media marketing prepares young workers to become
successful marketers.
 The access of social media provides the opportunity for educators
to teach good digital citizenship and the use of Internet for
productivity .

- Negative effect of Social Media on Education.

 The first concern about the negative effect comes to mind is the
kind of distraction to the students present in the class. As teachers
were not able to recognize who is paying attention in the classroom
.
 One of the biggest breakdown of social media in education is the
privacy issues like posting personal information on online sites.
 In some of the scenario there were many in appropriate
information posted which may lead the students to the wrong side.
 Because of social media students lose their ability to engage
themselves for face to face communication.
  Many of the bloggers and writers posts wrong information on
social sites which leads the education system to failure.

2.2 Impact of Social Media on Business.

Social media is the new buzz area in marketing that includes business,
organizations and brands which helps to create news, make friends,
make connections and make followers. Business use social media to
enhance an organization’s performance in various ways such as to
accomplish business objectives, increasing annual sales of the
organization. Social media provides the benefit as a communication
platform that facilitates two way communication between a company
and their stock holders . Business can be promoted through various
social networking sites. Many of
the organization promotes their
business by giving advertisement
on the social media in order to
attract maximum users or
customers. Customers can connect
and interact with business on a
more personal level by using
social media. If an organization
has established a brand, social
media may help this organization
to develop the existing brand and give the business a voice. With the
help of social media organization can make their strategy to promote
their organization.
Social media used in various business functions.

Some of them are: Marketing- Marketing is one of the most important

and common use of social media in business. It works because today
every brand has a target section of online audience. HR-Is great for
identifying and engaging the talent directly.HR helps company to
showcase their employee benefits and culture of the company to outside
world. Creative- it share enables art, copy and design teams to invent
new ideas which is useful for company to achieve goal.
Operations/strategy- Many of the sites like LinkedIn helps the business
by connecting with the experts who can share some strategic plans.
Business Development- Professional networking sites can be used to
connect with the clients.

-Positive Effect of Social Media on Business

 Social Media helps to better understand their audience by their

likes and dislikes .
 It helps the business for promotional activities.
 Social networking sites helps to make new customers by providing
useful facilities.
 Helps to enhance market insight and stretch out beyond your rivals
with online networking .
 It also helps to increase awareness among brands and reach with
little to no budget

-Negative Effect of Social Media on Business

 In business filed social media is not entirely risk free because

many of the fans and followers are free to post their opinion on a
 particular organization, the negative comment can lead the
organization to failure.
 Many of the large organization have fallen victim to the hackers.
 The wrong online brand strategy can doom a company, and put at a
huge viral social disadvantage.
 Getting involved with Social Media is very time consuming. As an
organization you should assign a person to always bolster your
pages and profile with significant substance .
 Most companies have difficulty measuring the results of social
media advertising.

2.3 Impact of Social Media on Society

-As we all are aware of social media that has an enormous impact on our
society .Many of the social media sites are most popular on the web.
Some social media sites have transformed the way where people
communicate and socialize on the web. Social networking sites render
the opportunity for people to reconnect with their old friends, colleagues
and mates. It also helps people to make new friends, share content,
pictures, audios, videos amongst them. Social media also changes the
life style of a society.

According to the survey conducted by

the Pew Research Center, in September
2014, 52% of the online adults use two
or more social media sites. More than
half of the online adults of age 65 and
above use 60% of Facebook which
represents 31% of all seniors. Half of
the internet-using young adult’s ages
18-29 use 53% Instagram and half of the Instagram users (49%) use the
site daily. The share of internet users with college education using
LinkedIn reached 50%. 42% of online women now use the platform,
compared with 13% of online men .

-Positive Effects of Social Media on Society

 Social Media helps to meet people they may not have met outside
the social media forums.
 It also helps to share ideas beyond the geographical boundaries.
 It provides open opportunity for all writers and bloggers to connect
with their clients.
 Another positive effect of social networking sites is it unite people
on a huge platform for the achievement of specific goals. This
brings positive change in the society.
 Social media provides awareness among society like campaigns,
advertisement articles, promotions which helps the society to be up
to date with the current information.

