effects of social media essay in english

Feb 15, 2023

6 Example Essays on Social Media | Advantages, Effects, and Outlines

Got an essay assignment about the effects of social media we got you covered check out our examples and outlines below.

Social media has become one of our society's most prominent ways of communication and information sharing in a very short time. It has changed how we communicate and has given us a platform to express our views and opinions and connect with others. It keeps us informed about the world around us. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn have brought individuals from all over the world together, breaking down geographical borders and fostering a genuinely global community.

However, social media comes with its difficulties. With the rise of misinformation, cyberbullying, and privacy problems, it's critical to utilize these platforms properly and be aware of the risks. Students in the academic world are frequently assigned essays about the impact of social media on numerous elements of our lives, such as relationships, politics, and culture. These essays necessitate a thorough comprehension of the subject matter, critical thinking, and the ability to synthesize and convey information clearly and succinctly.

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We will provide various examples of social media essays so you may get a feel for the genre.

6 Examples of Social Media Essays

Here are 6 examples of Social Media Essays:

The Impact of Social Media on Relationships and Communication

Introduction:.

The way we share information and build relationships has evolved as a direct result of the prevalence of social media in our daily lives. The influence of social media on interpersonal connections and conversation is a hot topic. Although social media has many positive effects, such as bringing people together regardless of physical proximity and making communication quicker and more accessible, it also has a dark side that can affect interpersonal connections and dialogue.

Positive Effects:

Connecting People Across Distances

One of social media's most significant benefits is its ability to connect individuals across long distances. People can use social media platforms to interact and stay in touch with friends and family far away. People can now maintain intimate relationships with those they care about, even when physically separated.

Improved Communication Speed and Efficiency

Additionally, the proliferation of social media sites has accelerated and simplified communication. Thanks to instant messaging, users can have short, timely conversations rather than lengthy ones via email. Furthermore, social media facilitates group communication, such as with classmates or employees, by providing a unified forum for such activities.

Negative Effects:

Decreased Face-to-Face Communication

The decline in in-person interaction is one of social media's most pernicious consequences on interpersonal connections and dialogue. People's reliance on digital communication over in-person contact has increased along with the popularity of social media. Face-to-face interaction has suffered as a result, which has adverse effects on interpersonal relationships and the development of social skills.

Decreased Emotional Intimacy

Another adverse effect of social media on relationships and communication is decreased emotional intimacy. Digital communication lacks the nonverbal cues and facial expressions critical in building emotional connections with others. This can make it more difficult for people to develop close and meaningful relationships, leading to increased loneliness and isolation.

Increased Conflict and Miscommunication

Finally, social media can also lead to increased conflict and miscommunication. The anonymity and distance provided by digital communication can lead to misunderstandings and hurtful comments that might not have been made face-to-face. Additionally, social media can provide a platform for cyberbullying , which can have severe consequences for the victim's mental health and well-being.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the impact of social media on relationships and communication is a complex issue with both positive and negative effects. While social media platforms offer many benefits, such as connecting people across distances and enabling faster and more accessible communication, they also have a dark side that can negatively affect relationships and communication. It is up to individuals to use social media responsibly and to prioritize in-person communication in their relationships and interactions with others.

The Role of Social Media in the Spread of Misinformation and Fake News

Social media has revolutionized the way information is shared and disseminated. However, the ease and speed at which data can be spread on social media also make it a powerful tool for spreading misinformation and fake news. Misinformation and fake news can seriously affect public opinion, influence political decisions, and even cause harm to individuals and communities.

The Pervasiveness of Misinformation and Fake News on Social Media

Misinformation and fake news are prevalent on social media platforms, where they can spread quickly and reach a large audience. This is partly due to the way social media algorithms work, which prioritizes content likely to generate engagement, such as sensational or controversial stories. As a result, false information can spread rapidly and be widely shared before it is fact-checked or debunked.

The Influence of Social Media on Public Opinion

Social media can significantly impact public opinion, as people are likelier to believe the information they see shared by their friends and followers. This can lead to a self-reinforcing cycle, where misinformation and fake news are spread and reinforced, even in the face of evidence to the contrary.

The Challenge of Correcting Misinformation and Fake News

Correcting misinformation and fake news on social media can be a challenging task. This is partly due to the speed at which false information can spread and the difficulty of reaching the same audience exposed to the wrong information in the first place. Additionally, some individuals may be resistant to accepting correction, primarily if the incorrect information supports their beliefs or biases.

In conclusion, the function of social media in disseminating misinformation and fake news is complex and urgent. While social media has revolutionized the sharing of information, it has also made it simpler for false information to propagate and be widely believed. Individuals must be accountable for the information they share and consume, and social media firms must take measures to prevent the spread of disinformation and fake news on their platforms.

The Effects of Social Media on Mental Health and Well-Being

Social media has become an integral part of modern life, with billions of people around the world using platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to stay connected with others and access information. However, while social media has many benefits, it can also negatively affect mental health and well-being.

Comparison and Low Self-Esteem

One of the key ways that social media can affect mental health is by promoting feelings of comparison and low self-esteem. People often present a curated version of their lives on social media, highlighting their successes and hiding their struggles. This can lead others to compare themselves unfavorably, leading to feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem.

Cyberbullying and Online Harassment

Another way that social media can negatively impact mental health is through cyberbullying and online harassment. Social media provides a platform for anonymous individuals to harass and abuse others, leading to feelings of anxiety, fear, and depression.

Social Isolation

Despite its name, social media can also contribute to feelings of isolation. At the same time, people may have many online friends but need more meaningful in-person connections and support. This can lead to feelings of loneliness and depression.

Addiction and Overuse

Finally, social media can be addictive, leading to overuse and negatively impacting mental health and well-being. People may spend hours each day scrolling through their feeds, neglecting other important areas of their lives, such as work, family, and self-care.

In sum, social media has positive and negative consequences on one's psychological and emotional well-being. Realizing this, and taking measures like reducing one's social media use, reaching out to loved ones for help, and prioritizing one's well-being, are crucial. In addition, it's vital that social media giants take ownership of their platforms and actively encourage excellent mental health and well-being.

The Use of Social Media in Political Activism and Social Movements

Social media has recently become increasingly crucial in political action and social movements. Platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram have given people new ways to express themselves, organize protests, and raise awareness about social and political issues.

Raising Awareness and Mobilizing Action

One of the most important uses of social media in political activity and social movements has been to raise awareness about important issues and mobilize action. Hashtags such as #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter, for example, have brought attention to sexual harassment and racial injustice, respectively. Similarly, social media has been used to organize protests and other political actions, allowing people to band together and express themselves on a bigger scale.

Connecting with like-minded individuals

A second method in that social media has been utilized in political activity and social movements is to unite like-minded individuals. Through social media, individuals can join online groups, share knowledge and resources, and work with others to accomplish shared objectives. This has been especially significant for geographically scattered individuals or those without access to traditional means of political organizing.

Challenges and Limitations

As a vehicle for political action and social movements, social media has faced many obstacles and restrictions despite its many advantages. For instance, the propagation of misinformation and fake news on social media can impede attempts to disseminate accurate and reliable information. In addition, social media corporations have been condemned for censorship and insufficient protection of user rights.

In conclusion, social media has emerged as a potent instrument for political activism and social movements, giving voice to previously unheard communities and galvanizing support for change. Social media presents many opportunities for communication and collaboration. Still, users and institutions must be conscious of the risks and limitations of these tools to promote their responsible and productive usage.

The Potential Privacy Concerns Raised by Social Media Use and Data Collection Practices

With billions of users each day on sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, social media has ingrained itself into every aspect of our lives. While these platforms offer a straightforward method to communicate with others and exchange information, they also raise significant concerns over data collecting and privacy. This article will examine the possible privacy issues posed by social media use and data-gathering techniques.

Data Collection and Sharing

The gathering and sharing of personal data are significant privacy issues brought up by social media use. Social networking sites gather user data, including details about their relationships, hobbies, and routines. This information is made available to third-party businesses for various uses, such as marketing and advertising. This can lead to serious concerns about who has access to and uses our personal information.

Lack of Control Over Personal Information

The absence of user control over personal information is a significant privacy issue brought up by social media usage. Social media makes it challenging to limit who has access to and how data is utilized once it has been posted. Sensitive information may end up being extensively disseminated and may be used maliciously as a result.

Personalized Marketing

Social media companies utilize the information they gather about users to target them with adverts relevant to their interests and usage patterns. Although this could be useful, it might also cause consumers to worry about their privacy since they might feel that their personal information is being used without their permission. Furthermore, there are issues with the integrity of the data being used to target users and the possibility of prejudice based on individual traits.

Government Surveillance

Using social media might spark worries about government surveillance. There are significant concerns regarding privacy and free expression when governments in some nations utilize social media platforms to follow and monitor residents.

In conclusion, social media use raises significant concerns regarding data collecting and privacy. While these platforms make it easy to interact with people and exchange information, they also gather a lot of personal information, which raises questions about who may access it and how it will be used. Users should be aware of these privacy issues and take precautions to safeguard their personal information, such as exercising caution when choosing what details to disclose on social media and keeping their information sharing with other firms to a minimum.

The Ethical and Privacy Concerns Surrounding Social Media Use And Data Collection

Our use of social media to communicate with loved ones, acquire information, and even conduct business has become a crucial part of our everyday lives. The extensive use of social media does, however, raise some ethical and privacy issues that must be resolved. The influence of social media use and data collecting on user rights, the accountability of social media businesses, and the need for improved regulation are all topics that will be covered in this article.

Effect on Individual Privacy:

Social networking sites gather tons of personal data from their users, including delicate information like search history, location data, and even health data. Each user's detailed profile may be created with this data and sold to advertising or used for other reasons. Concerns regarding the privacy of personal information might arise because social media businesses can use this data to target users with customized adverts.

Additionally, individuals might need to know how much their personal information is being gathered and exploited. Data breaches or the unauthorized sharing of personal information with other parties may result in instances where sensitive information is exposed. Users should be aware of the privacy rules of social media firms and take precautions to secure their data.

