User:Jwedl071/sandbox

potential articles to add to:

Mass media- add information to "influence and sociology" and "racism and stereotyping" sections and edit the sections because they may not reflect worldwide views

Social media- add information to "in politics" and "self-presentation" sections for they provide little information

Self-Presentation: Many people, especially teenagers and young adults, struggle with having a positive self-image. This body image suffers more by being constantly compared to pictures of people with perfect bodies, smiles, and skin.

500 words for Social Media Page:

Negative interpersonal interactions and effects

Before the age of social media, teenagers would often engage in activities like going to the mall or talking over the phone if they would want to hangout with their friends. These types of interactions involved more direct communication between peers. By interacting with others in this manner, the individual strengthens their ability to detect different social cues by observing the other person’s body language, facial expressions, or changes in voice. In current times, children and adolescents, alike, are experiencing less of these types of interactions because of the use of social media. This does not mean that teenagers, today, are unable to recognize social cues. However, if they communicate mostly through their electronic devices, instead of face-to-face communication, then, they miss out on opportunities to strengthen their social skills.

Online bullying, or cyberbullying, can be an often occurrence because the usual intimidating aspects of communication do not apply when conversing online. People do not see how their words affect another person because they do not have to see the other person’s facial expressions or reaction. This protection behind the screen makes it easier for individuals to be mean and cruel over online communication. Additionally, there is more time for individuals to think of responses or added insults because the conversation is not happening in real-time.

Social comparison and effects

In addition, females have been taught to compare themselves to others, other girls in particular, through the process of socialization. This is how a majority of them develop their identities and sense of self. This becomes increasingly problematic when high social media use is added because a child’s self-esteem can become dependent on how many likes or comments their online posts obtain. Furthermore, these individuals see their friends and classmates’ posts on their social media feed looking happy, well-dressed, and having fun. This constant self-comparison to others adds a lot of pressure on an individual to be like the people they see online. This leads to some people focusing more on their online identity than interpersonal relationships they could be developing in person. A study conducted in 2016 found that viewing other people's “selfies” on social media can lower their self esteem. By constantly comparing oneself to other people at their happiest, individuals see their own life as less exciting or depressing. Additionally, viewing other people’s pictures can cause an individual to feel less attractive. However, some research suggests that social media may be beneficial for some people in the form of emotional support. By posting about their feelings online, some people receive more support online than they do in other areas of their life. This can become problematic if social media is a person’s only social support system, but it can be good as an outlet for emotional stress. Additionally, people can form positive relationships because of the instant communication aspect of social media and the ability to easily find people that think alike.

Emotional effects

Additionally, in 2014 a study conducted in Austria found that after 20 minutes of scrolling through Facebook, the participants reported to be in a worse mood than those who spent the 20 minutes browsing the internet. The researchers suggested that this lower mood while using Facebook was because the participants knew that social media was wasting their time.