Saleem Mohammad
Sep 16, 2019
Source Based Essay
Negative Effects of Social Media
Social Media is ripping apart the social fabric of how society works. Social Media was designed to be addictive. It provides the same kind of dopamine hit that you get from smoking, drinking alcohol, or gambling. This topic is significant to me because I too am struggling to limit my time spent on social media. I am hoping that after this research, I can control my time spent on social media. In this essay, I will present different kinds of articles from different authors to defend my claim. These articles are “Former Facebook exec says social media is ripping apart society” by James Vincent, “7 Negative Effects of Social Media on People and Users” by Anya Zhukova, “ How Social Media Is a Toxic Mirror” by Rachel Simmons, and “The Effects of Social Media on Adolescent Health and Well-Being” by Taylor Argo BS and Lisa Lowery MD. Through this rhetorical analysis, the reader will understand the negative effects of social media.
In the newspaper article, “Former Facebook exec says social media is ripping apart society” by James Vincent, former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya, admitted that social media was programming its users and destroying the fabric of society. In the article, Chamath Palihapitiya says:
“I think we have created tools that are ripping apart the social fabric of how society works… The short- term, dopamine- driven feedback loops we’ve created are destroying how society works… hearts, likes, thumbs- up [referring to online interactions] … No civil discourse, no cooperation, misinformation, mistruth. And it’s not an American problem- this is not about Russian ads. This is a global problem” (Palihapitiya, paragraphs 1-2).
Chamath Palihapitiya’s audience were students at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. The speaker is concerned because he wants people to use social media wisely. The tone of this article is shocking because the author of this article just found out that social media is programming it’s users.
The rhetorical situation of this article is that Chamath Palihapitiya is at Stanford Graduate School of Business, informing and warning Business students about the negative effects of social media. The author’s perspective of social media is that you should know what you want to do, how you want to use social media, how much intellect you’re willing to give up, etc. The purpose of this article is to inform and to warn. Some of the feelings that the author evoked on the students were fear, surprise, and worry. This article was effective because it sent a warning to people that have social media, to use it wisely.
The article called “7 Negative Effects of Social Media on People and Users” by Anya Zhukova, conveys how social media is often described as being more addictive than cigarettes and alcohol. The effects of social media are both physical and mental. Social media can change your perception of the world and yourself, and not always for the better. The audience of this article is social media users because the author was engaging with the audience by asking rhetorical questions specifically to social media users. The tone of this article is fearful because the author is warning the audience of the negative effects of social media. The rhetorical situation of this article is that the author is addressing the negative effects of social media. The author’s perspective in this article is that social media has many negative effects on people and users. Some examples of these negative effects are depression, anxiety, cyberbullying, fear of missing out, unrealistic expectations, negative body image, unhealthy sleep patterns, general addiction, etc. Furthermore, the author also states:
“If you just realized you’re addicted to social media, don’t worry, as most of us are there with you in varying degrees. And it’s not necessarily a reason to go and wipe yourself off all those social networking platforms. However, if you think quitting is the best solution for you, we won’t stop you” (Zhukova, 1).
The purpose of this article is to inform users about the negatives of excessive use of social media. The feelings that the author evoked in this article are shocking and fearful because of the amount of negative effects social media has on people. This article is effective because it made me realize that I was addicted to social media and it helped me figure out ways to help me control the amount of time I spend on social media.
The article “How Social Media Is a Toxic Mirror” by Rachel Simmons, carries the message that social media has become toxic because it has created unrealistic body expectations. The author states:
“Earlier this year, Psychologists found robust cross- cultural evidence linking social media use to body image concerns, dieting, body surveillance, a drive for thinness and self- objectification in adolescents” (Simmons, 1).
The audience of this article are the parents because the author is telling the parents what actions they should take to help their teens. The tone of this article is that the author is concerned about the negative effects social media has on Teens. The author is addressing the issue that social media is making teens compare themselves to other users on social media. The rhetorical situation of this article is that the author is addressing the issue of how social media is creating impossible body expectations. The author wants parents to take actions to help solve this issue. The author’s perspective on this topic is that social media is making teens feel bad about themselves. Rachel Simmons states:
“Visual platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat deliver the tools that allow teens to earn approval for their appearance and compare themselves to others. The most vulnerable users, researchers say, are the ones who spend most of their time posting, commenting on and comparing themselves to photos” (Simmons, 1).