Responsibility of Social Media Companies:

Social media firms should ensure that they responsibly and ethically gather and use user information. This entails establishing strong security measures to safeguard sensitive information and ensuring users are informed of what information is being collected and how it is used.

Many social media businesses, nevertheless, have come under fire for not upholding these obligations. For instance, the Cambridge Analytica incident highlighted how Facebook users' personal information was exploited for political objectives without their knowledge. This demonstrates the necessity of social media corporations being held responsible for their deeds and ensuring that they are safeguarding the security and privacy of their users.

Better Regulation Is Needed

There is a need for tighter regulation in this field, given the effect, social media has on individual privacy as well as the obligations of social media firms. The creation of laws and regulations that ensure social media companies are gathering and using user information ethically and responsibly, as well as making sure users are aware of their rights and have the ability to control the information that is being collected about them, are all part of this.

Additionally, legislation should ensure that social media businesses are held responsible for their behavior, for example, by levying fines for data breaches or the unauthorized use of personal data. This will provide social media businesses with a significant incentive to prioritize their users' privacy and security and ensure they are upholding their obligations.

In conclusion, social media has fundamentally changed how we engage and communicate with one another, but this increased convenience also raises several ethical and privacy issues. Essential concerns that need to be addressed include the effect of social media on individual privacy, the accountability of social media businesses, and the requirement for greater regulation to safeguard user rights. We can make everyone's online experience safer and more secure by looking more closely at these issues.

In conclusion, social media is a complex and multifaceted topic that has recently captured the world's attention. With its ever-growing influence on our lives, it's no surprise that it has become a popular subject for students to explore in their writing. Whether you are writing an argumentative essay on the impact of social media on privacy, a persuasive essay on the role of social media in politics, or a descriptive essay on the changes social media has brought to the way we communicate, there are countless angles to approach this subject.

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Likes, Shares, and Beyond: Exploring the Impact of Social Media in Essays

Table of contents

• 1 Definition and Explanation of a Social Media Essay
• 2.1 Topics for an Essay on Social Media and Mental Health
• 2.2 Social Dynamics
• 2.3 Social Media Essay Topics about Business
• 2.4 Politics
• 3 Research and Analysis
• 4 Structure Social Media Essay
• 5 Tips for Writing Essays on Social Media
• 6 Examples of Social Media Essays
• 7 Navigating the Social Media Labyrinth: Key Insights

In the world of digital discourse, our article stands as a beacon for those embarking on the intellectual journey of writing about social media. It is a comprehensive guide for anyone venturing into the dynamic world of social media essays. Offering various topics about social media and practical advice on selecting engaging subjects, the piece delves into research methodologies, emphasizing the importance of credible sources and trend analysis. Furthermore, it provides invaluable tips on structuring essays, including crafting compelling thesis statements and hooks balancing factual information with personal insights. Concluding with examples of exemplary essays, this article is an essential tool for students and researchers alike, aiding in navigating the intricate landscape of its impact on society.

Definition and Explanation of a Social Media Essay

Essentially, when one asks “What is a social media essay?” they are referring to an essay that analyzes, critiques, or discusses its various dimensions and effects. These essays can range from the psychological implications of its use to its influence on politics, business strategies, and social dynamics.

A social media essay is an academic or informational piece that explores various aspects of social networking platforms and their impact on individuals and society.

In crafting such an essay, writers blend personal experiences, analytical perspectives, and empirical data to paint a full picture of social media’s role. For instance, a social media essay example could examine how these platforms mold public opinion, revolutionize digital marketing strategies, or raise questions about data privacy ethics. Through a mix of thorough research, critical analysis, and personal reflections, these essays provide a layered understanding of one of today’s most pivotal digital phenomena.

Great Social Media Essay Topics

When it comes to selecting a topic for your essay, consider its current relevance, societal impact, and personal interest. Whether exploring the effects on business, politics, mental health, or social dynamics, these social media essay titles offer a range of fascinating social media topic ideas. Each title encourages an exploration of the intricate relationship between social media and our daily lives. A well-chosen topic should enable you to investigate the impact of social media, debate ethical dilemmas, and offer unique insights. Striking the right balance in scope, these topics should align with the objectives of your essays, ensuring an informative and captivating read.

Topics for an Essay on Social Media and Mental Health

• The Impact of Social Media on Self-Esteem.
• Unpacking Social Media Addiction: Causes, Effects, and Solutions.
• Analyzing Social Media’s Role as a Catalyst for Teen Depression and Anxiety.
• Social Media and Mental Health Awareness: A Force for Good?
• The Psychological Impacts of Cyberbullying in the Social Media Age.
• The Effects of Social Media on Sleep and Mental Health.
• Strategies for Positive Mental Health in the Era of Social Media.
• Real-Life vs. Social Media Interactions: An Essay on Mental Health Aspects.
• The Mental Well-Being Benefits of a Social Media Detox.
• Social Comparison Psychology in the Realm of Social Media.

Social Dynamics

• Social Media and its Impact on Interpersonal Communication Skills: A Cause and Effect Essay on Social Media.
• Cultural Integration through Social Media: A New Frontier.
• Interpersonal Communication in the Social Media Era: Evolving Skills and Challenges.
• Community Building and Social Activism: The Role of Social Media.
• Youth Culture and Behavior: The Influence of Social Media.
• Privacy and Personal Boundaries: Navigating Social Media Challenges.
• Language Evolution in Social Media: A Dynamic Shift.
• Leveraging Social Media for Social Change and Awareness.
• Family Dynamics in the Social Media Landscape.
• Friendship in the Age of Social Media: An Evolving Concept.

Social Media Essay Topics about Business

• Influencer Marketing on Social Media: Impact and Ethics.
• Brand Building and Customer Engagement: The Power of Social Media.
• The Ethics and Impact of Influencer Marketing in Social Media.
• Measuring Business Success Through Social Media Analytics.
• The Changing Face of Advertising in the Social Media World.
• Revolutionizing Customer Service in the Social Media Era.
• Market Research and Consumer Insights: The Social Media Advantage.
• Small Businesses and Startups: The Impact of Social Media.
• Ethical Dimensions of Social Media Advertising.
• Consumer Behavior and Social Media: An Intricate Relationship.
• The Role of Social Media in Government Transparency and Accountability
• Social Media’s Impact on Political Discourse and Public Opinion.
• Combating Fake News on Social Media: Implications for Democracy.
• Political Mobilization and Activism: The Power of Social Media.
• Social Media: A New Arena for Political Debates and Discussions.
• Government Transparency and Accountability in the Social Media Age.
• Voter Behavior and Election Outcomes: The Social Media Effect.
• Political Polarization: A Social Media Perspective.
• Tackling Political Misinformation on Social Media Platforms.
• The Ethics of Political Advertising in the Social Media Landscape.
• Memes as a Marketing Tool: Successes, Failures, and Pros of Social Media.
• Shaping Public Opinion with Memes: A Social Media Phenomenon.
• Political Satire and Social Commentary through Memes.
• The Psychology Behind Memes: Understanding Their Viral Nature.
• The Influence of Memes on Language and Communication.
• Tracing the History and Evolution of Internet Memes.
• Memes in Online Communities: Culture and Subculture Formation.
• Navigating Copyright and Legal Issues in the World of Memes.
• Memes as a Marketing Strategy: Analyzing Successes and Failures.
• Memes and Global Cultural Exchange: A Social Media Perspective.

Research and Analysis

In today’s fast-paced information era, the ability to sift through vast amounts of data and pinpoint reliable information is more crucial than ever. Research and analysis in the digital age hinge on identifying credible sources and understanding the dynamic landscape. Initiating your research with reputable websites is key. Academic journals, government publications, and established news outlets are gold standards for reliable information. Online databases and libraries provide a wealth of peer-reviewed articles and books. For websites, prioritize those with domains like .edu, .gov, or .org, but always critically assess the content for bias and accuracy. Turning to social media, it’s a trove of real-time data and trends but requires a discerning approach. Focus on verified accounts and official pages of recognized entities.

Analyzing current trends and user behavior is crucial for staying relevant. Platforms like Google Trends, Twitter Analytics, and Facebook Insights offer insights into what’s resonating with audiences. These tools help identify trending topics, hashtags, and the type of content that engages users. Remember, it reflects and influences public opinion and behavior. Observing user interactions, comments, and shares can provide a deeper understanding of consumer attitudes and preferences. This analysis is invaluable for tailoring content, developing marketing strategies, and staying ahead in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Structure Social Media Essay

In constructing a well-rounded structure for a social media essay, it’s crucial to begin with a strong thesis statement. This sets the foundation for essays about social media and guides the narrative.

Thesis Statements

A thesis statement is the backbone of your essay, outlining the main argument or position you will explore throughout the text. It guides the narrative, providing a clear direction for your essay and helping readers understand the focus of your analysis or argumentation. Here are some thesis statements:

• “Social media has reshaped communication, fostering a connected world through instant information sharing, yet it has come at the cost of privacy and genuine social interaction.”
• “While social media platforms act as potent instruments for societal and political transformation, they present significant challenges to mental health and the authenticity of information.”
• “The role of social media in contemporary business transcends mere marketing; it impacts customer relationships, shapes brand perception, and influences operational strategies.”

Social Media Essay Hooks

Social media essay hooks are pivotal in grabbing the reader’s attention right from the beginning and compelling them to continue reading. A well-crafted hook acts as the engaging entry point to your essay, setting the tone and framing the context for the discussion that will follow.

Here are some effective social media essay hooks:

• “In a world where a day without social media is unimaginable, its pervasive presence is both a testament to its utility and a source of various societal issues.”
• “Each scroll, like, and share on social media platforms carries the weight of influencing public opinion and shaping global conversations.”
• “Social media has become so ingrained in our daily lives that its absence would render the modern world unrecognizable.”

