“What You Should Know About SOCIAL MEDIA” By: Mikhaela Ponce
Social and media, when combined together, form a whole different meaning. It is said to be something that represents the sites and applications such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. However, what is the real definition of social media? Daniel Nations on "Serious Question: What Exactly Is Social Media?" defined it as “web-based communication tools that enable people to interact with each other by both sharing and consuming information.” Hence, we can understand how social media does not only refer to the well-known websites people access today, rather, it is a broad perspective medium that helps us communicate easier and quicker each day.
For decades, the world has been exposed to the different functions of social media. We have been more knowledgeable and much aware of the news locally and internationally. On the first month of 2017, Dave Chaffey has made a statistic concerning the number of users a social network can gain annually. The results of his studies indicate how Facebook, Youtube, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and WeChat fell on the top five most-used social networks. Facebook has owned 2 billion active users while Youtube receives 1.5 billion users. In addition, as of January 30, 2018, Simon Kemp published a new 2018 Global Digital suite of reports from We Are Social and Hootsuite. The data he gathered has not only revealed the widespread of social media usage, it also elaborated the countries that have contributed to the increase of internet users per year. The data resulted in three different key points. First, “the number of internet users in 2018 is 4.021 billion, up 7 percent year-on-year”. Second, “the number of social media users in 2018 is 3.196 billion, up 13 percent year-on-year”. Lastly, “the number of mobile phone users in 2018 is 5.135 billion, up 4 percent year-on-year”. For the last three years, the Philippines is said to maintain the position of having the greatest amount of time spent on social media, claiming to have 4 hours of daily usage per person. The vast usage of social media is unstoppable indeed. Statisticians around the globe have been trying to unveil how social media is taking part in each person’s lives. Moreover, Simon Kemp also discovered how nearly a quarter of a billion users have used social media for the first time as of 2017. How can this be alarming? As what the latest “Global Web Index” accumulated, an average internet user is said to spend 6 hours daily on their mobile devices or computers that are internet-powered. For the 4 billion internet users, if their number of hours will be added up, it will astoundingly result in 1 billion years of being online in 2018.
Knowing the staggering results of social media usage serves as an eye-opener to people of all ages. There are three common issues with regards to using social media are cyberbullying, depression, and identity theft. Firstly, cyberbullying. Young people who have been victimized in social networking sites have “received an increasing level of scrutiny, particularly after a series of high-profile suicides” mentioned by an article published by Stephanie Pappas. Moreover, a different study conducted by Dr. Victor Fornari, a director of child and adolescent psychiatry at North Shore-LIJ Health System in New Hyde Park, N.Y, have proven the impact of cyberbullying among its victims. In an interview, he stated that suicidal thoughts and behavior increase by two to three times to the victims of bullying or cyberbullying. In addition, he also mentioned on Live Science how modern technology allows more adolescents bully even when the victim reaches home. When this happens, schools already lose control and even parents may not notice how their child is doing (Blaszczak-Boxe, “Live Science”).
Secondly, depression. With easy access to social media, nor does it only create cyberbullying problems, it also increases the risk of teens getting depressed. A review made by Hamm and her colleagues discussed the effects of cyberbullying on teens who have been exposed to social media in the same article. "There were consistent associations between exposure to cyberbullying and increased likelihood of depression," as what Hamm stated on Live Science. Furthermore, In 2016, a study conducted by Alex Riley, a science writer based in Bristol, among the 1,787-people aged between 19 and 32 found out that the more they use social media, the more they feel hopeless, worthless, and helpless which then resulted to depression.
Thirdly, identity theft. With a myriad of users of social media today, it is no wonder how many took advantage of stealing other’s profile or identity without being noticed. Kent Lewis, publisher of the article “How Social Media Networks Facilitate Identity Theft and Fraud” emphasized how social media becomes the easiest and most common instrument for faking identities. As an example, he mentioned how status updates posted on social media websites could serve as a hint for criminals. In addition, the photos and information we publicly post and share online are also something that can motivate a robber’s mind. Therefore, everyone must be self-cautious and skeptical in sharing their important information especially that most websites require you to cite your full name, birthdate, address and many more.
For most people, social media is something that is shallow and easy to understand. It is only a medium for connecting and interacting with other people. It defies the rule of long-distance-relationships and advocates the power of technology through time. It gave us all a lot of advantages and has reunited family members whom they have longed for a very long time. May this article serve as a reminder to all 4 billion users around the globe that they should think before posting, think before commenting, think before sharing, and think before communicating with people they do not know for social can be a tool that promotes bullying, depression, identity theft, scam, suicide, and other unethical websites. With that being said, just like what an old saying goes: “Think before you click.”.
Works Cited
Blaszczak-Boxe, Agata. "Bullying Linked to Suicidal Behavior in Adolescents." LiveScience. Purch, 10 Mar. 2014. Web. 17 Mar. 2018. <https://www.livescience.com/43994-bullying-suicidal-behavior-adolescents.html>. Chaffey, Dave. "Global Social Media Research Summary 2018." Smart Insights. N.p., 08 Feb. 2018. Web. 17 Mar. 2018. <https://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/new-global-social-media-research/>. Kemp, Simon. "Digital in 2018: World's Internet Users Pass the 4 Billion Mark." We Are Social UK. N.p., 30 Jan. 2018. Web. 17 Mar. 2018. https://wearesocial.com/uk/blog/2018/01/global-digital-report-2018 Lewis, Kent. "How Social Media Networks Facilitate Identity Theft and Fraud." Entrepreneurs. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2018. <https://www.eonetwork.org/octane-magazine/special-features/social-media-networks-facilitate-identity-theft-fraud>. Nations, Daniel. "Serious Question: What Exactly Is Social Media?" Lifewire. N.p., 30 May 2017. Web. 17 Mar. 2018. <https://www.lifewire.com/what-is-social-media-explaining-the-big-trend-3486616>. Pappas, Stephanie. "Cyberbullying on Social Media Linked to Teen Depression." LiveScience. Purch, 22 June 2015. Web. 17 Mar. 2018. <https://www.livescience.com/51294-cyberbullying-social-media-teen-depression.html>. Riley, Alex. "How Social Media Shapes My Depression – for Better and Worse." BBC. BBC, 13 Feb. 2018. Web. 17 Mar. 2018. <http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180209-how-social-media-changed-my-depression-for-better-and-worse>.
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