Social Media: A Path to Societal Decadence?

Ayeza Ali



Name: Ayeza Ali
Class: WRT 101
Professor: Dr. Drozd
Date: 12/03/13


Social Media: A Path to Societal Decadence?

With the public promulgation of the internet in the wake of 1990's, a new era dawned upon humanity. What once used to be a time of familial gathering after dinner to savor stories from the past became the internet surfers lone time. Today, as one strolls along roadside cafés, subway trains, or sits at the campus cafeteria, the so called "social arenas", all that he'd come across are familiar faces entangled in a world of their own. Headphones covering their ears and faces lit with the bright glare from their electronic devices, they have isolated themselves from society. The social engineers say that we are more "connected" to everyone with the help of the social media, but sadly the truth is that we may have a thousand friends on facebook, but at the end of the day we are still alone, sitting at some Starbucks, head buried in our laptops, scared to even talk to the person sitting right next to us.
The foremost predicament that one faces at the hands of social media is unwanted exposure, little known fact is that we have almost next to no control over the information we share over social networking websites such as Facebook, My Space or Hi5. Although the websites do accommodate privacy settings but these settings can be easily over-ridden or bypassed by experienced computer hackers in a matter of seconds. Leaving most users highly susceptible to identity theft and fully exposed with critical information such as place of work, school, family members and sometimes even the place where they are at, at any given moment in time.
With there being limited or almost no control over personal information online there comes a huge risk of security at hand, according to Daily Mail it has been estimated that 12,300 cases of murder, sex predation and rape are related to these websites in one way or another annually. Often new violent trends have broken out due to these social engines. Where somebody commits a crime out of frustration or personal reasons, soon others follow the same trend; with recent examples of a spike in shooting firearms in public places such as malls, schools and colleges.
Cyber bullying is the type of bullying where offensive or intimate information about a person is posted in form of videos or pictures on the social networking sites and with the help of other users, the person is humiliated in front of everyone he may know. In the past this has lead to many young kids attempting suicide as they cannot handle the embarrassment. Cyber bullying has become such a major problem that laws have been passed against cyber bullying, but due to the fact that there is not physical trail of the poster, it makes it harder for authorities to get to the criminal.
Social media has also affected the corporate world, where inside information has often been leaked regarding several business proposals often resulting in major losses to the respective companies. Often times corporate executive complain that employees waste a good chunk their time in socializing which greatly influences their productivity in their respective work fields.
Spamming is another weapon in the world of social media where people use emotions to rip others off. Sometimes the deal appears too good to be denied. Spamming online through social engines has almost become the new norm and therefore people and often times businesses lose thousands of dollars. There's a very famous saying "It sounds too good to be true", nevertheless people still get carried into spam by fake testimonials, promises, and details. Spamming doesn't stop there, but it also gets one convinced that they can simply sit home and make money. Then soon after they realize that they have lost not just time and money, but also their identity. Identity theft is a growing problem across United States and the average number hits 12.6 million Americans annually.

Without the social mass media, we had once lived a civilized life in which there was human interaction whether it is for learning or just simple communication. Along with all these disadvantages and negative influence of social media there has definitely been an advantage too, and we must strive together to keep dialogue through interaction rather than social media. It is time for humanity to realize that gathering creates society not the segregated individual whose voice is through an electronic social media. Before one makes itself heard, make it appear first.