Introduction:

Navigating the digital landscape, an introduction for a social media essay serves as a map, charting the terrain of these platforms’ broad influence across various life aspects. This section should briefly summarize the scope of the essay, outlining both the benefits and the drawbacks, and segue into the thesis statement.

When we move to the body part of the essay, it offers an opportunity for an in-depth exploration and discussion. It can be structured first to examine the positive aspects of social media, including improved communication channels, innovative marketing strategies, and the facilitation of social movements. Following this, the essay should address the negative implications, such as issues surrounding privacy, the impact on mental health, and the proliferation of misinformation. Incorporating real-world examples, statistical evidence, and expert opinions throughout the essay will provide substantial support for the arguments presented.

Conclusion:

It is the summit of the essay’s exploration, offering a moment to look back on the terrain covered. The conclusion should restate the thesis in light of the discussions presented in the body. It should summarize the key points made, reflecting on the multifaceted influence of social media in contemporary society. The essay should end with a thought-provoking statement or question about the future role of social media, tying back to the initial hooks and ensuring a comprehensive and engaging end to the discourse.

Tips for Writing Essays on Social Media

In the ever-evolving realm of digital dialogue, mastering the art of essay writing on social media is akin to navigating a complex web of virtual interactions and influences. Writing an essay on social media requires a blend of analytical insight, factual accuracy, and a nuanced understanding of the digital landscape. Here are some tips to craft a compelling essay:

• Incorporate Statistical Data and Case Studies

Integrate statistical data and relevant case studies to lend credibility to your arguments. For instance, usage statistics, growth trends, and demographic information can provide a solid foundation for your points. Case studies, especially those highlighting its impact on businesses, politics, or societal change, offer concrete examples that illustrate your arguments. Ensure your sources are current and reputable to maintain the essay’s integrity.

• Balance Personal Insights with Factual Information

While personal insights can add a unique perspective to your essay, balancing them with factual information is crucial. Personal observations and experiences can make your essay relatable and engaging, but grounding these insights in factual data ensures credibility and helps avoid bias.

• Respect Privacy

When discussing real-world examples or case studies, especially those involving individuals or specific organizations, be mindful of privacy concerns. Avoid sharing sensitive information, and always respect the confidentiality of your sources.

• Maintain an Objective Tone

It is a polarizing topic, but maintaining an objective tone in your essay is essential. Avoid emotional language and ensure that your arguments are supported by evidence. An objective approach allows readers to form opinions based on the information presented.

• Use Jargon Wisely

While using social media-specific terminology can make your essay relevant and informed, it’s important to use jargon judiciously. Avoid overuse and ensure that terms are clearly defined for readers who might not be familiar with their lingo.

Examples of Social Media Essays

Title: The Dichotomy of Social Media: A Tool for Connection and a Platform for Division

Introduction

In the digital era, social media has emerged as a paradoxical entity. It serves as a bridge connecting distant corners of the world and a battleground for conflicting ideologies. This essay explores this dichotomy, utilizing statistical data, case studies, and real-world examples to understand its multifaceted impact on society.

Section 1 – Connection Through Social Media:

Social media’s primary allure lies in its ability to connect. A report by the Pew Research Center shows that 72% of American adults use some form of social media, where interactions transcend geographical and cultural barriers. This statistic highlights the platform’s popularity and role in fostering global connections. An exemplary case study of this is the #MeToo movement. Originating as a hashtag on Twitter, it grew into a global campaign against sexual harassment, demonstrating its power to mobilize and unify people for a cause.

However, personal insights suggest that while it bridges distances, it can also create a sense of isolation. Users often report feeling disconnected from their immediate surroundings, hinting at the platform’s double-edged nature. Despite enabling connections on a global scale, social media can paradoxically alienate individuals from their local context.

Section 2 – The Platform for Division

Conversely, social media can amplify societal divisions. Its algorithm-driven content can create echo chambers, reinforcing users’ preexisting beliefs. A study by the Knight Foundation found that it tends to polarize users, especially in political contexts, leading to increased division. This is further exacerbated by the spread of misinformation, as seen in the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election case, where it was used to disseminate false information, influencing public opinion and deepening societal divides.

Respecting privacy and maintaining an objective tone, it is crucial to acknowledge that social media is not divisive. Its influence is determined by both its usage and content. Thus, it is the obligation of both platforms to govern content and consumers to access information.

In conclusion, it is a complex tool. It has the unparalleled ability to connect individuals worldwide while possessing the power to divide. Balancing the personal insights with factual information presented, it’s clear that its influence is a reflection of how society chooses to wield it. As digital citizens, it is imperative to use it judiciously, understanding its potential to unite and divide.

Delving into the intricacies of social media’s impact necessitates not just a keen eye for detail but an analytical mindset to dissect its multifaceted layers. Analysis is paramount because it allows us to navigate through the vast sea of information, distinguishing between mere opinion and well-supported argumentation.

This essay utilizes tips for writing a social media essay. Statistical data from the Pew Research Center and the Knight Foundation lend credibility to the arguments. The use of the #MeToo movement as a case study illustrates its positive impact, while the reference to the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election demonstrates its negative aspects. The essay balances personal insights with factual information, respects privacy, maintains an objective tone, and appropriately uses jargon. The structure is clear and logical, with distinct sections for each aspect of its impact, making it an informative and well-rounded analysis of its role in modern society.

Navigating the Social Media Labyrinth: Key Insights

In the digital age, the impact of social media on various aspects of human life has become a critical area of study. This article has provided a comprehensive guide for crafting insightful and impactful essays on this subject, blending personal experiences with analytical rigor. Through a detailed examination of topics ranging from mental health and social dynamics to business and politics, it has underscored the dual nature of social media as both a unifying and divisive force. The inclusion of statistical data and case studies has enriched the discussion, offering a grounded perspective on the nuanced effects of these platforms.

The tips and structures outlined serve as a valuable framework for writers to navigate the complex interplay between social media and societal shifts. As we conclude, it’s clear that understanding social media’s role requires a delicate balance of critical analysis and open-mindedness. Reflecting on its influence, this article guides the creation of thoughtful essays and encourages readers to ponder the future of digital interactions and their implications for the fabric of society.

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A business journal from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

The Impact of Social Media: Is it Irreplaceable?

July 26, 2019 • 15 min read.

Social media as we know it has barely reached its 20th birthday, but it’s changed the fabric of everyday life. What does the future hold for the sector and the players currently at the top?

• Public Policy

In little more than a decade, the impact of social media has gone from being an entertaining extra to a fully integrated part of nearly every aspect of daily life for many.

Recently in the realm of commerce, Facebook faced skepticism in its testimony to the Senate Banking Committee on Libra, its proposed cryptocurrency and alternative financial system . In politics, heartthrob Justin Bieber tweeted the President of the United States, imploring him to “let those kids out of cages.” In law enforcement, the Philadelphia police department moved to terminate more than a dozen police officers after their racist comments on social media were revealed.

And in the ultimate meshing of the digital and physical worlds, Elon Musk raised the specter of essentially removing the space between social and media through the invention — at some future time — of a brain implant that connects human tissue to computer chips.

All this, in the span of about a week.

As quickly as social media has insinuated itself into politics, the workplace, home life, and elsewhere, it continues to evolve at lightning speed, making it tricky to predict which way it will morph next. It’s hard to recall now, but SixDegrees.com, Friendster, and Makeoutclub.com were each once the next big thing, while one survivor has continued to grow in astonishing ways. In 2006, Facebook had 7.3 million registered users and reportedly turned down a $750 million buyout offer. In the first quarter of 2019, the company could claim 2.38 billion active users, with a market capitalization hovering around half a trillion dollars.

“In 2007 I argued that Facebook might not be around in 15 years. I’m clearly wrong, but it is interesting to see how things have changed,” says Jonah Berger, Wharton marketing professor and author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On . The challenge going forward is not just having the best features, but staying relevant, he says. “Social media isn’t a utility. It’s not like power or water where all people care about is whether it works. Young people care about what using one platform or another says about them. It’s not cool to use the same site as your parents and grandparents, so they’re always looking for the hot new thing.”

Just a dozen years ago, everyone was talking about a different set of social networking services, “and I don’t think anyone quite expected Facebook to become so huge and so dominant,” says Kevin Werbach, Wharton professor of legal studies and business ethics. “At that point, this was an interesting discussion about tech start-ups.

“Today, Facebook is one of the most valuable companies on earth and front and center in a whole range of public policy debates, so the scope of issues we’re thinking about with social media are broader than then,” Werbach adds.

Cambridge Analytica , the impact of social media on the last presidential election and other issues may have eroded public trust, Werbach said, but “social media has become really fundamental to the way that billions of people get information about the world and connect with each other, which raises the stakes enormously.”

Just Say No

“Facebook is dangerous,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) at July’s hearing of the Senate Banking Committee. “Facebook has said, ‘just trust us.’ And every time Americans trust you, they seem to get burned.”

Social media has plenty of detractors, but by and large, do Americans agree with Brown’s sentiment? In 2018, 42% of those surveyed in a Pew Research Center survey said they had taken a break from checking the platform for a period of several weeks or more, while 26% said they had deleted the Facebook app from their cellphone.

A year later, though, despite the reputational beating social media had taken, the 2019 iteration of the same Pew survey found social media use unchanged from 2018.

Facebook has its critics, says Wharton marketing professor Pinar Yildirim, and they are mainly concerned about two things: mishandling consumer data and poorly managing access to it by third-party providers; and the level of disinformation spreading on Facebook.

“Social media isn’t a utility. It’s not like power or water where all people care about is whether it works. Young people care about what using one platform or another says about them.” –Jonah Berger

“The question is, are we at a point where the social media organizations and their activities should be regulated for the benefit of the consumer? I do not think more regulation will necessarily help, but certainly this is what is on the table,” says Yildirim. “In the period leading to the [2020 U.S. presidential] elections, we will hear a range of discussions about regulation on the tech industry.”

