Social Media - Essay 6

Social media cannot be easily defined. It continuously changes and expands, making it difficult to give a concrete definition. It is made up of technology that allows people to interact in different ways other than in person. Communicating through the media has changed the world from how it was once known. Social media has negatively impacted society by opening doors for bullies to severely harass innocent bystanders through social networking.

“Cyberbullying happens via e-mail, instant messaging, texting on blogs, Web sites, or personal polling Web sites in chat rooms, and in online video games in Chat rooms” (page 83, Totally Wired). It seems that cyberbullying is easier for people to do because they are not face-to-face and they have time to think about what it is they want to say. For instance, if a bully wanted to pick on a person they might back out if they were face to face because they could not think of what to say. The bully may also be a smaller person that would be scared to say things to a person’s face in fear of being assaulted. However, if they say it through a text message they cannot immediately get physically attacked.

Some cyberbullies even use social media to send images that could hurt the reputation of their intended victim. Ghyslain Raza had to actually quit school after he was humiliated from an unwanted video of himself that was posted online.   Apparently, Raza had made a video of himself pretending to be a Star Wars character when he was younger. He left it where someone else was able to get a hold of it and post it.   “The video ultimately became one of the biggest viral videos of all time and was downloaded more than 1.1 million times, making Raza the ‘Star Wars kid’” (page 85, Totally Wired).

Some people believe social media is a positive thing that has helped people make friends, keep in touch with loved ones, and get things done quicker. Social media may have had some positive affects on our society, but it has had many more...