Social Media Impact

Project Description:

For this assignment I had to evaluate how social media affects my daily life, as well as how it affects the world.

Social Media Addiction Survey

I was tasked with completing the "Am I ADDICTED to social media?" Quiz and I learned that I am fairly addicted to social media but not the point that it causes a problem.  Here are what my results say: 

You're fairly reliant on social media, but there are far worse culprits! Still, it's good to be reminded that UK adults spend an average of 8 hrs 41 mins on screens every day, and 4 hours of that on smartphone apps alone (mainly social media). That's about a third of each day checking apps. Do you need to rethink your social media habits and the amount of time you spend scrolling? 

Social Media Impact On Society

In my opinion I find social media's impact on society to be mostly negative.  Although I think it is a great way to be able to communicate with friends and family and stay connected to each other's lives, it also creates very bad habits. The way these algorithms work finding every little thing you do and tailoring content towards you is very creepy to me and it creates a digital bubble.  It also creates addictions where people can't go more than 5 minutes without checking their social media, and even young children under ten years old are throwing temper tantrums and crying when parents take away their access to social media, which by the guidelines they aren't old enough to have in the first place.  Although there are many positives to it, I think the negatives barely outweigh them.

Lessons Learned

I learned that I use social media a pretty healthy amount and I am not nearly as addicted as some other people are.  I also learned a lot more about the negatives of social media that I previously did not realize.

Sources

Auxier, B. a. (2021, April 7). Social Media Use in 2021. Retrieved from Pew Research Center: https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/04/07/social-media-use-in-2021/