Some proposals relate to stricter regulation on collection and use of consumer data, Yildirim adds, noting that the European Union already moved to stricter regulations last year by adopting the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) . “A number of companies in the U.S. and around the world adopted the GDPR protocol for all of their customers, not just for the residents of EU,” she says. “We will likely hear more discussions on regulation of such data, and we will likely see stricter regulation of this data.”

The other discussion bound to intensify is around the separation of Big Tech into smaller, easier to regulate units. “Most of us academics do not think that dividing organizations into smaller units is sufficient to improve their compliance with regulation. It also does not necessarily mean they will be less competitive,” says Yildirim. “For instance, in the discussion of Facebook, it is not even clear yet how breaking up the company would work, given that it does not have very clear boundaries between different business units.”

Even if such regulations never come to pass, the discussions “may nevertheless hurt Big Tech financially, given that most companies are publicly traded and it adds to the uncertainty,” Yildirim notes.

One prominent commentator about the negative impact of social media is Jaron Lanier, whose fervent opposition makes itself apparent in the plainspoken title of his 2018 book Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now . He cites loss of free will, social media’s erosion of the truth and destruction of empathy, its tendency to make people unhappy, and the way in which it is “making politics impossible.” The title of the last chapter: “Social Media Hates Your Soul.”

Lanier is no tech troglodyte. A polymath who bridges the digital and analog realms, he is a musician and writer, has worked as a scientist for Microsoft, and was co-founder of pioneering virtual reality company VPL Research. The nastiness that online existence brings out in users “turned out to be like crude oil for the social media companies and other behavior manipulation empires that quickly came to dominate the internet, because it fuelled negative behavioral feedback,” he writes.

“Social media has become really fundamental to the way that billions of people get information about the world and connect with each other, which raises the stakes enormously.” –Kevin Werbach

Worse, there is an addictive quality to social media, and that is a big issue, says Berger. “Social media is like a drug, but what makes it particularly addictive is that it is adaptive. It adjusts based on your preferences and behaviors,” he says, “which makes it both more useful and engaging and interesting, and more addictive.”

The effect of that drug on mental health is only beginning to be examined, but a recent University of Pennsylvania study makes the case that limiting use of social media can be a good thing. Researchers looked at a group of 143 Penn undergraduates, using baseline monitoring and randomly assigning each to either a group limiting Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat use to 10 minutes per platform per day, or to one told to use social media as usual for three weeks. The results, published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology , showed significant reductions in loneliness and depression over three weeks in the group limiting use compared to the control group.

However, “both groups showed significant decreases in anxiety and fear of missing out over baseline, suggesting a benefit of increased self-monitoring,” wrote the authors of “ No More FOMO: Limiting Social Media Decreases Loneliness and Depression .”

Monetizing a League (and a Reality) All Their Own

No one, though, is predicting that social media is a fad that will pass like its analog antecedent of the 1970s, citizens band radio. It will, however, evolve. The idea of social media as just a way to reconnect with high school friends seems quaint now. The impact of social media today is a big tent, including not only networks like Facebook, but also forums like Reddit and video-sharing platforms.

“The question is, are we at a point where the social media organizations and their activities should be regulated for the benefit of the consumer?” –Pinar Yildirim

Virtual worlds and gaming have become a major part of the sector, too. Wharton marketing professor Peter Fader says gamers are creating their own user-generated content through virtual worlds — and the revenue to go with it. He points to one group of gamers that use Grand Theft Auto as a kind of stage or departure point “to have their own virtual show.” In NoPixel, the Grand Theft Auto roleplaying server, “not much really happens and millions are tuning in to watch them. Just watching, not even participating, and it’s either live-streamed or recorded. And people are making donations to support this thing. The gamers are making hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“Now imagine having a 30-person reality show all filmed live and you can take the perspective of one person and then watch it again from another person’s perspective,” he continues. “Along the way, they can have a tip jar or talk about things they endorse. That kind of immersive media starts to build the bridge to what we like to get out of TV, but even better. Those things are on the periphery right now, but I think they are going to take over.”

Big players have noticed the potential of virtual sports and are getting into the act. In a striking example of the physical world imitating the digital one, media companies are putting up real-life stadiums where teams compete in video games. Comcast Spectator in March announced that it is building a new $50 million stadium in South Philadelphia that will be the home of the Philadelphia Fusion, the city’s e-sports team in the Overwatch League.

E-sports is serious business, with revenues globally — including advertising, sponsorships, and media rights — expected to reach $1.1 billion in 2019, according to gaming industry analytics company Newzoo.

“E-sports is absolutely here to stay,” says Fader, “and I think it’s a safe bet to say that e-sports will dominate most traditional sports, managing far more revenue and having more impact on our consciousness than baseball.”

It’s no surprise, then, that Facebook has begun making deals to carry e-sports content. In fact, it is diversification like this that may keep Facebook from ending up like its failed upstart peers. One thing that Facebook has managed to do that MySpace, Friendster, and others didn’t, is “a very good job of creating functional integration with the value they are delivering, as opposed to being a place to just share photos or send messages, it serves a lot of diversified functions,” says Keith E. Niedermeier, director of Wharton’s undergraduate marketing program and an adjunct professor of marketing. “They are creating groups and group connections, but you see them moving into lots of other services like streaming entertainment, mobile payments, and customer-to-customer buying and selling.”

“[WeChat] has really instantiated itself as a day-to-day tool in China, and it’s clear to me that Facebook would like to emulate that sort of thing.” –Keith Niedermeier

In China, WeChat has become the biggest mobile payment platform in the world and it is the platform for many third-party apps for things like bike sharing and ordering airplane tickets. “It has really instantiated itself as a day-to-day tool in China, and it’s clear to me that Facebook would like to emulate that sort of thing,” says Niedermeier.

Among nascent social media platforms that are particularly promising right now, Yildirim says that “social media platforms which are directed at achieving some objectives with smaller scale and more homogenous people stand a higher chance of entering the market and being able to compete with large, general-purpose platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.”

Irreplaceable – and Damaging?

Of course, many have begun to believe that the biggest challenge around the impact of social media may be the way it is changing society. The “attention-grabbing algorithms underlying social media … propel authoritarian practices that aim to sow confusion, ignorance, prejudice, and chaos, thereby facilitating manipulation and undermining accountability,” writes University of Toronto political science professor Ronald Deibert in a January essay in the Journal of Democracy .

Berger notes that any piece of information can now get attention, whether it is true or false. This means more potential for movements both welcome as well as malevolent. “Before, only media companies had reach, so it was harder for false information to spread. It could happen, but it was slow. Now anyone can share anything, and because people tend to believe what they see, false information can spread just as, if not more easily, than the truth.

“It’s certainly allowed more things to bubble up rather than flow from the top down,” says Berger. Absent gatekeepers, “everyone is their own media company, broadcasting to the particular set of people that follow them. It used to be that a major label signing you was the path to stardom. Now artists can build their own following online and break through that way. Social media has certainly made fame and attention more democratic, though not always in a good way.”

Deibert writes that “in a short period of time, digital technologies have become pervasive and deeply embedded in all that we do. Unwinding them completely is neither possible nor desirable.”

His cri de coeur argues: that citizens have the right to know what companies and governments are doing with their personal data, and that this right be extended internationally to hold autocratic regimes to account; that companies be barred from selling products and services that enable infringements on human rights and harms to civil society; for the creation of independent agencies with real power to hold social-media platforms to account; and the creation and enforcement of strong antitrust laws to end dominance of a very few social-media companies.

“Social media has certainly made fame and attention more democratic, though not always in a good way.” –Jonah Berger

The rising tide of concern is now extending across sectors. The U.S. Justice Department has recently begun an anti-trust investigation into how tech companies operate in social media, search, and retail services. In July, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announced the award of nearly $50 million in new funding to 11 U.S. universities to research how technology is transforming democracy. The foundation is also soliciting additional grant proposals to fund policy and legal research into the “rules, norms, and governance” that should be applied to social media and technology companies.

Given all of the reasons not to engage with social media — the privacy issues, the slippery-slope addiction aspect of it, its role in spreading incivility — do we want to try to put the genie back in the bottle? Can we? Does social media definitely have a future?

“Yes, surely it does,” says Yildirim. “Social connections are fabrics of society. Just as the telegraph or telephone as an innovation of communication did not reduce social connectivity, online social networks did not either. If anything, it likely increased connectivity, or reduced the cost of communicating with others.”

It is thanks to online social networks that individuals likely have larger social networks, she says, and while many criticize the fact that we are in touch with large numbers of individuals in a superficial way, these light connections may nevertheless be contributing to our lives when it comes to economic and social outcomes — ranging from finding jobs to meeting new people.

“We are used to being in contact with more individuals, and it is easier to remain in contact with people we only met once. Giving up on this does not seem likely for humans,” she says. “The technology with which we keep in touch may change, may evolve, but we will have social connections and platforms which enable them. Facebook may be gone in 10 years, but there will be something else.”

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Home — Essay Samples — Sociology — Social Media — Social Media Impact On Society

Social Media Impact on Society

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• Social Media Essay

Essay on Social Media

Social media is the communal interaction among people in which they create, share or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities. It has become the basic need and quality of human beings to be social. The spectacular developments in communications and innovative and astonishing entertainment have given access to information and the ability to provide a voice for people who would never have been heard. The current generation is fortunate enough to witness some of the most amazing technological developments ever in history. It has become the rage of this age. 

What are Some of the Most Widely used Social Media Platforms?

Simply put, let us understand the factors that have contributed to the popularity and widespread use of social media platforms in recent years. Many observers believe that the number of "active users" has something to do with the situation. This factor has a significant impact on the growth of the organization, its attractiveness, and its participation.

These applications serve as the building blocks for a large number of other applications as well. Currently, Facebook is the most popular social networking site on the planet, with more than 2.7 billion active monthly members worldwide. Each social media platform owned by the same company, including Facebook (the company's most popular forum), WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram, has more than 1 billion monthly active users.

