The internet is a relatively new creation, spanning over just a few decades. It has revolutionised how we communicate without geographical limits, creating brand new hubs for businesses and finances. It has become an integral part of modern life, so much so that over 3.2 billion people have accessed the internet out of the growing 7.2 billion population. One of the things I find fascinating but also an issue is the rise in social media platforms. This essay will discuss my opinions on the subject, why I believe social media has created a range of problems in society, but also considering ways it has helped others who see social media as a step forward. Not a step down.
J.C.R Licklider was the first who recorded descriptions of the internet we know with a series of memos back in august 1962. The memos discussed his “galactic network concept” he envisioned. Involving interconnected computers that everyone, worldwide could connect and share data and access software. The concept he conceived was in theory, the internet we have today. The relatively modern internet of today, emerged out of the American ARPAnet (Advanced Research Project Agency) university networks. Interestingly the internet wasn’t created with the intention of connecting others online at first. The internet was established for military purposes by the advanced research project agency in 1957. The 1980s was when the internet began to penetrate the average household. In rapid speed, households began to connect to each other through computer monitors.
Following the growing online market, big companies like Microsoft, Apple and Facebook all made giant leaps in furthering the world wide web. Apple headed by Steve jobs began work on creating a portable hand-held device capable of usage in any part of the world, to connect with other devices. Apple was founded by co- creators Steve jobs and Steve Wozniak on April the first 1976, alongside Ronald Wayne. The first iPhone came about January the 9th in 2007, it was said to be many years ahead of its time with its design and technology. Computers at one point were a rare commodity, during the 80s and 90s people still used old fashioned means of writing, using fax machines and using corded house phones. Nowadays so many people I see own an iPhone. The technology of the past has been rendered obsolete. Technology is growing at a rapid rate, so much so that new advancements in technology are brought out with a new phone model every year. The internet culture grew larger with the device, people are connecting with each other all around the world. Interactions can now be applied to texting, calling or commenting on subreddits anonymously. In 2002 social media culture began to grow with sites such as Friendster, Linkelnd, myspace just to name a few that grew in popularity. Facebook is an internet giant. It is the most used social media platform in the world with over 1.581 billion users recoded back in 2015, that number has most definitely risen. 91% of millennials will be logged on to its server and can spend up to 2 hours per day surfing Facebook, that percentage is likely to increase with time and further development. Mark Zuckerberg launched the site in 2004 as a Harvard only exercise. It was kept as an online campus site for 2 years before it became open to the public in 2006. The success of Facebook has generated many opinions regarding its success. Some believe it was due to its easy access for creating profiles and uploading photos, others believe it’s due to how open you can be on Facebook. Throwing out your details and opinions for others to see, whether there your friends, family or strangers. Some people feel they can be themselves online. Marketing campaigns also helped boost Facebooks popularity. Hong Kong tycoon lI kA-Shing put around 60 million into Facebook, realising that the site was soon to be big business. The rise in social media has become the modern equivalent to “new oil” for many businesses.
phones, tablets, eBooks and music players are all portable devices, making them convenient for life every minute of the day. The most common users on social media are children to young adults. My experiences from walking around the city centre and even in the country side have shown that most people are on their phones too often, it’s very much a perpetual problem. It seems being around family in the traditional sense has become a bit of a novelty. While those who have an iPhone don’t necessarily ignore or not participate in traditional ways of communicating. There is no doubt however, that Technology has a certain way of distracting its users. Even in precarious situations
This new form of mass media has had its negativity for some time, the fear of technology has always plagued our thoughts. Back in the 50s when things like robots and spacecraft were all seen as fantasy, not yet conceivable, people had their fears about technology eventually spiralling out of control. Some of these fears were old, such as using the internet can cause eye strain. This was rather common fear that goes back to the 1800s with the appearance of comic books. The same can be said about television sets back in the 50s and 60s when they became a part of everyday life in someone’s home. Excessive use of the internet was considered to “immersive” in the same vain as computer games. This “immersion” was seen to influence one’s social skills. Michael Wilson argued that excessive internet use can cause serious impact. As he claimed, “the dissolution of fragmentation of the subject and the instantaneous, transient nature of all communication disconnect or abstract the individual from physical action and a sense of social and personal responsibility to others”. I believe Wilsons comment to be true to this day.
