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LU K E G R E G O RY

KEY POINTS

• Social Media

• Antisocial Affects

• Antisocial Network

• It Sucks You In

• Distracts us from Reality

• Negative Affects

• Other Dangers

• Social Media Addiction

• Conclusion

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SOCIAL MEDIA

Social Media is a type of communication instrumented through web based apps and websites. (About.com, Daniel Nations)

People use Social Media for:• Communicating with friends and family worldwide• Sharing opinions and beliefs• Exploring others lives• Sharing their life with anyone and everyone

• Through updates,• Blogs,• Photos and,• Videos

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SOCIAL MEDIA CONT’D

There are thousands of different social media websites and apps all over the web, some of the well known few are:

• Facebook• Twitter• YouTube • Instagram• Vine

This relates to the symbolic interactionism theory, social media can make us feel mixed emotions all at once.

These applications are gateway into endless online communication and sharing, but it can definitely come with a cost…

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ANTISOCIAL AFFECTS

Social media might have the world “social” in it, but can definitely create the opposite• A poll was created and found that approximately 24% of people

missed witnessing significant moments in life because they were too busy trying to post it on social media

• Almost two in five people socialize more so online than in a face-to-face conversation

• Facebook users (each day) spend a total of 10.5 billion minutes on Facebook alone – this is not including mobile users

• 33% of people are more likely to meet someone new online than in person

(SocialTimes, Shea Bennett, 2012)

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ANTISOCIAL AFFECTS

There is a large misconception that social media makes us more social. The reality is however, that it places more of a distance in relationships and distraction from society

• Distraction in classes (the modern day “passing notes”)

• Can lead to depression through cyberbullying ( a new phenomenon that directly children and young adults)

• Less initiative to have face to face conversations

• “Keeping in touch” becomes social media based, rather than making an actual effort to see each other• Aka “liking” a status, or online messaging

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ANTISOCIAL NETWORK

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ANTISOCIAL AFFECTS CONT’D

We act differently behind a computer screen:• 88% of people are less polite on social media then face-to-face• There is no body language to follow when conversing through social media• A shortened vocabulary

(Grenny, 2014)Everything we do can be interpreted. Through symbolic interactionism, we can see that people can take social media posts and manipulate what they are viewing towards something negative.

We are constantly bothered by the internet• We touch/check our phones 150 times a day• We upload 1.8 billion pictures a day to Facebook (Only 6th of the Earth’s

population creates this number)(Graham, 2014)

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IT SUCKS YOU IN

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DISTRACTS US FROM REALITY

Texting and Driving:• 23% of auto collisions were caused by cell phones (1.3 million

accidents)• 5 seconds of texting, at 55mph, is driving blind for the length of a

football field• You are 23x more likely to get into an accident while texting and

driving(textinganddrivingsafety.com,

2012)Cell phones get in the way:• Takes your mind elsewhere • Glues your eyes on your phone instead of those around you• People are better at remembering text conversations than live

conversations• It’s a huge distraction when completing a task

(Walton, 2013)

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NEGATIVE AFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA: TEXTING AND DRIVING

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tlxjng8h3Tc

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OTHER DANGERS OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Beyond antisocial behaviour, there are many other dangers that arise from social media • Online predators

• Individuals who use fake identities for their own personal reasons

• Identity Fraud• Stealing of personal identity and information (such as banking)

• Can cause insecurity• Number of likes, seeing other peoples opportunities• The grass is always greener on the other side concept

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SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION

Users:• Over 2 billion people actively use social media• Accounts for 28% of all multimedia use online• On average people aged 15-19 spend 3 hours or more on social

media• 18% can’t go more than a couple hours without checking their

profiles(Bennett, 2014)

With symbolic interactionism, we can see how these users use social media to construct their social world, making social media their getaway.

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TIPS TO OVERCOMING ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOURHere's how:• Put phone/social media away for an hour or more a day• When eating at a restaurant, put away social media devices• Plan trips to avoid use of technology• Camping• Cottage• Crossing Border

• Make an effort to meet people face-to-face (not skype)• Try and get involved in community activities/new hobbies

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CONCLUSION

Social media has its benefits, but it can come with a greater cost

• We take advantage of it• Loses connection with reality and the people around you• Distracts you from the important things in life

Being social through social media doesn’t really make you social• Can cause you to act differently behind a screen• Losses sight of other persons body language; skews conversation• Draws you away from what you were originally focused on

Overall social media is what you make it, so be smart about using it!

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REFERENCESBennett, S. (2012, June 15). Is Social Media Making Us Antisocial? [INFOGRAPHIC]. Retrieved March 30, 2015,

from http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/antisocial-media/465663

Bennett, S. (2014, December 30). Social Media Addiction: Statistics & Trends [INFOGRAPHIC]. Retrieved April 3, 2015, from http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/social-media-addiction-stats/504131

Graham, A. (2014, November 10). How social media makes us unsocial | Allison Graham | TEDxSMU. Retrieved April 3, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5GecYjy9-Q

Grenny, J. (2013, May 7). Is Facebook Making Us Antisocial? Retrieved April 3, 2015, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/josephgrenny/2013/05/07/is-facebook-making-us-antisocial/

Nations, D. (n.d.). What Is Social Media? - Definition and Examples. Retrieved March 30, 2015, from http://webtrends.about.com/od/web20/a/social-media.htm

Texting and Driving Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved April 3, 2015, from http://www.textinganddrivingsafety.com/texting-and-driving-stats/

Volkswagen: Eyes on the road. (2014, August 8). Retrieved March 30, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R22WNkYKeo8

Walton, A. (2013, March 13). Science Proves That Cell Phones Are Annoying and Distracting. Retrieved April 3, 2015, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2013/03/13/science-proves-that-cell-phones-are-annoying-and-distracting/

Williams, R. (2014, September 29). Can We Auto-Correct Humanity? Retrieved April 3, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRl8EIhrQjQ