In addition, as the number of people who use social media continues to grow, it becomes increasingly clear how important social media has become in today's society.

Monograph on Social Media Use - An Introduction

People always want to connect themselves with society in some or another way. In earlier days, the modes of communication were limited. People socialized with others in their tracks. Earlier, socializing was narrowed to visiting each other’s places, having big gatherings, meetings in clubs, parks, and other public areas.

Now the time has changed. People have minimized their social life because of hectic life and increase in geographical distance and economic concerns. With the arrival of technology, social networking websites and applications have heralded a revolution in the world. It has indeed brought people from all over the globe closer by creating, sharing, or exchanging information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. These social networking sites are based on web-based technologies and create highly interactive platforms. It has gained momentum globally because of its better features, access, frequency, immediacy, usability, and permanence. It has been recognized so widely, and its usage has increased so incredibly today that it has moved from desktop computers to laptops to mobile phones. The platform is undoubtedly easily obtainable and accessible.

Today, every person is addicted to social media, and that too at a glaring speed. Some important social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, etc., have provided us with the prospect to connect with people and foster better relationships with friends and acquaintances with whom we cannot meet personally and share the happenings of our lives. Some tools like YouTube, Instagram, Whatsapp, etc., have provided the platform to share pictures and videos with friends and relatives living in distant places.

B2B social, reviews, and travel sites in social media have made it easy and exciting for people to shop and discuss with friends and others about what they are buying. Some sites offer collective buying offers to give consumers a fun-filled shopping experience. 

Social Media and Its Significance

Every person's daily routine involves some kind of social media interaction. Anyone, anywhere, at any time, can connect with you through social media as long as you have access to the internet.

While everyone was confined to their homes, unable to speak with anybody other than family and friends, it is critical to communicate with friends and family during Covid-19 to avoid being isolated. The outbreak resulted in social media being an essential tool for individuals to make entertaining videos and engage in social media challenges and activities, which helped keep people busy during these challenging circumstances.

As a result of the quick rise and extension of digital marketing, social media has played an essential part in this expansion. It's also a fantastic resource for finding information on a wide variety of topics. People may learn a great deal and stay up to date with the newest news worldwide by utilizing this. But there is always a drawback to every good that comes with it, no matter how beneficial. As a consequence, the following are some of the most significant advantages and disadvantages of social media in today's fast-paced society.

Benefits of Social Media

Social media sites are erasing differences in age and class. It has assumed a different dimension altogether through interactive sharing. It has now become a medium of mass reach at a minimum cost. Today, one can benefit from social sharing to build a reputation and bring in career opportunities. 

They target a broad audience, making it a valuable and effective tool for society. 

 It reaches people even in remote areas, and the information is spread like fire. 

Distance is no more a limitation because of social media. You are constantly updated with the latest news and happenings in the society and environment through social media websites.

Sites and blogs like Orkut, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and many more have become tools for people to connect across the globe. People can attend live talks or live sessions, or lectures happening anywhere in the world while staying at home. 

Teachers and professors can teach on different topics from remote places. 

You can now identify great possibilities for a job through multiple social media sites like LinkedIn, Google, Naukri, and job search. 

Social media enables companies to use these sites as a network to generate awareness about their product, promote their brand, and increase their sales. It saves the cost of marketing and advertising. 

These networking sites on social media provide a comprehensive platform for young aspiring artists to showcase their passion and skills.

Political leaders use the platform of social media for spreading social communication to mass. These days, the political candidates are also communicating with the voters through social media.

Nowadays, a person’s fame or popularity is determined by the number of links he has created with these social media sites. 

It is an excellent educational tool.

It has the potential to increase public awareness of a range of societal issues.

Due to the speed with which data is transmitted over the internet, consumers can stay current on the latest developments.

Social media can be used to disseminate information to the media.

Additionally, there are some social benefits, such as communicating with long-distance family and friends.

It has the potential to open up incredible career opportunities online.

We believe that social media has a lot of positive effects, but we also recognize that, like anything else, it has some negative ones. Keep reading to gather an idea on the same.

Disadvantages of Social Media

However, social media has caused addiction to users. Despite huge benefits, it has some unfavorable consequences.

Users of social media are becoming victims of fraudulent and online scams that seem to be genuine.

It opens up a possibility for hackers to commit fraud and launch virus attacks.

The productivity of people is getting hampered due to extreme usage and indulgence in these social media sites.

Harmful and disrespectful comments and reviews from employees about the company hamper its image tremendously. 

Students, too, are exceedingly active on social media sites these days, limiting them from outdoor activities. 

Students indulge in disputes because of these social media, and sometimes school has to resolve the conflicts.

Some sites are used to express personal anger or dispute, due to which a lot of chaos and confusion is created.

Investigate whether it is possible to cheat on tests.

As a result, students' grades and performance have suffered.

Users are more vulnerable to cybersecurity threats such as hacking, data theft, spamming, and other similar crimes due to a lack of privacy.

Social media has both benefits and drawbacks. Using it productively can be a tool of immense help, but over usage can become a silent enemy. Thus, we as users have to learn to balance and not control ourselves by this technology.

FAQs on Social Media Essay

Q1. What do you Understand by Social Media?

Social media is the communal interaction among people in which they create, share or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities.

Q2. How has Social Media benefited Society?

Social media has incredibly benefited society. It has erased the age and class barrier. Social media sites target a wide audience. People can connect with each other from any corner of the world. Distance is no more a limitation. Teachers and students are connecting through social media tools. People find jobs, shop and share reviews and discuss with others. It is a comprehensive platform for people to showcase their talents and passion.

Q3. What are the disadvantages of Social Media?

The disadvantages of social media are that youth is getting hooked to it inappropriately. People are falling into prey to fraudulent and illegal activities. Too much indulgence in social media is hampering the productivity of people. 

Q4. How has Social Media brought a Change in Human’s Lives?

In earlier days, humans did not have too many means of communication. This was the reason why they did not socialize much. Even if they did, their socialization was narrowed to meeting their own relatives or friends in a close circle. People could not explore much about what was happening around the globe. The job seekers were restricted to finding jobs through someone or a newspaper. Now, technology has brought a revolution in the lives of people. Distance is no more a constraint for communication. People can communicate with anyone from anywhere in the world. The entire information about what is happening across the globe is available at the touch of our fingertips. Job seekers have not only widened their horizon of finding jobs but also given interviews on social media platforms. Social media has made the lives of people much simpler, easier, and faster.

Q5. In what ways does social media influence our lives?

The emergence of social media has had a considerable influence on people's lives. Using social media in one's everyday life allows one to communicate, interact, and be sociable while also learning about current events, creating a variety of meals, educating oneself, traveling to any place, and taking advantage of many other perks.

Q6. Which social networking sites are the most well-known?

There are several social media platforms where you may utilize Youtube Messenger. These include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Whatsapp, and Pinterest.

Q7. Does social media have a role in our overall well-being?

Social media sites have the following roles in our overall well-being.

Social media addiction may cause physical and psychological harm to the person using it excessively, including eye strain, social disengagement, and disturbed sleep.

If you spend too much time fighting and disagreeing, this might harm your health in the long run.

In terms of emotional relationships, social media may be a great way to meet new people and keep in contact with individuals you already know. Building relationships with others is beneficial.

Social media is a veritable informational treasure trove when it comes to staying healthy. This has several benefits. Doubtful information might be just as damaging as not thoroughly investigating it.

• Social Media

Social Media Essay

500 + words essay on social media.

Social media is a prevalent medium in today’s scenario because of its ability to transfer information and communicate with people worldwide using an internet connection. We have seen how social media platforms make it easier for people spread across the globe to connect.

However, it is still a matter of debate if social media is a bone or a bane for us, despite its user-friendly features. In this social media essay, we can look at the impacts of social media, its advantages and disadvantages and more.

Introduction to Social Media Essay

It is seen that over the past few years, social media has developed tremendously and has captured millions of users worldwide. Referring to this social media essay in English is the best way for students to learn about the pros and cons of social media. If they are preparing for the board exam, they will also find the ‘Impact of Social Media Essay ’ a beneficial topic. They can prepare themselves for the board exams by reading this short social media essay.

Impact of Social Media

Currently, social media is a lot more than just blogging or posting pictures. As the reach of social media is far and high, it goes beyond impressing people to impacting or influencing them with the help of these vital tools. However, a wide range of people believe that social media has negatively impacted human relationships.

Human interaction has also deteriorated because of it. Nevertheless, social media also has a positive effect. It enables us to connect with our family and friends globally while even sending out security warnings. Check out the advantages and disadvantages of social media to know more about the pros and cons.

Pros of Social Media

Reading through the advantages of social media is the best way to learn about its positive aspects. We can learn a lot with its help, thus enabling society’s social development. We can also quickly gain information and news via social media. It is a great tool that is used to create awareness about social evils or reform. It is also a good platform that reduces the distance between loved ones and brings them closer. Another advantage is that it is a good platform for young aspirants to showcase their knowledge and skills. At the same time, companies use social media to promote their brand and services/products.

Cons of Social Media

Psychiatrists believe that social media impacts a person negatively. Social media is also considered to be one of the leading causes of depression and anxiety in society. Students may get distracted from their studies due to addiction to social media. Spending too much time on social media may result in poor academic performance. Lack of privacy is another evil effect of social media. Social media users are also very vulnerable to hacking, identity theft, phishing crimes and other cyber crimes.

Thus, in conclusion, we can say that we have to be diligent while using social media . We should use our discretion while using social media, thus balancing our social life with our studies, work, family, and social media use.

Also Read: Woman Empowerment | Republic Day Essay | Essay On Constitution of India

Frequently Asked Questions on Social Media Essay

How can we balance the pros and cons of social media.

1. Spend a limited amount of time on social media.

2. Avoid getting addicted to entertainment channels.

3. Use social media for better communication and to spread social messages.

What is one of the unseen cons of social media?

One of the unseen cons of social media is that the content that we post/send online is getting stored somewhere at the backend even after its deletion. This fact must be kept in mind before using any social media app.

