Benefits and Costs of Social Media

Running head: BENEFITS AND COSTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA 1
Benefits and Costs of Social Media
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BENEFITS AND COSTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA 2
Benefits and Costs of Social Media
Social media is a term used to refer to computer-mediated systems of technology which
facilities are sharing of information across networks. In this case, there is sharing of expressions
through virtual communities. The social media users access the services through web-based
technologies on computer systems. Alternatively, those with smartphones can download the
functions in the form of an application for proper functionality at their own convenient time. A
highly interactive environment is created which enables individuals and organizations to share
information and post online. Nowadays, social media has manipulated the way in which
organizations interact. Social media ranges from paper-based media such as magazines and
electronic media such as the current television broadcasting. Facebook is the most widely used
social media by most people across the world. The social media site has facilitated sharing of
ideas, pictures, and information from one person to another. Consequently, other sites and
applications include Linkedin, Instagram, WeChat, and Whatsapp. The purpose of this paper is
to point out the benefits and costs of social media as illustrated below.
Zhang, J., Brackbill, D., Yang, S., & Centola, D. (2015). Identifying the effects of social
media on health behavior: Data from a large-scale online experiment. Data in brief, 5, 453-
457.
Zhang argues that social media tools are always available in the current state and have
become more accessible to assess on Smartphone (Zhang et al., 2015). Most American
youths use social media most of their time. Peers interact with each other and make
friends across the globe. The author reveals that social media are associated with
adolescents’ behavior both positively and negatively.

BENEFITS AND COSTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA 3
Social media affects the health of their users. The social media affects the mental well
being of the youth (Zhang et al., 2015). They feel that they should interact with each
other and make new friends.
Rey, P. J. (2012). Alienation, exploitation, and social media. American Behavioral
Scientist, 56(4), 399-420.
The youths use social media at the critical adolescent stage for peer engagement which
impacts positively on their lives. Rey states that adolescent seeks peer intimacy on the
social media by reflecting their offline lifestyles (Rey, 2012). Most peers spend most of
their time on the social media which implies positively in their lives. The use of social
media boosts the self-esteem of most youths in the United States of America.
Additionally, social support and an opportunity for self-disclosure are realized through
the consistent use of social media. Ultimately, the process involved in social media
contributes to healthy growth. According to Rey, the adolescents use social media to
maintain a friendship (Rey, 2012).
Thomas, V., Azmitia, M., & Whittaker, S. (2016). Unplugged: Exploring the costs and
benefits of constant connection. Computers in Human Behavior, 63, 540-548.the
Thomas states that one of the benefits of social media is that the search for coherent sense
takes place online and offline by sharing different aspects of life (Thomas et al., 2016).
Additionally, social media can be sued by the youth for impression management through
the control of other people’s view about life. The author argues that adolescents who use
the social media for communication has a more significant self-concept than those who