-Negative Effects of Social Media on Society

 One of the negative effect of social media is that it make people

addicted. People spend lots of time in social networking sites
which can divert the concentration and focus from the particular
task.
  Social media can easily effect the kids, the reason is sometimes
people shares photos, videos on media that contain violence and
negative things which can affect the behavior of kids or teenagers.
 It also abuses the society by invading on people’s privacy.
 Social lies like family ones also weaken as people spend more time
connecting to new people.
 Some people uses their images or videos in social sites that can
encourage others to use it false full.

2.4 Impact of Social Media on Youngsters

Nowadays social media has become a new set of cool tools for involving
young peoples. Many young people’s day to day life are woven by the
social media Youngsters are in conversation and communication with
their friends and groups by using different media and devices every day .
In past years it was seen that youngsters are in touch with only friends
and their groups in schools and colleges. But nowadays youngsters are
in contact not only with known friends but also with unknown people
through social networking sites, instant messenging etc. . According to
BBC news research of 2013 they discuss that 67% Facebook users are
very common and well known social media portal consist of the youth
and students, so these praise the fact that the youth and student have
more focus and relation .Throughout the country teenagers frequently
use the web, mobile phones, online games to communicate and gather
information with each other. As per the survey in California the below
table shows that how social media impacts the behavioral health of
California’s adults .
-Positive Effects of Social Media on Youngsters

 Social media helps youngsters to stay connected with each other.

 Useful information can be exchanged over social networking sites.
 Social networking sites can allow teens to find support online that
they may lack in traditional relationships, especially for teens [17].
 In a Critical Development period youngsters also go for social
networking sites for advice and information.
 Youngsters can look to social media for getting the answers related
to their career objectives.

-Negative Effects of Social Media on Youngsters

 Today it’s not clear that who the “strangers” are especially in the
field of social media.
 Kidnapping, murder, robbery can be easily done by sharing details
on social media.
  There are many cases registered in police station where adults
target young children and lure them into meeting them.
 Mostly youngsters waste lots of time on social sites like chatting
which also effects their health.
 Some useless blogs influence youth extremely that they become
violent and can take some inappropriate actions.

Chapter 3 : Is Social Media Beneficial Or Damaging ?

Have you ever thought about how teens and adults use social media,
however have you thought about how social media affects us? Probably
not. Even today people believe that social media could have a major
effect on people either positive or negative depending on how they use
it. It’s still debatable whether social media is beneficial or harmful to
people.

What is social media? According to the website Social Media by

Margaret Rouse, “Social media is a collective term for websites and
applications which focus on communication, community-based input,
interaction, content-sharing and collaboration.” Basically, social media
can be used in more than one way to communicate.

In the early 2000’s, social media started to become popular with

MySpace, a social media forum. According to The Rise of Social media,
“The first social media site to reach a million monthly active users was
MySpace – it achieved this milestone around 2004. This is arguably the
beginning of social media as we know it.” This is what started to make
social media popular. Today more than 3.5 billion social media users,
which equates to about 45% of the population, use social media.
According to 10 Social Media Statistics, that's a huge number of people
who use social media. Popular social media sites are Instagram,
Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and many more. People can say social
media could be both beneficial and toxic, yet social media lends itself to
having a more toxic effect on individuals. Social media is toxic because
it affects Kou 2 people mentally and physically because we focus on the
wrong things, there’s no privacy and it could be addicting.

To begin with, people are way too focused on the wrong things, such
as being acknowledged through social media platforms. For example,
people are obsessed with getting “likes” and this can harm people's
mental health. Like with anything else too much of anything is not good
and can have a negative impact on you. According to an article “Social
media and Mental Health,” featured on the website helpguide.org it talks
about how social media can cause depression and anxiety.

