What Is Social Media Negatively Affecting Society?

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In 2016, 78% of the U.S population had a social media account, rising 54% in only eight years (Statista). Social media has become a huge part of all our lives. Everyone loves to be connected, share and see each other's lives, and express opinions. With all of the great benefits of social media, there are also many negative aspects. It has become such an important part of society, causing people to become obsessive and feel the need to know everything that is going on at all times. This is an issue because it is causing society to stop focusing on the real word and other important problems. Social media is negatively affecting millions of people because of cyber bullying, social anxiety, and internet addiction; this can be solved by programs …show more content…
Spending all of this time behind a screen can make speaking face-to-face with people a problem. Social anxiety has risen within society, and social media might be to blame. Social anxiety is the irrational fear of social interaction, causing feelings of being negatively judged, self consciousness, embarrassment, humiliation, and depression, leading to the avoidance of these situations. This disorder is becoming a rising problem in the world today, affecting millions of people. It has recently been determined the third largest psychological disorder in the U.S., after depression and alcoholism. There are two types of social anxiety, specific and generalized. An example of a specific social anxiety would be speaking in front of groups of people, and that is the only social situation that makes someone nervous. Generalized social anxiety is when people are anxious, nervous, and uncomfortable in almost all social situations. Some symptoms of this disorder would be having severe emotional distress in situations such as meeting new people, being the center of attention, being watched while doing something, meeting people in authority, and most social encounters, especially with strangers