How can students get benefitted from Social media?

There are numerous apps and web pages where essential information is available not only regarding academics but also about extracurricular activities. Students can highly benefit from social media if they use it in a proper way with adult guidance.

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Essay on Social Media – Effects, Importance, Advantages, Disadvantages

Table of Contents

Essay on Social Media: The social media has undoubtedly changed the way we communicate and interact with each other. It has brought people closer and helped them connect with each other in ways that were never before possible. It is now becoming one of the largest means of communication and rapidly gaining popularity. Social media enables you to share ideas, content, information, news, etc., faster. In this article, we shall look at some essays on social media that talk about the effects, importance of social media, and its advantages and disadvantages.

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Here are essays on social media of varying word lengths to help you with the same in your exam. You can select any social media essay as per your need:

Long and Short Essay on Social Media in English

• We have provided below short and long essays on social media in English.
• These social media essays will improve your knowledge of the subject and make you aware of its pros and cons.
• After reading the essays, you will be able to explain the meaning of social media and its various constituents, its advantages and disadvantages, etc.
• You can use these social media essays in your school’s and the college’s several essay writing , speech and debate competitions, etc.

Essay on Social Media and its Impact

We live in an age where information is just a button press away. Although we are swayed by information all around us. We millennials want to know, read, understand and then speak our minds about it. That is where social media comes into play. Social media is one of the most significant elements we live with, and we cannot ignore it.

It is a collection of websites, applications, and other platforms that enable us to share or create content and also help us to participate in social networking. Social media is not limited to blogging and sharing pictures; there are a lot of solid tools also that social media provides. That is because the impact of social media is very high and far-reaching. It can make or break images.

But social media is a topic of controversy today, many feel it’s a boon, but a majority think it is a curse. Most believe social media has rapidly destroyed human interaction and modified modern human relationships. But others feel it is a blessing connecting us to every part of the world; we can meet our loved ones far, spread awareness, send security warnings, etc. There is a lot that social media can do. But it is an unarguable fact that social media has made our lives convenient, easier, and much faster.

Essay on Positive and Negative Effects of Social Media

Social media plays a significant role in our lives today. We have access to any information at just a button push away. Anything that is so vastly expanded has both positives and negatives. The power of social media is very high and affects each individual. It isn’t easy to imagine our lives with social media today, and we pay the price for excessive use. There is a lot of debate about the effects of social media on society as a whole. Some feel it’s a boon, while others think it is a curse.

Positive Effects of Social Media

Social media allows the social growth of society and also helps many businesses. It provides tools like social media marketing to reach millions of potential clients. We can easily access information and get news through social media. Social media is an excellent tool for creating awareness about any social cause. Employers can reach out to potential job seekers. It can help many individuals grow socially and interact with the world without a hitch. Many people use social media to make themselves heard by the higher authorities. It can also help you meet like-minded people.

Negative Effects of Social Media

Many physiatrists believe that social media is a single factor causing depression and anxiety. It is also a cause of poor mental growth in children. Increased use of social media can lead to poor sleeping patterns. Many other adverse effects include cyberbullying, body image issues, etc. There is an increased ‘Fear of Missing out (FOMO) at an all-time high in youth because of social media.

Essay on Social Media Addiction Essay on Internet Essay on Newspaper

Essay on Social Media Impact on Youth

We cannot ignore that social media is one of the biggest elements present in our lives today. We can quickly get information and talk to anyone in any corner of the world. The youth is the future of our nation; they can make or break the economy. Social media is one of the most engaging elements in their lives today. It has a far-reaching impact on the youth, as they are the most active on social networking sites. Social media has a far-reaching impact on the youth, as they are the most active on social networking sites.

Social Network Impact on Youth

It’s a fad these days to be on social networking sites. If you do not have a digital presence, then for some people, you do not exist. The ever-rising pressure of being on social networking sites and having an impressive profile affects the youth in a big way. According to statistics, the average number of hours a teenager spends online is 72 hours per week.

This is very high considering that they have to give time to study, physical activities, and other beneficial activities like reading. It leaves little time for other things; hence, serious issues arise, like lack of attention span, minimum focus, anxiety, and complex issues. We now have more virtual friends than real ones, and we lose human-to-human connections daily. Other dangers include leaking personal information to strangers, sex offenders, etc. There are some positive effects.

Positive Impacts of Social Media

• It is a good tool for education.
• It can create awareness for many social issues.
• There is a fast transfer of information online, so the users can stay well informed.
• It can also be used as a news medium.
• There are a few social benefits like communication with long-distance friends and relatives.
• It can provide great employment opportunities online.

We agree that social networks have positive impacts, but like everything else, it also has cons.

There are many negative impacts also:

Negative Impacts of Social Media

• Enables cheating in exams
• Dropping of grades and performance of students
• Lack of privacy
• Users are vulnerable to cyber crimes like hacking, identity theft, phishing crimes, etc.

Essay on the Importance of Social Media in Education

This is the age of smartphones and microblogging. Everything that we need to know is just a click away. Social media is the most widely used tool by all age groups today but is more popular among the youth and students. Keeping this in mind, researchers feel that social media can play a very important part in education. It can be used to reach out to many students and be highly effective.

Many academic thinkers feel social media is a deteriorating agent for students, but it can be highly effective if used wisely. Instead of arguing that social media is good or bad, we must find ways to use it for our benefit. How can social media be used to our advantage in education? Let’s try and answer this.

Importance of Social Media in Education

Today platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc., are most widely used by( both) teachers, professors, and students, and they have become quite popular among them. Social media plays a very important role for students as it makes it easier for them to access and share information, get answers and connect with teachers. Students and teachers can connect and share content through social media platforms, using these platforms well.

Social Media Importance are the following:

• Live Lectures: Many professors are conducting live video chats on skype, Twitter, and other places for their lectures. This makes it easy for students and teachers to learn and share while just sitting in their homes. How easy and convenient education can be with the help of social media.
• Increased support : Since we use social media at our disposal at any hour of the day, teachers can provide off-hours support and solve queries of students even after class timings. This practice also helps the teacher understand their students’ development more closely.
• Easy work : Many educators feel that social media makes work easier for students. It also helps the teacher expand and explore their own possibilities//skills// and knowledge.
• More disciplined : The classes conducted on social media platforms are more disciplined and structured, as we know that everyone is watching.
• Teaching aids : Social media can help students nourish their knowledge with many teaching aids available online. Students can watch videos, see images, check out reviews and instantly clear their doubts while watching the live processes. Students and teachers can make their lectures more interesting using these tools and teaching aids.
• Teaching Blogs and write-ups: Students can enhance their knowledge by reading blogs, articles, and write-ups by renowned teachers, professors, and thinkers. This way, good content can reach a wide audience.

Below are the related topics to Social Media available at IL

• Essay on Internet
• Essay on Social Media Addiction
• Influence of Social Media
• Speech On Social Media
• Disadvantages of Using Social Media

Essay on Social Media: Importance, Advantages, Disadvantages

Social media remains the most talked about thing these days. Many debates are going on regarding whether social media is good or bad. Many views are available to us, and it is up to us to read and understand them properly and reach a conclusion.

Importance of Social Media

Social media platforms help their users to connect, share and give information and content to millions of others. The importance of social media cannot be ignored since it plays a crucial role in our lives today.

• Building a brand: Today, quality content, products, and services are easily accessible online. You can market your product online and build a brand.
• Customer support: Customers can read reviews and feedback before buying a product or service and make a smart choice.
• Social media is a great educational tool.
• Through social media platforms, you can connect with your target audience.
• It is also a great way to access quality information.
• Social media can help you get the news and happenings in just a click.
• Social media also helps you connect with friends and relatives and make new friends.

Advantages of Social Media

Social media comes with a lot of advantages. We can owe a substantial part of our society’s growth to social media. We have witnessed a blast of information and content in the last few years and cannot deny the power of social media in our lives.

Social media is widely used to create awareness for important causes in society. It can also help many noble causes run by NGOs and other social welfare societies. Social media can also aid the government in other agencies to spread awareness and fight crime. It is a strong tool for business promotion and marketing for many businesses. Many communities are built through social media platforms essential for our society’s growth.

Disadvantages of Social Media

Social media is considered one of the most harmful in our lives. Wrong use can lead to bad conclusions. There are many disadvantages of social media:

• Cyberbullying: many children have become the victims of cyberbullying that has caused them a lot of harm.
• Hacking: The loss of personal data can lead to security issues. Some crimes like identity theft and bank details theft can harm any individual.
• Addiction: Prolonged use of social media can lead to addiction in youth. Addiction causes one to lose focus on other important things like studying etc. People get so absorbed that they get cut off from society and harm their personal lives.
• Scams: Many predators are looking for vulnerable users that they can scam and make a profit off.
• Relationship frauds: Honeytraps and MMS porn are the most caused fraud online. People are lured into relationships and love schemes and then cheated on.
• Health issues: The excessive use of social media can affect your physical and mental health in a big way. People often complain of becoming lazy, fat, having itchy eyes, loss of vision, and stress issues after excessive use.
• Loss of social and family life: Everyone being busy on the phone is one of the most common sites in a family gathering nowadays.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is social media in 5 lines.

Social media is an online platform or digital technology that enables users to create, share, and interact with content and connect with others globally.

What are 10 points social media?

Ten points about social media could include: a) It facilitates communication and networking, b) Allows sharing of information, news, and opinions, c) Offers a platform for businesses to promote their products and services, d) Provides opportunities for entertainment and content consumption, e) Can be a tool for social activism and raising awareness, f) Enhances personal branding and self-expression, g) Enables real-time updates and engagement, h) Can be addictive and time-consuming, i) Raises concerns about privacy and data security, and j) Requires responsible usage and digital literacy.

What are the 4 main social media?

The four main social media platforms commonly referred to are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn. However, the social media landscape is vast and continually evolving, with many other platforms gaining popularity.

What is called social media?