It says Human beings need face-to-face contact to be mentally

healthy. Nothing reduces stress and boosts your mood faster or more
effectively than eye-to-eye contact with someone who cares about you.
The more you prioritize social media interaction over in-person
relationships, the more you’re at risk for developing or exacerbating
mood disorders such as anxiety and depression.

As well, In the article When Self-Worth Depends on Social Media

Feedback: Associations With Psychological Well Being it explains
about how people depend on social social media to have self worth for
themselves. In the study they asked individuals questions relating to
social media and involving self worth. “Items were averaged, with
higher scores reflecting self-worth being more contingent on social
media feedback. In the present sample, Cronbach’s alpha was .88. Data
were also collected on the original measure, and analysis showed that
having self-worth dependent on social media was positively correlated
with a related subscale from the original measure assessing whether
one’s self-worth is dependent on approval from others.” This is
emplying, that social media is toxic Kou 3 because the affects people to
need to get a dependance or approval from others, to be “accepted”
cause of Social media.

This can affect people because when they prioritize social media over
human interaction, this can cause depression or anxiety which can be
toxic for their well being. This can also result in low self- esteem by
comparing yourself to others. It says in “Social Media and Teens: How
does social media affect teenager’s Mental Health” it says “One study
out of the University of Pittsburgh, for example, found a correlation
between time spent scrolling through social media apps and negative
body image feedback. Those who spent more time on social media had
2.2 times the risk of reporting eating and body image concerns,
compared to their peers who spent less time on social media. The
participants who spent the most time on social media had 2.6 times the
risk.” This is implying that people who spend more time on social media
can cause them to develop low self-esteem, and this can cause people to
think negatively about their body and want to change themselves. This
can negatively impact a person's mentality which could be damaging
because of social media. As well in the article, “Multimodal Mental
Health Analysis In Social Media” it says that “Several efforts have
attempted to automatically detect depression from social media content
utilizing machine learning, deep learning, and natural language
processing approaches. From conducting a retrospective study of tweets,
De Choudhury et al., (2013) characterizes depression based on factors
such as language, emotion, style, ego-network, and user engagement.
They built a classifier to predict the likelihood of depression from a
written post [30] or an individual’s profile.” This is illustrating how
Social media could be linked to depression and other mental problems as
well this is proving how social media could have a negative impact on
one’s mental state because of how people are using it to influence others.
This can affect people because when they prioritize social media over
human interaction, this can cause depression or anxiety which can be
toxic for their well being. This can also result in low self- esteem by
comparing yourself to others. It says in “Social Media and Teens: How
does social media affect teenager’s Mental Health” it says “One study
out of the University of Pittsburgh, for example, found a correlation
between time spent scrolling through social media apps and negative
body image feedback. Those who spent more time on social media had
2.2 times the risk of reporting eating and body image concerns,
compared to their peers who spent less time on social media. The
participants who spent the most time on social media had 2.6 times the
risk.” This is implying that people who spend more time on social media
can cause them to develop low self-esteem, and this can cause people to
think negatively about their body and want to change themselves. This
can negatively impact a person's mentality which could be damaging
because of social media. As well in the article, “Multimodal Mental
Health Analysis In Social Media” it says that “Several efforts have
attempted to automatically detect depression from social media content
utilizing machine learning, deep learning, and natural language
processing approaches. From conducting a retrospective study of tweets,
De Choudhury et al., (2013) characterizes depression based on factors
such as language, emotion, style, ego-network, and user engagement.
They built a classifier to predict the likelihood of depression from a
written post [30] or an individual’s profile.” This is illustrating how
Social media could be linked to depression and other mental problems as
well this is proving how social media could have a negative impact on
one’s mental state because of how people are using it to influence others.

In addition, social media has no privacy, and if not careful it could

cause damage. One questionable photo posted can either make or break
your reputation. Let’s say you are trying to get the job you always
wanted. One photo might cause you to be rejected for that job or
position.

