Utopian and Dystopian Perspectives on Social Media's Societal Impact

This essay examines the impact of social media on society through the contrasting lenses of utopian and dystopian viewpoints. It begins by defining these perspectives, outlining the characteristics of utopian societies (emphasizing freedom, harmony, and innovation) and dystopian societies (marked by control, restriction, and dehumanization). The essay then applies these viewpoints to analyze social media's influence, acknowledging both its positive aspects (facilitating communication, spreading awareness) and negative consequences (promoting disconnection, spreading misinformation). Utopian perspectives see social media as a tool for connection and progress, while dystopian perspectives highlight its potential for social evil and dehumanization. The analysis considers the implications of social media for individualism, community, and the broader societal landscape, drawing on relevant academic literature and research to support its claims.

Running head: IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON SOCIETY
IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON SOCIETY
Name of the Student
Name of the university
Author note

1IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON SOCIETY
There is no doubt in the fact that technology is a field and something that is subjected
to continuous evolution. Technological innovations have provided direction to human lives
and with so many of new developments it is become easy to work. Perceptions on these
developing technologies are different and this will be analyzed in this paper. Social media
can be considered as one of the innovations of technology and introduction of platforms such
as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat have changed the society, showing its effect
on the way individual view themselves as well their perception about others (Rambe and Nel
2015). In this paper, the Utopian and Dystopian viewpoint on the impact of social media on
humanity will be discussed.
In order to understand the Utopian and Dystopian viewpoint on the impact of social
media on humanity there is a need to understand the definition of these viewpoints and the
differences in between the same. Utopia can be defined as a place, state or a specific
condition that can ideally said to be perfect in spheres of politics, customs, conditions and
laws. The characteristics of Utopian society include many facets that are discussed below:
In Utopian society, information, thinking independently and freely is encouraged. The society
is brought together as per a concept and the citizens are allowed to think freely without the
fear of outside world. They keep their viewpoint without hesitation and a second thought
worrying about the way others will react to it. Citizens in this state or place live in harmony
and embrace natural world (Babaee and Singh 2015). Social and moral ideas are given
importance within the society and these people welcome individuality as well as innovation.
The society embraces changes and is not reluctant to adopt new innovations. In Utopian
society, there exists different perspectives on technology, one being technological
innovations need to be embraced so that the living experience of humans can be enhanced
making their lives better. Another perspective is that innovations in technology drives a
wedge in between humanity and nature thus can pose a threat to the society (Shirazi 2016).

2IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON SOCIETY
Unlike this, dystopian society is based on different principles and has characteristics
that are as discussed below. In a Dystopian society, propaganda is made use of for controlling
the persons dwelling in a society. In this society, information, thinking independently and
freely is restricted. People dwelling in these kinds of societies worship a figurehead or a
specific concept. The citizens are under constant surveillance and people here have a fear of
the world outside (Bray and Thauer 2016). Citizens live in a dehumanized state and natural
world is both banished and not trusted. Considering the technological context, it can be said
that the society is controlled by technology via the medium of computers, robots and other
such scientific means.
From the characteristics discussed above it is clear that there is a lot of difference in
the viewpoint of Utopian and Dystopian mentality. Utopian society norms reflect that their
main aim is that everyone living is happy while in the dystopian society happiness of the ones
dwelling there or their perceptions do not matter. The Utopians are not rigid while the
Dystopian are rigid and not open to changes (Skitka, Hanson and Wisneski 2017). Their
concepts related to technology vary as well and they have varied perceptions on this.
The way in which social media has become a part of our lives requires discussing and
this can be considered from the Utopian and Dystopian point of view. Social media has
become important in our lives as people are making use of it more often to communicate
globally. Social media has both negative as well as positive aspects in the lives of human
beings. On one hand where it serves as a medium through which people stay connected, on
the other hand it disconnects people from the real world. Social media is being used to share
informations at a faster rate and users can share anything they wish to. This has been
extensively used to spread awareness for different causes and has proved to be as an effective
platform for the same. But there are some people who misuse the platforms to spread rumors
and hatred in the society (Gerds and Chan 2017). Therefore, this has two different aspects.

3IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON SOCIETY
Utopian and Dystopian perspectives can be applied to this for analyzing the impact of social
media on society. Utopians consider that social media is useful for the society as its serves as
a medium through which people can connect with their near and dear ones. According to the
perception of Utopians, technological advances are good for the society and these help in the
growth and development of the society. The Utopians are of the opinion that social media is a
technology that reflects as well as encourages best aspects of human nature supporting
communication, helpfulness, community and collaboration. As per Utopians, technology
brings in improvisations in interpersonal communication, communities as well as
relationships. Social media has significant contributions to the society and it can be said that
Utopians consider this as a having a positive impact on the society. While on the other hand
the perception of the Dystopian is such that social media will lead to loss of individualism
and be the reason for individuals are communicating less within their society or in their real
life. According to Dystopian, technology has permitted for higher degree of depersonalization
in between people living in a society (Yegen 2018). Dystopian are of the opinion that social
media has been the part of the society and engrossed people in such a way that it will very
soon be a social evil. People are getting disconnected from real life and connected to virtual
life. The view of the dystopian is that social media has no good to do for the society and it
will just be a social evil in near future.
Utopians think of positive aspects of social media that include how it helps in
spreading awareness about various things easily and helps people to connect with one
another. But on the contrary, dystopian consider the negative aspects and are of the view that
social media will soon turn the society into a place where no one will be there to socialize and
that this will lead to dehumanized society. The people will be engrossed in the virtual world
and moreover this will be misused by many those who want to spread rumors or will be used
by anti-social elements for disrupting the works in the society. Thus, it can be said that these

4IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON SOCIETY
are two different perspectives, one thinks of the positive aspects and tries to mitigate the
negative aspects while the other considers the negative aspects only and has no such positive
thought towards the society. It finds out the negative aspects and draws the conclusion that it
is a social evil. Dystopian are of the opinion that social media does not have any positive
impact on the society.

5IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON SOCIETY
References
Babaee, R. and Singh, H.K.A., 2015. Critical Review on the Idea of Dystopia. Rev. Eur.
Stud., 7, p.64.
Bray, Z. and Thauer, C., 2016. Utopian Spaces, Dystopian Places?: A Local Community-
Based Perspective on Corporate Social Responsibility. Nature and Culture, 11(3), pp.278-
295.
Gerds, A.T. and Chan, T., 2017. Social Media in Hematology in 2017: Dystopia, Utopia, or
Somewhere In-between?. Current hematologic malignancy reports, 12(6), pp.582-591.
Rambe, P. and Nel, L., 2015. Technological utopia, dystopia and ambivalence: Teaching with
social media at a South African university. British Journal of Educational Technology, 46(3),
pp.629-648.
Shirazi, M.R., 2016. From Utopia to Dystopia: Shushtar-e-No, endeavour towards
paradigmatic shift. In Urban Change in Iran (pp. 121-136). Springer, Cham.
Skitka, L.J., Hanson, B.E. and Wisneski, D.C., 2017. Utopian hopes or dystopian fears?
Exploring the motivational underpinnings of moralized political engagement. Personality and
social psychology bulletin, 43(2), pp.177-190.
Yegen, C., 2018. Utopian and Dystopian Approaches to Technology and Communication
Technologies: With The Examples of The Jetsons and Westworld. Gaziantep University
Journal of Social Sciences, 17(3).