Is Social Media Toxic?

Post date: Apr 27, 2018 12:58:33 PM

By Brayden Foust

About 96.7 percent of students at KHS use social media, but it may not be as damaging as it seems. Kim Bevil, a teacher of career and technology safety, says she teaches her students about how social media affects student lives when off of social media as well as when they are on it. So, how does it affect students offline?

In an interview with students Abby Kuttenkuler and Evie Presley, both claim to have Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and Presley also has Pinterest. They both spend about an hour on social media every day.

Lauren Wilson and Mathew Robbins have Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. Wilson also has Pinterest and Tumblr. She says she only looks at things every once in a while when she is bored, but Robbins says he is on it about four hours a day because he has noticed that people are on social media much more than they realize.

All say the discussions on social media become toxic. However, Presley adds that the discussions, even when heated, can become productive. She references the current political issue of gun control and says that it can be helpful to discuss these things. “It can encourage people to make a difference.” Robbins says he feels people think they can say whatever they want because no one will ever see them in person.

Adding to this topic, Wilson says she feels people sometimes sound harsh when they do not intend to and people misunderstand their meaning.

Everyone interviewed said social media has distracted them from things they need to do fairly often. Kuttenkuler says social media has no effect on her mood while Presley says it sometimes does have a negative effect on her self esteem, especially when looking at various posts of others’ lives. Wilson says she is affected by events she sees in the news on occasion or by harsh posts about others. Robbins says that the effect on his mood depends on what happens on social media. It can have a positive or negative effect.

Presley and Kuttenkuler say they only feel pressure to continue using social media when on a Snapchat streak, which is when two people who follow each other, like one anothers’ pictures every day. Robbins says he feels pressure when trying to keep from missing out on something.

In a recent survey, students were questioned about social media. Out of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Reddit, and Pinterest, Reddit was used the least with 84.2 percent saying they did not use it at all. By far, Snapchat was the most popular with 29.6 percent claiming to binge the site.

The same survey reflects the answers given in the interviews. Almost all who answered, 85.1percent, claim that social media has distracted them from something that needed done. However, less than half, 47.8 percent, say social media has had a negative effect on their mental health. Most, 85.2 percent, agree that social media can become a toxic place when it comes to opinions. However, only 29.6 percent claim to feel pressure to continue using social media.

To gain another teacher perspective, Betsy Tornatore answered that while she does have Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, she only uses social media for about ten to twenty minutes a day. Similarly to Wilson, she does feel negatively when she sees something negative in the news through social media.

Tornatore feels no pressure to continue using social media, but she does feel it is fine for students to use it as long as it does not take away from something more important. While she would prefer a face-to-face conversation, she does appreciate that she can communicate with family members in other areas of the country.

So, despite the negatives that can come from social media, it appears to intrude too deeply into the lives of students for the most part. There are obviously some negative effects, but it appears that everyone interviewed can mostly control their social media intake.