In general, once something is posted, it stays on the internet forever. In

the article, “Can Social Media Get You Fired?” It explains how many
potential employers reject job seekers just based on their profile photo
on their social media. The article says “One in 10 job seekers between
the ages of 16 and 34 have been rejected for a job because of something
posted on their profile, according to a recent survey from London-based
mobile research firm On Device Research.” This proves that social
media can be harmful because one photo can ruin your image and ruin
the chances of you getting hired for that position or job. To continue on,
In the article “ Sharing Privately: The Effect Publication On Social
Media Has On Expectations Of Privacy” it explains how social media
could be dangerous because of how fast something can be shared and
reposted. “The story of Justine Sacco, a publicist who in December
2013, whilst about to board a plane to South Africa, tweeted, ‘Going to
Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!’ to her 170
followers. By the time she landed in Cape Town the hashtag
#hasjustinelandedyet was the number one worldwide trend on Twitter.”
basically on her experience, on one tweet on twitter it got reposted and
shared this was a negative impact on her because originally it was a
joke, yet this ruin her reputation because of social media. This supports
how social media could be damaging because of the lack of privacy of
social media and one tweet or picture could ruin opportunities for
yourself because of what you posted. Furthermore, social media can be
addictive, and we can get struck on social media when we should be
involved in more important pursuits. In the article “What Students Are
Saying About how Much They Use Their Phones and Whether We
Should Be Worried” it explains how many people lose sleep from being
on their phones too much. A girl was talking about her experience with
the amount of hours being on her phone she said “ My average screen
time is probably about 12 hours a day. I worry a lot about how much
time I spend on my phone. But the Kou 6 way I socialize is through my
phone. I use social media to communicate, and I have to use my phone
to make calls and text. But whenever I have to study, I pull out my
phone and go on it for about an hour …When it is time to go to sleep, I
go on my phone in the dark with dark mode on. My bed has my charger
connected to it so I can easily stay up all night. I want to remove it but
because I am so addicted to my phone, I do not. One time I fell asleep at
2 am because I was on my phone, and it made me extremely tired (this
was on a school night).” This Explains how social media could
negatively affect people because it could be addicting and a habit for
people to spend time on their phones and lose focus on what they have
to get done instead of stay on task because they are distracted on their
phone. As well, another person felt when he was on his phone it took up
much of his time to do other things. It says “On average, I spend about 6
hours a day on my phone. It is spent with me going on social media,
playing games, or watching Netflix. Every weekend, a notification pops
up showing me how much time I have spent and each week it has gone
up. I am starting to become a lot more cautious about how much time I
spend on my phone because it is starting to worry me. My phone has
become something that I always have to have and it never leaves my
side. It has gotten in the way of me studying and spending time with my
family which has started to worry me. I believe that parents should know
how much time their kid is using their phone but I don’t think that they
should act upon it.” This is proving that social media could be
pessimistic because social media can take up most of your time if you do
not know how to manage your time where you can get everything done
first and this could lead into you not being able to stay focused because
you are struck on your phone. Social media can be toxic for individuals
because people are way to focused on getting likes and attention,Social
media has no privacy whatsoever, and social media could be addicting
because people do not know how to get off their phones. This connects
to the real world because Kou 7 everyday social media is being used
instagram,snapchat, facebook, twitter and many more although social
media you could make connections with people and stay in touch with
friends and family. Yet, too much social media could be toxic and
harmful to not only yourself but to others as well if not being used in the
right way.

advantages of social media :

Social media has strongly influenced the people and the whole world.
We are totally dependent on technology and social media that one
cannot even imagine living without it. From making connections
through worldwide connectivity, from online businesses to digital
marketing, from creating brand loyalty to awareness, social media has
tremendously affected our lives.

We are blessed to have social media in our lives through which its easier
access and updates of information. But, nobody can deny the fact that
using it excessively can cause major health issues, which can have a
disastrous impact on our life.

