EOTO Project - Social Media

Throughout time, we as humans have valued communication and have used it for centuries, in order to progress in life. Beginning with early forms of structured languages, we have since upgraded to horseback mail, to then a postal service, and then emails and text messaging. We now live in the present 21st century where a fairly new form of communication has emerged: social media.

Simply put, the definition of social media can be defined as an interactive program that is filled with user-generated content, to share information, communicate, share ideas and opinions, and other forms of creative expression. All platforms include a profile that is designed and maintained by the social media organization. The top apps and platforms that can be found today include Snapchat, Instagram, and Youtube. I use all three and have found these apps to be very helpful when it comes to some tasks, but also found some downsides to them. But it's important to study social media's early history before discussing its impact on modern society.

History

In 1960, at the University of Illinois, PLATO (Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operations) was born. It was the first generalized computer-assisted instruction system. It was designed to teach students and people alike through digital coursework assigned by the mainframe. What made it more unique were its early versions of instant messaging and chat rooms, which can be found in many social media apps today. It continued to be upgraded and used for several years after.

31 years later, Tim-Berners Lee developed the World Wide Web, which became the main station for using the internet as we know it today. This also allowed chat rooms to develop and became public for others to use (example: AOL). 

Other early forms of online communication were GeoCities (1994), Classmates (1995), and SixDegrees (1997). SixDegrees was considered to be the very first social networking site, according to CBS News.

Social Media Used Today

I think it's a fair statement to say that a large majority of the world's population uses some form of social media regularly, if not at least once. I will bet money that everyone has at least used YouTube to learn how to fix something or to tie a tie (guilty). A 2015 study showed that the world population spent 22% of their time on social media. The largest platform today is Facebook, with over 2,190,000,000 users across the globe. it is followed by YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, and WeChat. 

Social media has had an impact on all audiences, young and old. For adults, it was the perfect tool for communicating with doctors and health sites, especially during the pandemic. Muhammad Said, Faculty of Social and Political Science at Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia says, "Social media have become popularly used to seek medical information and have fascinated the general public to collect information regarding coronavirus pandemics in various perspectives." 

In terms of business, social media is there to help too. Many companies have their own profiles to help market their product and to keep customers updated on what is happening. It can be used for news updates too. Twitter has become the place tube on to get news fast.

Children are involved with social media as well. In the pandemic, about 67% of minors used YouTube to collect the social interaction we need as humans. However, many sites don't allow minors to interact on their platforms, and yet they still use them. 31% of 8-12-year-olds use apps like, Snap and Instagram, point to one of the many flaws of this invention.

Criticism/Flaws

When I was in high school, my parents made me watch a Netflix documentary titled "The Social Dilemma" and I didn't think anything of it at first. Looking back, I'm glad they made me watch it, as it was eye-opening to what happens on social media. The film essentially brings in former employees of big tech companies, such as Google and Twitter, to highlight the social and cultural impact of social media usage regularly, with a focus on the platforms' algorithms that are designed to create psychological manipulation based on the users' interests. 

Going back to children being affected by social media, using it at such a young age can lead to traumatizing interactions on the internet. This includes being exposed to actions and images of alcohol, violence, drugs, and sexual behaviors. Most social media platforms don't have a strict privacy monitor in place to prevent this.

Sites can also have faulty news sources. Although there are numerous outlets for findings news, there are some that present or release fake reports that aren't true or proven by verified outlets. These accounts try to get people to believe something false by having other fake accounts release the same news, manipulating people into thinking it is real because it was reported by other profiles.

Infographic of Social Media's Impact on Mental Health

In a day and age where we also see many acts of activism and protest, social media plays a factor in this. Malcolm Gladwell of The New Yorker says it's harder for expression and demand to have an impact if done through social media. Participation has increased with the rise of social platforms, but it's, "lessening the level of motivation that participation requires." In other words: Reposting an Instagram post about a topic people are upset about will not make an impact on the problem itself. 

Speaking of Instagram, let's focus on another subject that falls under this platform: social comparison. A common problem we see on this app is people comparing themselves to other people they see on the app. This can lead to lowered self-esteem, jealousy, and FOMO (fear of missing out). People will post good events on their profile and others may take it the wrong way, as in wishing that was them and feeling less about themselves. 

Lastly, cyberbullying. As someone who has seen and encountered cyberbullying multiple times, it's hard to combat. You have someone hiding behind this profile, completely oblivious to any real-life punishments or consequences unless the conversation and actions escalate and become a dangerous situation in person. This is another problem that can lead to decreased mental health in people.

Overall

While it may seem I have bashed social media for all that it is, the idea of it is not entirely bad. Does it have some flaws that need to be worked out? Yes. Do humans need to be more aware of what happens on social media and how it can affect you and others? Definitely. Will the people in charge of the platforms take action and make measures to better their online communities so that people can enjoy them without the consequences discussed before?

Unfortunately, I don't know.

But that doesn't mean the platforms themselves aren't worth our time. In a modern world, technology is everywhere and has significantly helped the working world become more efficient in how we do things. I do think this is one of the better inventions of our time and it has helped us in many ways. Even with the many growing negatives it has, we must learn to use it properly so that we may prosper off of it, rather than crumble.