Reflection Blog #1
What does the research from Common Sense Media and the Pew Research Center reveal about teens’ and adults’ experiences and their relationship with social media?:
From both the research on the Common Sense Media site and the Pew Research Center, it is clear that social media has essentially taken over the lives of many. The exponential growth of social media use has skyrocketed since the year 2012 (Common Sense Media, 2018). Teens and adults alike have a very dependent relationship with social media applications. While teens are more likely to have and use daily these sites, adults are still subject to their hold. We use these applications so often that we don’t even realize what a grand hold they have over our everyday lives. These holds can be positive or negative but the importance lies in realizing how much they truly affect us. It’s been shown that young adults and teens check their phones from the moment they wake up to the moment they go to sleep. The dependence on waiting for a new notification or checking what our favorite celebrities are doing draws the attention away from what truly matters; our real lives. Though this tendency is more prominent in younger generations, adults too have shown that they greatly rely on social media. We can use these applications in so many facets that we may not see how dependent we really are.
What are some positive effects that were shared by teens or adults? Explain.
The take over of social media on our lives can be disturbing to think about. We are constantly being bombarded with new information that is too much for our brains to process along with the realities of our actual lives. However, there are some positives that can be found in the entry to an ever-connected world. According to the Common Sense Media site, 25% of teens reported that utilizing social media has decreased their loneliness. It was also stated that 18% felt social media made them feel better about themselves while only 4% said it made them feel worse (Common Sense Media, 2018). As shared on this site, a significant percent of young adults felt that social media increased their life in some way. The connectedness that Snapchat and Instagram allow for creates a space in which people can talk to friends and family on a daily basis where they may not be able to in real life. It also has the ability to enhance our productivity in the professional and academic fields. Especially during a pandemic, the use of social media sites has created our virtual world that is needed during this trying time. Being able to use applications like Zoom allows us to meet with team members to discuss a project. This alternative “face-to-face” setting is a positive tool to use when real life doesn’t warrant in-person communication.
What are some negative effects that were shared? Explain.
While the positives of social media may be clear, it is important to also discuss the negative ways in which this constant screen time has affected our lives. Younger users have indicated that it would be hard to very hard to give up social media (Pew Research Center, 2018). This idea alone should be enough to explain the negative hold that social media has taken on our lives. But I will explain more. By checking on our virtual world constantly throughout the day, we are taking away from the real, genuine connectedness that we need in a real-time setting. According to the Common Sense Media site, a significant amount of people believe that tech companies manipulate their social media experience. From targeted ads to constant notifications, social media provides a distraction that is too easy to give way to. Given that we are so dependent on social media and the ways in which it makes our lives easier, it is difficult to see that we do not actually need it. Or at least not to the extent that we are currently using it. Social media is meant to be an addition to our lives, not the center of it.
What is one other key finding from either of the research sources that you found to be important, notable, interesting, or surprising? Explain.
To end this discussion, I wanted to touch on the age gap for social media use. Both the Common Sense Media site and the Pew Research Center have shown through data that their is a significant downward slope in social media use as the age group grows higher. I think that this may be indicative of generations who did not grow up with social media. For teens and young adults, phone applications have been around for as long as they can remember. This has formed their way of life to a certain extent. The decline of social media use in the 40 and up range indicates adults who grew to know social media. They have been given the chance to know what life was like when this virtual technology wasn’t the only way of life. I think an important lesson can be taken from those in these higher age categories. Social media is meant to make our lives easier when it is applicable. We must be aware that social media is not the extent of our world.