The purpose of this article is to alert, advise, and educate. The main feeling that the author evoked in this article is stress. This article is effective because it is raising an awareness and sending a message to the parents of the social media users to take actions to help their teens.
The article “The Effects of Social Media on Adolescent Health and Well- Being” by Taylor Argo BS, Lisa Lowery MD, conveys how:
“The relationship between social media (SM) and adolescent health has recently caught the attention of the mainstream media and scientific community… There are reports that SM can lead to depression, envy, decreased self-esteem and risky behavior” (Argo, Lowery, 1) .
The audience of this article is the mainstream media and the scientific community. The tone of this article is that both authors are concerned about the amount of negative effects social media can have on adolescents’ health and well-being. The rhetorical situation of this article is that both authors are addressing the relationship between social media and adolescent behavior. Both authors perspectives on this topic is that the more time the adolescent spends on social media, the higher of a chance that adolescent has of getting depression, anxiety, feeling jealousy, and comparing their lives to others on social media. Both authors also state that there is a correlation between bullying and increased social media use. The purpose of this article is to notify, agitate, and address. Some of the feelings that both authors provoked in this article are horrified and frightened. The readers were horrified and frightened to find out that there’s a correlation between social media and adolescents well-being. This article is effective because it helped create awareness for adolescents to use social media wisely.
Social Media is ripping apart the social fabric of how society works. It has many negative effects, as shown in the rhetorical analysis. Social Media can be addictive. It provides the same kind of dopamine rush that you get from smoking, drinking alcohol, or gambling. Some examples of the negative effects of social media that I showed in this rhetorical analysis were depression, anxiety, cyberbullying, fear of missing out, unrealistic expectations, negative body image, unhealthy sleep patterns, general addiction, etc. I used a Time Magazine to show how social media is making teens feel bad about themselves, social media is creating unrealistic body expectations. I used a scholarly source to show how there’s a correlation between the effects of social media and adolescents’ health and well-being. I used a newspaper article called “Former Facebook exec says social media is ripping apart society” by James Vincent, website called “7 Negative Effects of Social Media on People and Users” by Anya Zhukova, Time Magazine called “ How Social Media Is a Toxic Mirror” by Rachel Simmons, and a scholarly source called “The Effects of Social Media on Adolescent Health and Well-Being” by Taylor Argo BS and Lisa Lowery MD, to help support my claim. After this research, I will be spending little to no time on social media because of the negative effects that social media has on people and it’s users. I also advise the reader to do the same or at least try to attempt to spend very little time on social media. I will be spending my precious time with my family and friends. I will also advise my friends and family to spend very minimum time on social media too. This research was effective because it changed my view on social media. It showed me how many negative effects social media can have on your mental health. Before I did this research, I thought that there were little to no effects of social media. I thought that social media had no effects on me especially. I started using social media when I was only fourteen years old. I would always wonder why my mental health has changed so much ever since I started using social media. After this research, I know why. I am hoping to create awareness to help social media users. To advise them and to inform them about the negatives of social media. This research sparked my interest in the behaviors of other people. It made me want to do more research on people’s mental health and social media. I can connect the two together.
Work cited Page:
Article 1: Newspaper article
Palihapitiya, Chamath, December 11, 2017, Stanford Graduate School of Business. Print. Retrieved from https://www.cnbc.com/2017/12/11/former-facebook-exec-chamath-palihapitiya-on-social-media.html
Article 2: Website article
Zhukova, Anya, October 31, 2018. Website. Print. Retrieved from
Article 3: Time Magazine
Simmons, Rachel, August 19, 2019, Smith College. Print. Retrieved from
Article 4: Scholarly source
Argo, Taylor, Lowery, Lisa, January 19, 2017, Michigan State College of Human Medicine, Helen Devos Children’s Hospital. Print. Retrieved from https://www-sciencedirect-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/science/article/pii/S1054139X16307273
