Final Speech: Anti-Social Media - Weiran Liu

Weiran Liu

            Oh sorry, I was making sure I tweet, update my status on Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat this. In recent years, social media has risen in popularity and has become a daily part of many of our lives. With a swipe of a finger you are granted access to recorded information from the beginning of human time and can instantly communicate with peers and keep up with mainstream trends – such as retweeting a picture of a pencil that no one cares about but will ensure you good luck for finals.  This easy access has actually fed to the growing want of instant gratification. In fact, a study conducted in 2008 by UCLA found altered prefrontal cortices of frequent web users as a result of keeping up with this ever-so-changing spectrum. They also discovered correlations between ADHD and internet addiction disorders that the Diagnostics and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is evaluating for addition.

            The ability to easily administer and receive information is a double-edged sword. The use of encyclopedias has surely decreased. We have instantaneous ease of access to information that was not readily available in the past. But social media has made it difficult to decipher what is true and reliable from what is false and libel. At times a fake picture or post can go viral and be defamatory. Sarah Palin as we saw in class the other day, endured much of this during the 2008 election when she saw her face photo-shopped onto a stranger’s body dressed clad in cowboy boots, an American flag bikini while holding a shotgun.

            For those who see past the scams and slander, social networking sites prove to be entertaining and even stress-relieving. So much to the point that 40% of persons between the ages of 8 to 18 spend an average minimum of 54 minutes a day on social media alone; when used alongside studying, grades dropped by 20% on tests. There is even a correlation between lower GPA and heavy social media usage. So maybe some of you guys would be passing this class if you weren’t too busy revining videos of Johnny Manziel throwing a tantrum like a five year-old girl.

            The main feature of these social networking sites is the ability to instantaneously share information. So when does it become too public? It is not uncommon for one not to recognize the potential harms of posting a picture of where you are, or checking in your location on foursquare. According to Credit Sesame, about 35% of the American population does so. An even greater number of ex burglars, 78%, use such sites to track and locate potential properties. Colleges and prospective employers can easily access this information as well. With just a click of a button, unfavorable material can be dug up – your very own rendition of Frozen’s “Let it Go”, a profane tweet sent in a spur or emotional rage, an embarrassing tag in a Facebook post. It can even be unauthorized but nonetheless released. A post made will remain available indefinitely. People can easily save what you posted and repost it – I know all of you all have screenshotted something one time or another. Many artists experience this and suffer from a loss of property and copyright. Social networks that appeared safe end up stealing the sense of privacy we once had.

            There are ones who use it for the original intended purpose – socialization. Transcontinental communication can be accomplished in a matter of milliseconds. But what quality is this communication? Professor of psychology Krystine Batcho explains that face-to-face interaction can accomplish more than cyberspace interactions. We’ve all received messages that we asked ourselves, “Wait, are they being serious or not?” So of course we get a second opinion from a friend who asks a third friend who also isn’t sure because it is just so darn ambiguous. Cornell University’s professor of complex network theory Steve Strogatz explains how these communications through social media can make it difficult for us to form and comprehend interpersonal connections we make in person. A dependency on an intermediate form of communication lowers face-to-face connections and weakens those crucial bond-forming interactions.

This new development in networking characterizes much of the interactions today; easy, simple, quick, but ultimately detrimental to the quality of life. Frontline calls us “Generation ‘Like’” where we now use social media to show our appreciation of things instead of verbally communicating it to another person. Soon before we know it, our primary source of human interaction will require a mediator – a technological device of some sort – and the art of conversation will be lost. We need not to eliminate it, but restrict the usage of social media and use it for its intended purposes. It is not a replacement for communication and human interaction, but a tool.  We live a life that offers much to experience – sports, art, music, exploring natural wonders. Julius Caesar did not come, see, and conquer from behind a brightly lit screen – he went out and did it.

Works Cited

Erik Qualma, "Social Media Video 2013," youtube.com, Nov. 7, 2012

Graham, Regina F. "Psychologist: Social Media Causing A 'Distancing Phenomena' To Take Place." CBS DC. N.p., 16 Apr. 2014. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.

ProCon.org. "Social Networking ProCon.org." ProCon.org. 23 Sep. 2014. Web. 14 Dec. 2014.

"Crime and Social Networking Sites – Are You Putting Yourself at Risk Online?" What Is Social Networking. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Dec. 2014.

Jung, Brian. "The Negative Effect of Social Media on Society and Individuals." Small Business. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 6 Dec. 2014.

Generation Like. By Frank Koughan and Douglas Rushkoff. Perf. Sarah Childress and Douglas Rushkoff. PBS and Frontline, 2014.