Social media refers to the digital tools and platforms that allow individuals and organizations to create, share, and interact with content, as well as connect with others virtually.

Is social media helpful?

Social media can be both helpful and detrimental depending on its usage. It can facilitate communication, information sharing, and networking. However, it can also contribute to issues like misinformation, cyberbullying, privacy concerns, and addiction.

How social media affects our life?

Social media can affect our lives in various ways. It can impact our relationships, self-esteem, mental health, and time management. It can also shape public opinion, influence behavior, and provide opportunities for personal and professional growth.

What are benefits of social media?

Some benefits of social media include: a) Facilitating communication and staying connected with friends, family, and communities, b) Providing a platform for sharing ideas, creativity, and talents, c) Offering networking opportunities for personal and professional growth, d) Enabling access to information, news, and resources, e) Supporting social causes and activism, f) Facilitating business promotion and marketing, and g) Fostering global connections and cultural exchang

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Is social media good for you?

We often hear about the negative side of social media. But what are the benefits? Watch this video to find out.

Instructions

Do the preparation task first. Then watch the video and do the exercises. Remember you can read the transcript at any time.

Preparation

Elena: Hello, my name is Elena. I'm 14 years old and I'm from Ruse in Bulgaria. My question is, what are the benefits of social media? This question is important to me because a lot of people consider social media unhealthy.

Joe: We see it all the time. There's loads of stories around about how bad social media is for us and how large parts of our lives are in the hands of a few massive companies.

I'm Cybersecurity Reporter at the BBC, which means that a big part of my job is holding these big companies to account. I spend a lot of time looking at the negative sides of social media and I pretty much take the positives for granted. So getting this question is actually really good for me because it can remind me of all the good things that have come about since social media was invented.

I grew up in a time before social media. Not quite that long ago! We still had mobile phones and the internet, but it wasn't quite like it is now. Everything was much slower and much more difficult. People still mainly communicated by phone call, which means that if you made plans, you had to stick to them. Or you could leave your mate waiting in the rain.

And now we're more connected than ever. Most of us are spending time every day with our friends online and sharing our lives with people across the world. If you're feeling isolated or lonely or if you feel like there's something you need help with, you can find a community through social media who can share their experiences and help you out. All this communication can lead to a greater understanding of each other and also bring some real change. It's hard to imagine something like the climate strike movement spreading as far or as fast as it has, without social media. It helped amplify the voice of a 15-year-old activist in Sweden, so she's been heard around the world. And there are some pretty direct benefits too.

Tools have been made that encourage people to make the world around them better, whether that's by giving money, telling your friends and family you're safe or by donating blood. In fact, this alone has led to more than 50 million people becoming blood donors around the world, literally life savers.

So, there really are some great benefits to social media but it's still really new. These apps are emerging technologies and when things affect the way that we live and work and do things as much as social media has, it takes a long time to work out what the knock-on effects could be. It's probably up to the next generation to work through some of these problems and hopefully, if they do a good job, we'll be talking a lot more about the positive sides of social media in the future.

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For you, what are the positives of social media?

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David Wallace-Wells

Are smartphones driving our teens to depression.

By David Wallace-Wells

Opinion Writer

Here is a story. In 2007, Apple released the iPhone, initiating the smartphone revolution that would quickly transform the world. In 2010, it added a front-facing camera, helping shift the social-media landscape toward images, especially selfies. Partly as a result, in the five years that followed, the nature of childhood and especially adolescence was fundamentally changed — a “great rewiring,” in the words of the social psychologist Jonathan Haidt — such that between 2010 and 2015 mental health and well-being plummeted and suffering and despair exploded, particularly among teenage girls.

For young women, rates of hospitalization for nonfatal self-harm in the United States, which had bottomed out in 2009, started to rise again, according to data reported to the C.D.C., taking a leap beginning in 2012 and another beginning in 2016, and producing , over about a decade, an alarming 48 percent increase in such emergency room visits among American girls ages 15 to 19 and a shocking 188 percent increase among girls ages 10 to14.

Here is another story. In 2011, as part of the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a new set of guidelines that recommended that teenage girls should be screened annually for depression by their primary care physicians and that same year required that insurance providers cover such screenings in full. In 2015, H.H.S. finally mandated a coding change, proposed by the World Health Organization almost two decades before, that required hospitals to record whether an injury was self-inflicted or accidental — and which seemingly overnight nearly doubled rates for self-harm across all demographic groups. Soon thereafter, the coding of suicidal ideation was also updated. The effect of these bureaucratic changes on hospitalization data presumably varied from place to place. But in one place where it has been studied systematically, New Jersey, where 90 percent of children had health coverage even before the A.C.A., researchers have found that the changes explain nearly all of the state’s apparent upward trend in suicide-related hospital visits, turning what were “essentially flat” trendlines into something that looked like a youth mental health “crisis.”

Could both of these stories be partially true? Of course: Emotional distress among teenagers may be genuinely growing while simultaneous bureaucratic and cultural changes — more focus on mental health, destigmatization, growing comfort with therapy and medication — exaggerate the underlying trends. (This is what Adriana Corredor-Waldron, a co-author of the New Jersey study, believes — that suicidal behavior is distressingly high among teenagers in the United States and that many of our conventional measures are not very reliable to assess changes in suicidal behavior over time.) But over the past several years, Americans worrying over the well-being of teenagers have heard much less about that second story, which emphasizes changes in the broader culture of mental illness, screening guidelines and treatment, than the first one, which suggests smartphones and social-media use explain a whole raft of concerns about the well-being of the country’s youth.

When the smartphone thesis first came to prominence more than six years ago, advanced by Haidt’s sometime collaborator Jean Twenge, there was a fair amount of skepticism from scientists and social scientists and other commentators: Were teenagers really suffering that much? they asked. How much in this messy world could you pin on one piece of technology anyway? But some things have changed since then, including the conventional liberal perspective on the virtues of Big Tech, and, in the past few years, as more data has rolled in and more red flags have been raised about American teenagers — about the culture of college campuses, about the political hopelessness or neuroticism or radicalism or fatalism of teenagers, about a growing political gender divide, about how often they socialize or drink or have sex — a two-part conventional wisdom has taken hold across the pundit class. First, that American teenagers are experiencing a mental health crisis; second, that it is the fault of phones.

“Smartphones and social media are destroying children’s mental health,” the Financial Times declared last spring. This spring, Haidt’s new book on the subject, The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, debuted at the top of the New York Times best-seller list. In its review of the book, The Guardian described the smartphone as “a pocket full of poison,” and in an essay , The New Yorker accepted as a given that Gen Z was in the midst of a “mental health emergency” and that “social media is bad for young people.” “Parents could see their phone-obsessed children changing and succumbing to distress,” The Wall Street Journal reflected . “Now we know the true horror of what happened.”

But, well, do we? Over the past five years, “Is it the phones?” has become “It’s probably the phones,” particularly among an anxious older generation processing bleak-looking charts of teenage mental health on social media as they are scrolling on their own phones. But however much we may think we know about how corrosive screen time is to mental health, the data looks murkier and more ambiguous than the headlines suggest — or than our own private anxieties, as parents and smartphone addicts, seem to tell us.

What do we really know about the state of mental health among teenagers today? Suicide offers the most concrete measure of emotional distress, and rates among American teenagers ages 15 to 19 have indeed risen over the past decade or so, to about 11.8 deaths per 100,000 in 2021 from about 7.5 deaths per 100,000 in 2009. But the American suicide epidemic is not confined to teenagers. In 2022, the rate had increased roughly as much since 2000 for the country as a whole, suggesting a national story both broader and more complicated than one focused on the emotional vulnerabilities of teenagers to Instagram. And among the teenagers of other rich countries, there is essentially no sign of a similar pattern. As Max Roser of Our World in Data recently documented , suicide rates among older teenagers and young adults have held roughly steady or declined over the same time period in France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Germany, Greece, Poland, Norway and Belgium. In Sweden there were only very small increases.

Is there a stronger distress signal in the data for young women? Yes, somewhat. According to an international analysis by The Economist, suicide rates among young women in 17 wealthy countries have grown since 2003, by about 17 percent, to a 2020 rate of 3.5 suicides per 100,000 people. The rate among young women has always been low, compared with other groups, and among the countries in the Economist data set, the rate among male teenagers, which has hardly grown at all, remains almost twice as high. Among men in their 50s, the rate is more than seven times as high.

In some countries, we see concerning signs of convergence by gender and age, with suicide rates among young women growing closer to other demographic groups. But the pattern, across countries, is quite varied. In Denmark, where smartphone penetration was the highest in the world in 2017, rates of hospitalization for self-harm among 10- to 19-year-olds fell by more than 40 percent between 2008 and 2016. In Germany, there are today barely one-quarter as many suicides among women between 15 and 20 as there were in the early 1980s, and the number has been remarkably flat for more than two decades. In the United States, suicide rates for young men are still three and a half times as high as for young women, the recent increases have been larger in absolute terms among young men than among young women, and suicide rates for all teenagers have been gradually declining since 2018. In 2022, the latest year for which C.D.C. data is available, suicide declined by 18 percent for Americans ages 10 to 14 and 9 percent for those ages 15 to 24.

None of this is to say that everything is fine — that the kids are perfectly all right, that there is no sign at all of worsening mental health among teenagers, or that there isn’t something significant and even potentially damaging about smartphone use and social media. Phones have changed us, and are still changing us, as anyone using one or observing the world through them knows well. But are they generating an obvious mental health crisis?

The picture that emerges from the suicide data is mixed and complicated to parse. Suicide is the hardest-to-dispute measure of despair, but not the most capacious. But while rates of depression and anxiety have grown strikingly for teenagers in certain parts of the world, including the U.S., it’s tricky to disentangle those increases from growing mental-health awareness and destigmatization, and attempts to measure the phenomenon in different ways can yield very different results.

