Does social media do more harm than good for our society in the 21st century?

          Social media has its advantages; however, the disadvantages far outweigh the benefits. The benefits that social media has to offer are unnecessary as far as human relations are concerned. Social skills are suffering and face-to-face communication is becoming more of a challenge. As teenagers continue to incorporate social media into their everyday lives, they are becoming more and more dependent upon technology such as spell-check, eliminating the need for proper knowledge of spelling and grammar. Because of this, when the technology is not present, they are unable to exercise correct use of the language. The health of avid social media users is also suffering due to the desire to always know what their "friends" have on their minds. This obsessive behavior also leads to the deprivation of a good night's sleep.

          Of all the students we surveyed, the vast majority believe that the authorities do not have the right to use their online posts for the purpose of incrimination. These posts can be taken out of context and misinterpreted. The frustrations of Paul Chambers led to a harmless joke being blown out of proportion. He was simply trying to amuse his friends when he posted on Twitter that he wanted to "[blow] the airport sky high" (2). He was then detained for acts of terrorism for nothing more than a sarcastic Twitter post.

          The impact of social media on today's society is without a doubt the most influential of the 21st century. However, it is by no means a positive one. Social media is ultimately doing more harm than good to our society.