Social Media Essay

Michael McDaniels
Professor- Pamela Yates
English- 1301/63004
8 April 2015
Social media pros and cons How much social media is to much for an adolescent? If we surveyed a hundred people, we will probably get a hundred different answers. The truth of the matter is, we will never know the exact number, but we can determine the pros and cons of the internet. According to Brent Staples, “the internet was billed as a revolutionary way to enrich our social lives and expand our civic connection”.(Brent Staples, page 445)
The internet is diminishing a lot of the social skills of our younger generation. Todays youth will prefer to play video games and surf the web, instead of working out and playing sports. In 10 years from now, we will have more kids obese and less socialable due to social media. Too much social media can take away from family time and will cause problems within the household. Families that engage in frequent activities tends to be more happier and stable. Social media can also have an negative impact on your self esteem. People are always searching the web for ways to improve themselves, whether physical or mentally. People are always trying to be someone else, beside their self and a lot of it has to do with social media. Females are exposing their bodies on instgram and facebook, just for attention. Kids are not reading books anymore, because everything is only a click away on the internet. By failing to read, we are failing to learn. The internet has made everything so much easy in life. Overuse of the internet will hamper your critical thinking skills and people skills.
Just like the internet can be bad, it can also be a good thing. Kids who uses the internet for educational purposes have a tendency to develop better learning skills. They will be more advance than their counterpart and more qualified for employment opportunities. The internet is a good way of networking with family and friends you have not seen in a while. The internet can teach you so much in a shorter period of time than any book. To understand a book, you will have to read it entirely, but you can go to the internet and type in summary of that book and it will provide it for you. The internet can be your friend or foe, it all depends on the user.
“According to consumer reports from from 2011more than 7.5 million American kids under the age of 13 have joined Facebook, which technically requires users to be 13 years old to open an account.”(CNN News May 21, 2012). Study has also shown that “Teenagers text an average of 3,400 times a month”(CNN NEWS May 21, 2012). The report also says that “too much hypertext and multimedia content has been linked in some kids to limited attention span, lower comprehension, poor focus , greater risk for depression and diminished long- term memory.”(CNN NEWS May 21, 2012)
Social media has been helpful in taking criminals off of the streets. People get so caught up

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