Jeremy Hardy
Ms. Lehmann
English 2-1B
7 February 2020
It’s Complicated
“Focus on how to be social, not how to do social,” said Jay Baer. Teens need to consider becoming more social with people face to face rather than being social on social media. Teens should be responsible users of social media because social media impacts teens’ well-being, social connectedness, and academic achievement. In examining social media’s impact on well-being, it is clear the connection is complex.
How we use social media impacts our well-being. Social media has both good and bad impacts on teens’ emotional health. There are a range of challenges teens face in life, and social media allows them to seek out help they might not get otherwise. James et al write, “The ability to communicate anonymously can mitigate barriers, such as shame, that interfere with support-seeking offline” (72). Being able to anonymously ask for help has a positive impact on teens’ lives because it allows people to ask for help without feeling judged so they can get the help they need. Having considered the positive impact of social media, users must also be aware of the negative. Social media has been blamed for many negative impacts on people’s lives. James et al explain, “Several investigations document correlations between heavy media use and reduced well-being – related outcomes, such as diminished life satisfaction, internalizing negative experiences, and various dimensions of ill-being, such as depression, anxiety, attention problems, and stress” (72). When young adults to use social media to compare themselves to others, negative outcomes will follow. When social media presents the good things in our lives as the only things, users can lose sight of the messiness of life, making them feel less satisfied with what they have. The impact that social media has on adolescents’ well-being depends upon how it is being used.
Social media is causing a decline in face to face communication among teens. Teens are not getting the social activity that prior generations have gotten, and it is affecting teens as they get older. Many teenagers are going away from talking in person and being active to being isolated on their phones. “Only 32 percent say their favorite way to communicate with friends is in person (dropping from 49 percent in 2012) and teens are more likely to say they are distracted by social media when they are with other people (54 percent up from 44)” (K.Y. 18). Some kids may feel it is easier and less stressful to communicate through social media, but they are losing the fact to face activity that kids need. The screen time spent on social media has the power to impact a teen’s personality. The survey conducted by Common Sense Media showed that it is a young adult's personality that determines social media’s impact. “The 17 percent who scored in the low-SEWD group were the most impacted by social media interactions, suggesting that the child’s personality—not the platform—is the more important factor when determining the influence of social media.” (K.Y. 18). Because everyone has a different personality, we cannot always know how social media affects everyone; it depends on the person. The relationship between social media and teens is complicated because different teens use it differently and the effects can vary among teens. As teens communicate more online and less in person, their relationships with people weaken.
Some argue that the dangers of social media have been overexaggerated. Despite the appeal of this argument, the negative effects of social media cannot be ignored entirely. Using social media too much has been connected to a lack of emotional and physical well-being as well as weaker social connectedness. Success in school has also been impacted by screen time. “Academic performance is directly related to sleep time and inversely related to overall sedentary SMU [Screen Media Use] among the students who participated in this study” (Peiro-Velert at al 5). The study found that the more time students spend on their screens, the less time they have to sleep, which results in lower academic achievement. It's obvious that social media’s impact is complicated, and people should be mindful of how they use it.
By using social media responsibly, teens can minimize its impact on their health, connections with others, and success in school. Being aware of how they use social media can minimize the negative impact on teens’ well-being. Teens like social media and have become more distracted by it, and should become more aware of how they use it. The amount of time teens spend on social media has an indirect impact on their academic performance. Perhaps Jay Baer was right when he said it was time to focus on how to be social.
James, Carrie, Katie Davis, Linda Charmarman, Sara Konrath, Petr Slovak, Emily Weinstein, and Lana Yarosh. “Digital Life and Youth
Well-being, Social Connectedness, Empathy, and Narcissism.” Pediatrics, vol. 140, no. S2, November 2017, pp. 71-75. Academic
Search Premier, doi:1542/peds.2016-1785F. 21 January 2020.
K.Y. “Social Media and Teens” School Library Journal. vol. 64, no.10, October 2018. Pp.1-3.
Academic Search Premier. January 2020.
Peiró-Velert, Carmen, Alexandra Valencia-peris, Luis M. González, Xavier Garcia- Massó, Pilar Serra Añó, and José Devís-Devís.
"Screen Media Usage, Sleep Time and Academic Performance in Adolescents: Clustering a Self-Organizing Maps Analysis.” Plos
One, vol. 9, no. 6, June 2014, pp 1-9. Academic Search Premier, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099478. Accessed 10 February 2020.
Research Paper Reflection
Please answer all questions in complete, grammatically correct sentences.
1. Explain the process you went through to write this paper. Please be specific. I used Cornell notes to format my information that I got from other articles.
2.What qualifies this paper as an argumentative essay? What are the requirements for this genre and how did you meet them? It argues both sides and has a rebuttal.
3.Explain one thing you learned about reading research or taking notes on research that you can apply to your next research paper. When reading articles highlight the things you want to uses and put them in Cornell notes.