3.1 A Place for noble causes and practices

Social media is used as a platform for noble deeds. For instance,

providing donations or funds to the people who are suffering from
cancer or thalassemia and are in need of funds to cure it, social media is
the best way to promote. Many people use it to help such people who are
in need of funds. It is the easiest and quickest to promote a noble cause.

3.2 Use of social media for promotion and advertising

Social media acts as a great promoter in the field of online business and
marketing. It also serves as a medium to post anything which leads to
promotion and paves the way to success. Social media helps in
promoting business profitably and connecting with the users in the right
way. It builds rapport among users and creates goodwill for your
business, which is essential for the growth of any business.

3.3 People can connect through social media

One of the most important advantages of social media is connectivity. It

can connect innumerable users from any place at any time. Through
social media and its connectivity, the information could be shared across
the world, and building relationships with each other also become easy.
It leads to worldwide connections. Social media creates a feeling of
closeness and bond amongst each other.

3.4 Assists in the formation of people’s communities

We all are living in a diverse world where there exist different types of
people, i.e., from different communities, religions, and diverse
backgrounds. Social media helps in the unification of people by
connecting them through the same platform. It helps to build
relationships among communities by creating a feeling of oneness. For
instance, foodies can join the food blogger community, and game lovers
can join communities related to games, and so on.
3.5 Social media can reach large audiences

Social media has helped in increasing business rapport by building

goodwill amongst people, and its promotion leads to an increase in sales,
there by increasing profits. Businesses get great help from the reviews
and comments given by the users. Many business firms have increased
revenue just because of social media and because of the likes it received
from the users.

3.6 Governments Benefits from social media

Over the years, social media has become a powerful tool for government
to disseminate information and sway public opinion with a single press
of a button. With over 80% of Australians having a social media account
in 2021, more and more Aussies have used their social media power to
voice their opinions on government actions. This brings a challenge for
the government to be more directly connected to the public in order to
have effective conversations that can benefit both parties.Thus, the use
of social media channels can be a very powerful way for government
agencies to interact with the public so that they can achieve their desired
policy objectives while not alienating the people.

3.7 Mental health with social media

Social media acts as a great stress buster or mental health reliever by

connecting to various people across the world and building positive
relationships with them. There are various groups in social media, and
you can come across many people who may help you to fight with stress
issues, depression, and isolation. It can build healthy relations with
people by generating positive vibes and a happier mood. It improves
mental well-being.
Disadvantages of social media :

One of the important factors to consider is that while social media has
several advantages, another side of the story needs awareness. Social
media is often referred to as a double-edged sword. The impact of social
media is often subtle and becomes more pronounced with repeated
usage. There is also a lot of detrimental disadvantages for social media.

3.8 Cyberbulling

Cyberbullying is one of the worst aspects of regular social media usage,

topping the list of disadvantages associated with the same. Bullying that
takes place online on social media platforms is cyberbullying. It uses
false social media accounts to psychologically disturb or tease
victims. False social media accounts are often untraceable. Bullying
happens via sending derogatory material (such as photographs and
videos) and inappropriate text messages. Being aware of this
disadvantage is crucial when navigating an online presence.

3.9 Hacking

In addition to cyberbullying, hacking is also regarded as one of the most

severe drawbacks of social media that affect many people. Hacking
refers to the process of gaining access to another individual’s personal
information. Often, this information can cause harm rather than good.
There have been many instances where hackers have managed to upset
an individual’s financial and social stability. It is important to remember
that hacking is illegal and can be reported. Legal action is often taken
against hackers with fines, sentences, and, in some cases, imprisonment.

3.1.2 Addiction

Finally, addiction is regarded as one of the most commonly-felt

disadvantages of social media platforms. Post the COVID-19 pandemic,
there has been a surge in social media addiction, especially with the
extra amount of leisure time experienced by many. People who use
social media excessively develop a psychological addiction to the same.
Social media addiction has affected the global teenage population in a
majority of negative ways. People who use social media excessively are
often cut off from society and the natural world. This can cause
significant dissociation from what is happening in an individual’s real
life.