Mass media creating vast amounts of data and content has given rise to certain sites and content that has become a problem to monitor. Pornography has become a big issue; some sources claim that pornographic material makes up at least 80% of available material online. It has become a big problem to safely monitor children’s access to such material, and with portable hand-held devices handy, with the ability to store, share and amass data it has only become more difficult. In a review of the research on the effects of pornography on adolescents, a review of the research. sexual addiction and compulsivity. Owens et al. (2012: 116) stated that, “collectively, these studies suggest that youth who consume pornography may develop unrealistic sexual values and beliefs”. This has caused further anxiety amongst parents. It has also been found that Children’s and teenagers access to online social media sites are often linked with bullying, social isolation and metal health problems. Increased time spend in front of computer screens, watching tv or playing games “is consistently associated with reduced feelings of social acceptance, and increased feelings of loneliness, conduct problems and aggression” (Public Health England 2013: 6) recent reports have also stated that technology is causing addictive tendency’s amongst children and adolescences. This might raise a moral question along the lines of “is it right to give children these devices at a young age?” If findings about these behaviours are becoming more common, do parents not a have a certain level of duty to protect their children’s wellbeing’s? However, Sonia Livingstone (2009) suggests that a certain amount of fear has been exaggerated due to common factors including mistrust and an overall fear of growing technology. The developed and improvement of technology and “the novelty of a reverse generation gap whereby parental expertise and authority is exceeded by children’s ability to use the technology and to evade adult management” (ibid: 151).
In a recent BBC news broadcast reported some shocking results about the amount of time we spend online. The health secretary of England Jeremy Hunt has accused internet companies such as Facebook and google with new legislations if they don’t put forth enough measures to protect children’s mental health. He has accused them in his words “of turning a blind eye” to the effects of prolonged social media use.
Studies for child wise have found that children from the ages of 5-16 are spending 6 and a half hours online per day. That’s quite a jump from the 2015 statistics. That has more than doubled since 1995 (23 years ago) due to such technological achievements. A young person only needs to click a box confirming they are 13 to access Facebook. This means that younger children only need to lie about their age and can have an account. This doesn’t just affect children but also adults. The number of adults becoming addictive to social media has also gone up.
The increasing miniaturization of digital devices, easy mobility and decreased prices in older models have created outlets for people in any environment to connect with others all over the world. The online world has created anonymity and telepresence amongst users. All one must do is hid behind a made- up name. certain individuals have taken the degrees of being covert to a dangerous level. This is one of the key causes to cyberbullying or trolling, a popular internet term referring to people who post inappropriate and offensive comments. Cyberbullying is when an individual purposely harasses there target either mentally or sexually. Often throwing physical threats into the mix. It is mostly popular on social media sites such as Facebook, twitter etc. The rapid increase of technology has left many from the older generation behind, that we haven’t gaining enough knowledge and putting counter measures in place. This has resulting in an increase in cyberbullying in schools, which has increased the suicide rates of young people.
While I have noted many negativity’s that come along with social media, and the adverse effects it can have on children and young adults, there are many positives about media sites, and the internet. Many people use social media to connect to long distance family members and friends. Many family members I know enjoy knowing how their relatives and friends are doing, either through photo updates, messaging etc. In the past people would have to wait many days, depending on distance weeks for letters to arrive. Nowadays you can text, call and facetime your loved ones at the touch of a button. As I mentioned earlier, some children and young adults feel more confident online, certain youths and adults with mental health issues, due to social anxiety, shyness or physical health issues can find community online if they can’t in real life. Social status and physical appearance don’t matter as much depending on the site and community you value. Many people would mark the rise of the internet as a turning point in today’s world, affording social and cultural opportunity’s that were not always available. Marketing has gained the high ground when it comes to social media. It directly allows companies to connect with their cliental more efficiently. Cost reduction, the ability to share expertise and to help customers over a screen has boosted small and big businesses worldwide. Besides marketing, social media has many outlets for educational videos, articles and joining in with others on interesting subjects. Search engines such as Google and yahoo have ultimately given us the power to read, watch and find whatever is conceivable. As I have stated further above, this has its problems, but there is no denying how important it is to connect and share
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