Ms. Lehmann
English 2-1B
7 February 2020
It’s Complicated
“Focus on how to be social, not how to do social,” said Jay Baer. Teens need to consider becoming more social with people face to face rather than being social on social media. Teens should be responsible users of social media because social media impacts teens’ well-being, social connectedness, and academic achievement. In examining social media’s impact on well-being, it is clear the connection is complex.
How we use social media impacts our well-being. Social media has both good and bad impacts on teens’ emotional health. There are a range of challenges teens face in life, and social media allows them to seek out help they might not get otherwise. James et al write, “The ability to communicate anonymously can mitigate barriers, such as shame, that interfere with support-seeking offline” (72). Being able to anonymously ask for help has a positive impact on teens’ lives because it allows people to ask for help without feeling judged so they can get the help they need. Having considered the positive impact of social media, users must also be aware of the negative. Social media has been blamed for many negative impacts on people’s lives. James et al explain, “Several investigations document correlations between heavy media use and reduced well-being – related outcomes, such as diminished life satisfaction, internalizing negative experiences, and various dimensions of ill-being, such as depression, anxiety, attention problems, and stress” (72). When young adults to use social media to compare themselves to others, negative outcomes will follow. When social media presents the good things in our lives as the only things, users can lose sight of the messiness of life, making them feel less satisfied with what they have. The impact that social media has on adolescents’ well-being depends upon how it is being used.
Social media is causing a decline in face to face communication among teens. Teens are not getting the social activity that prior generations have gotten, and it is affecting teens as they get older. Many teenagers are going away from talking in person and being active to being isolated on their phones. “Only 32 percent say their favorite way to communicate with friends is in person (dropping from 49 percent in 2012) and teens are more likely to say they are distracted by social media when they are with other people (54 percent up from 44)” (K.Y. 18). Some kids may feel it is easier and less stressful to communicate through social media, but they are losing the fact to face activity that kids need. The screen time spent on social media has the power to impact a teen’s personality. The survey conducted by Common Sense Media showed that it is a young adult's personality that determines social media’s impact. “The 17 percent who scored in the low-SEWD group were the most impacted by social media interactions, suggesting that the child’s personality—not the platform—is the more important factor when determining the influence of social media.” (K.Y. 18). Because everyone has a different personality, we cannot always know how social media affects everyone; it depends on the person. The relationship between social media and teens is complicated because different teens use it differently and the effects can vary among teens. As teens communicate more online and less in person, their relationships with people weaken.
Some argue that the dangers of social media have been overexaggerated. Despite the appeal of this argument, the negative effects of social media cannot be ignored entirely. Using social media too much has been connected to a lack of emotional and physical well-being as well as weaker social connectedness. Success in school has also been impacted by screen time. “Academic performance is directly related to sleep time and inversely related to overall sedentary SMU [Screen Media Use] among the students who participated in this study” (Peiro-Velert at al 5). The study found that the more time students spend on their screens, the less time they have to sleep, which results in lower academic achievement. It's obvious that social media’s impact is complicated, and people should be mindful of how they use it.
By using social media responsibly, teens can minimize its impact on their health, connections with others, and success in school. Being aware of how they use social media can minimize the negative impact on teens’ well-being. Teens like social media and have become more distracted by it, and should become more aware of how they use it. The amount of time teens spend on social media has an indirect impact on their academic performance. Perhaps Jay Baer was right when he said it was time to focus on how to be social.
James, Carrie, Katie Davis, Linda Charmarman, Sara Konrath, Petr Slovak, Emily Weinstein, and Lana Yarosh. “Digital Life and Youth
Well-being, Social Connectedness, Empathy, and Narcissism.” Pediatrics, vol. 140, no. S2, November 2017, pp. 71-75. Academic
Search Premier, doi:1542/peds.2016-1785F. 21 January 2020.
K.Y. “Social Media and Teens” School Library Journal. vol. 64, no.10, October 2018. Pp.1-3.
Academic Search Premier. January 2020.
Peiró-Velert, Carmen, Alexandra Valencia-peris, Luis M. González, Xavier Garcia- Massó, Pilar Serra Añó, and José Devís-Devís.
"Screen Media Usage, Sleep Time and Academic Performance in Adolescents: Clustering a Self-Organizing Maps Analysis.” Plos
One, vol. 9, no. 6, June 2014, pp 1-9. Academic Search Premier, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0099478. Accessed 10 February 2020.
Research Paper Reflection
Please answer all questions in complete, grammatically correct sentences.
1. Explain the process you went through to write this paper. Please be specific. I used Cornell notes to format my information that I got from other articles.
2.What qualifies this paper as an argumentative essay? What are the requirements for this genre and how did you meet them? It argues both sides and has a rebuttal.
3.Explain one thing you learned about reading research or taking notes on research that you can apply to your next research paper. When reading articles highlight the things you want to uses and put them in Cornell notes.