3.1.3Scams

In 2021, social media was the most profitable way for scammers to reach
people—so much so that from 2017 to 2021, reports of fraud on social
soared 1,800% . Getting scammed is a too-easy way to lose money. But
it can also lead to privacy breaches—for your personal accounts, and
your brand’s. At worst, this could lead to a major brand crisis.
3.1.4 Relationship frauds

People have started using social media as a platform to find their better
half and get married to them. But after a few years, it may lead to
unhealthy relationships or even divorce just because they have given
incorrect information about each other. It can ruin their whole life by
cheating on each other. It can also lead to infatuation among teens,
which can distract their minds and provoke them to do something
wrong.
3.1.5 Health issues

Human beings are social creatures. We need the companionship of

others to thrive in life, and the strength of our connections has a huge
impact on our mental health and happiness. Being socially connected to
others can ease stress, anxiety, and depression, boost self-worth, provide
comfort and joy, prevent loneliness, and even add years to your life. On
the flip side, lacking strong social connections can pose a serious risk to
your mental and emotional health.

3.1.6 Loss of social and family life

Social media has become a hindrance in the way of social-emotional

connection. Be it the wishes on special days or expressing one’s
feelings, everything has been limited to textual content through social
media, which results in a lack of personal feelings and connections.
Earlier people use to visit one’s place to wish them on special days, but
now they find it easier to send a text message. A person’s emotions and
feelings cannot be felt through just a text message. So, there is a lack of
connection between people because of social media. I would personally
agree to it that social media has caused distance in relationships.
Earlier, people use to spend quality time with their family members by
sitting together, having meals together, watching movies, having
celebrations, and discussing any issues with each other. But now, we
love to spend time alone with just our phones, and we need no one to
disturb.It has caused distance in relations with family members by
reducing that love and closeness.

3.1.7 Depression and anxiety

Human beings need face-to-face contact to be mentally healthy. Nothing

reduces stress and boosts your mood faster or more effectively than eye-
to-eye contact with someone who cares about you. The more you
prioritize social media interaction over in-person relationships, the more
you’re at risk for developing or exacerbating mood disorders such as
anxiety and depression. A study at the University of Pennsylvania found
that high usage of Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram increases rather
decreases feelings of loneliness. Conversely, the study found that
reducing social media usage can actually make you feel less lonely and
isolated and improve your overall wellbeing.

3.1.8 Criminal activities

Some people will say that social media has encouraged the youth to
participate in violent activities and has a large impact on their behavior.
According to studies “The numerous factors for violence are poverty,
child abuse, and community violence. These also play a significant role
in the formation and escalation of violent behaviors according to the
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.” There is
violence everywhere we look at movies, televisions, and on the web.
Young people tend to learn from what they are shown and are used to
growing up with.

3.1.9Lack of privacy
The trouble with privacy is arguably one of the most significantly
experienced disadvantages when listing the advantages and
disadvantages of social media. Tweeting inappropriate information,
sharing too much of your everyday life with a large audience, or
unknowingly sharing your online location are some of the disadvantages
of frequent social media usage. It is also important to note that security
agencies worldwide have access to all the information you post on social
media platforms. As a result, your privacy is almost always
compromised.

Chapter 4 : how does social media affects relationships ?

Positive effects of social media on relationships.

4.1 Helps boost connectivity

According to recent research, social media use has a positive impact on
social connection if people use it actively.Family members and friends
do not always live in the same city, or even the same state or country.
Social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook are quick and
convenient ways for long-distance loved ones to stay in touch.

People can post updates about themselves and others in their lives, such
as spouses and children, as well as share photos of vacations and other
important family events. Additionally, people can tweak their privacy
levels and share more personal information or pictures through
individual or group messages.

These and other social media apps provide ways for people to video chat
in real-time, further helping them feel more connected.

4.2 Helps improve communication

Margaret E. Morris, Ph.D., clinical psychologist and author of Left to

Our Own Devices: Outsmarting Smart Technology to Reclaim Our
Relationships, Health, and Focus, conducted a 2020 reviewTrusted
Source of how people in various types of relationships use technology.
Morris found that it is not the specific type of technology people use but
how they use it that can bring value to the partnership.

Morris discusses the benefits of various types of technology. One

example is a parent sharing a self-help app with a child to work through
an argument. In discussing romantic relationships, Morris highlights
how sharing images via social media can also feel like an extra way to
communicate. Using tools such as WhatsApp, and texting through an
argument, may also help some people communicate through writing.
This allows a person time and space to formulate the right words when
face-to-face conversations prove difficult.

negative effects of social media on relationships

4.3 Fuels functional impairments

Substituting social media interactions for face-to-face communication

may impact not only existing relationships but also

the ability to form new relationships.

For example, while some researchers note the necessity for more
research on social anxiety and social media use, it is possibleTrusted
Source for people with social anxiety to experience continued functional
impairments — e.g., being uncomfortable or unable to form and engage
in face-to-face relationships — when they replace in-person interactions
with social media use.Furthermore, failing to make or maintain in-
person relationships may also appear as a consequence of social media
use.

During a 2021 study at Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University in Saudi

Arabia, researchers found that more than half (59%) of the 300
participants reported prolonged use of social media had impacted their
social interactions, negatively affecting family relationships and
friendships while also making face-to-face communication more
difficult. However, the study consisted only of students who identified
as female aged 17–29 years, so more research is necessary..

4.4 Decreases quality time and relationship satisfaction

Excessive social media use can negatively impact quality time, create
conflict, and reduce relationship satisfaction — whether the relationship
is romantic or not.During a 2021 study, researchers used Instagram and
the app’s time-tracking capability to learn more about the connection
between social media and relationship satisfaction.

They found an increase in Instagram usage led to a decrease in

relationship satisfaction and an increase in conflict and negative
outcomes. Furthermore, the dissatisfaction, conflict, and negative
outcomes triggered an addictive use of Instagram.On the flipside,
making daily sacrifices for the relationship partner had a positive effect
on relationship satisfaction and decreased the likelihood of conflict and
negative outcomes.

However, there is also the issue of phubbing — the act of snubbing a

person in a social setting by focusing on one’s smartphone. For example,
if two people sit down for a face-to-face conversation and one continues
to scroll social media apps and check notifications, that person is
phubbing the other.

Numerous studies and research materialsTrusted Source show that many

people feel phubbing is rude and goes against social norms. Phubbees, or
people who have experienced phubbing, report a reduced sense of
emotional connection, empathetic concern, and interpersonal trust.
Additionally, phubbing may lead to heightened jealousy between
romantic partners, as well as weaken their bond and lower their
satisfaction with the relationship.

4.5 Provides an avenue for infidelity-related behaviors

Infidelity-related behaviors,” such as communicating with alternative

partners, can lead to relationship dissatisfaction, breakups, and divorce.
Social media provides such an avenue for those behaviors. While there
is not much empirical evidence regarding social media infidelity-related
behaviors (SMIRB) and marital relationships, there is growing research
on the topic.

For example, researchers conducted a 2017 surveyTrusted Source of 338

married or cohabiting partners on SMIRB. In addition to existing
materials such as the Quality of Marriage Index and Experiences in
Close Relationship Scale-Short Form, participants completed a survey
specific to this study. Question topics revolved around online activities,
emotions, and secrecy.

A small percentage of people reported participating in social media

infidelity-related behaviors. However, researchers found that more
participation in these behaviors was significantly related to lower
relationship satisfaction, higher relationship ambivalence, and other
relationship concerns.