According to data Haidt uses, from the U.S. National Survey on Drug Use and Health, conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the percent of teenage girls reporting major depressive episodes in the last year grew by about 50 percent between 2005 and 2017, for instance, during which time the share of teenage boys reporting the same grew by roughly 75 percent from a lower level. But in a biannual C.D.C. survey of teenage mental health, the share of teenagers reporting that they had been persistently sad for a period of at least two weeks in the past year grew from only 28.5 percent in 2005 to 31.5 percent in 2017. Two different surveys tracked exactly the same period, and one showed an enormous increase in depression while the other showed almost no change at all.

And if the rise of mood disorders were a straightforward effect of the smartphone, you’d expect to see it everywhere smartphones were, and, as with suicide, you don’t. In Britain, the share of young people who reported “feeling down” or experiencing depression grew from 31 percent in 2012 to 38 percent on the eve of the pandemic and to 41 percent in 2021. That is significant, though by other measures British teenagers appear, if more depressed than they were in the 2000s, not much more depressed than they were in the 1990s.

Overall, when you dig into the country-by-country data, many places seem to be registering increases in depression among teenagers, particularly among the countries of Western Europe and North America. But the trends are hard to disentangle from changes in diagnostic patterns and the medicalization of sadness, as Lucy Foulkes has argued , and the picture varies considerably from country to country. In Canada , for instance, surveys of teenagers’ well-being show a significant decline between 2015 and 2021, particularly among young women; in South Korea rates of depressive episodes among teenagers fell by 35 percent between 2006 and 2018.

Because much of our sense of teenage well-being comes from self-reported surveys, when you ask questions in different ways, the answers vary enormously. Haidt likes to cite data collected as part of an international standardized test program called PISA, which adds a few questions about loneliness at school to its sections covering progress in math, science and reading, and has found a pattern of increasing loneliness over the past decade. But according to the World Happiness Report , life satisfaction among those ages 15 to 24 around the world has been improving pretty steadily since 2013, with more significant gains among women, as the smartphone completed its global takeover, with a slight dip during the first two years of the pandemic. An international review published in 2020, examining more than 900,000 adolescents in 36 countries, showed no change in life satisfaction between 2002 and 2018.

“It doesn’t look like there’s one big uniform thing happening to people’s mental health,” said Andrew Przybylski, a professor at Oxford. “In some particular places, there are some measures moving in the wrong direction. But if I had to describe the global trend over the last decade, I would say there is no uniform trend showing a global crisis, and, where things are getting worse for teenagers, no evidence that it is the result of the spread of technology.”

If Haidt is the public face of worry about teenagers and phones, Przybylski is probably the most prominent skeptic of the thesis. Others include Amy Orben, at the University of Cambridge, who in January told The Guardian, “I think the concern about phones as a singular entity are overblown”; Chris Ferguson, at Stetson University, who is about to publish a new meta-analysis showing no relationship between smartphone use and well-being; and Candice Odgers, of the University of California, Irvine, who published a much-debated review of Haidt in Nature, in which she declared “the book’s repeated suggestion that digital technologies are rewiring our children’s brains and causing an epidemic of mental illness is not supported by science.”

Does that overstate the case? In a technical sense, I think, no: There may be some concerning changes in the underlying incidence of certain mood disorders among American teenagers over the past couple of decades, but they are hard to separate from changing methods of measuring and addressing mental health and mental illness. There isn’t great data on international trends in teenage suicide — but in those places with good reporting, the rates are generally not worsening — and the trends around anxiety, depression and well-being are ambiguous elsewhere in the world. And the association of those local increases with the rise of the smartphone, while now almost conventional wisdom among people like me, is, among specialists, very much a contested claim. Indeed, even Haidt, who has also emphasized broader changes to the culture of childhood , estimated that social media use is responsible for only about 10 percent to 15 percent of the variation in teenage well-being — which would be a significant correlation, given the complexities of adolescent life and of social science, but is also a much more measured estimate than you tend to see in headlines trumpeting the connection. And many others have arrived at much smaller estimates still.

But this all also raises the complicated question of what exactly we mean by “science,” in the context of social phenomena like these, and what standard of evidence we should be applying when asking whether something qualifies as a “crisis” or “emergency” and what we know about what may have caused it. There is a reason we rarely reduce broad social changes to monocausal explanations, whether we’re talking about the rapid decline of teenage pregnancy in the 2000s, or the spike in youth suicide in the late ’80s and early 1990s, or the rise in crime that began in the 1960s: Lives are far too complex to easily reduce to the influence of single factors, whether the factor is a recession or political conditions or, for that matter, climate breakdown.

To me, the number of places where rates of depression among teenagers are markedly on the rise is a legitimate cause for concern. But it is also worth remembering that, for instance, between the mid-1990s and the mid-2000s, diagnoses of American youth for bipolar disorder grew about 40-fold , and it is hard to find anyone who believes that change was a true reflection of underlying incidence. And when we find ourselves panicking over charts showing rapid increases in, say, the number of British girls who say they’re often unhappy or feel they are a failure, it’s worth keeping in mind that the charts were probably zoomed in to emphasize the spike, and the increase is only from about 5 percent of teenagers to about 10 percent in the first case, or from about 15 percent to about 20 percent in the second. It may also be the case, as Orben has emphasized , that smartphones and social media may be problematic for some teenagers without doing emotional damage to a majority of them. That’s not to say that in taking in the full scope of the problem, there is nothing there. But overall it is probably less than meets the eye.

If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.

Further reading (and listening):

On Jonathan Haidt’s After Babel Substack , a series of admirable responses to critics of “The Anxious Generation” and the smartphone thesis by Haidt, his lead researcher Zach Rausch, and his sometime collaborator Jean Twenge.

In Vox, Eric Levitz weighs the body of evidence for and against the thesis.

Tom Chivers and Stuart Ritchie deliver a useful overview of the evidence and its limitations on the Studies Show podcast.

Five experts review the evidence for the smartphone hypothesis in The Guardian.

A Substack survey of “diagnostic inflation” and teenage mental health.

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EFFECT OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN ENGLISH VOCABULARY OF INTERMEDIATE LEARNERS

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of social media to the English vocabulary learning of Grade 6 pupils at Jones East District. The respondents of the study were 112 grade 6 pupils in different schools of Jones East District who were enrolled during the academic year 2020-2021. Descriptive-correlational method was used in the analysis of the data and hypotheses testing. Frequency counts and percentage were used to describe the profile, while weighted mean was used in attitude towards social media. Kendall's tau-b was used to determine the relationship between attitude towards social media and respondents' profile, and relationship between attitude towards social media and respondents' vocabulary performance. Data gathered were computer processed using the software on Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Findings of the study showed that in terms of the respondents' vocabulary performance in English, the respondents had precision performance level in their English vocabulary. Results also revealed that the respondents' attitudes towards social media do not determine whether they have positive or negative effect because their opinion rather remains mixed. As regards to the relationship between the respondents' profile to their attitude towards media, the study found out that there is no significant relationship associated with their sex, first language, parents' employment status, and availability of internet. However, it was also found out that the respondents' attitude towards social media was significantly associated with their exposure to social media and time spent on social media. The study also revealed that there is a significant relationship between the respondents' attitude towards social media and their vocabulary performance. It was also found out that they are unconfident in using social media as learning tool. Based on the results of the study, there is a need for English teachers to conduct remedial classes to improve and/or to maintain their vocabulary performance. Also, pupils are encouraged to appreciate and be more confident in using social media platforms as a tool of learning new vocabulary. Additionally, parents are advised to ensure that their children are using social media to learn. It is also recommended that further studies are to be conducted by researchers in the future.

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Lingue e Linguaggi

thomas christiansen

– In this paper, we investigate whether the nativeness principle in language teaching and learning can ever be replaced by something more reflective of the fact that English has become not just an international lingua franca in the traditional sense of Latin, for example, but also a fluid and spontaneous set of language variations (Widdowson 2015) that emerge in contexts where L1 speakers of different languages use English primarily as users , rather than as mere learners . We look for signs that the nativeness principle is losing influence by trying to gauge how far respondents to a survey hold views which show that they are NES-norm oriented in their attitudes to English and also how they react to ELF-oriented alternatives. The methodology adopted is both qualitative and quantitative and is based around analysis of a dedicated online questionnaire administered to 188 learners of English, mostly at school or university, comparing answers to the question “Why are you learning Englis...

Dara Tafazoli

Boyeong Kim

Abstract This study aims to figure out the discourse functions of code switching which occurs in SNS chats, ‘Kakaotalk’ (Korean Mobile Messenger) and ‘Wechat’ (Chinese Mobile Messenger). This study observed and analyzed several dialogues of 10 Chinese Koreans and 10 Chinese living in Korea. The findings represent Chinese Koreans and Chinese students use a lot of code switching strategies in the observed texts. Chinese Koreans generally used Korean when saying official things or objective information. In daily conversation, on the other hand, there was no obvious consistent tendency. This shows that the preceding languages affect language selection of the following person. It is also shown that Chinese uses L1 in daily conversation but they use Korean when asking for official or personal help. In SNS group chats, Chinese Korean and Chinese use code switching depending on formality of information, for instance, a notice for formal and a request for personal help or personal question for informal. This paper suggests such discourse strategies are adopted to make successful and effective communication in the given context. Keywords: SNS, Code switching, Discourse Strategy, Language Selection

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Positive & Negative Effects of Social Media on Teens Essay

Introduction.

In the twenty-first century, many teenagers spend their free time on social networks, which are an integral part of human life today. Scientists are still arguing about the harm and benefits of social media on teenagers. The environment of modern man, in which socialization takes place, has changed significantly. Nowadays, the younger generation spends more time on social networks. For teenagers, the social network has become a tool for self-expression. Communication is no longer limited to a certain circle of people with whom the teenager contacts physically. Therefore, the topic raises a serious problem: the socialization of a teenager under the influence of the Internet environment. This paper reveals the positive and negative aspects of the influence of social networks on the younger generation.

Positive Effects of Social Media

Self-development.

Social networks have everything a teenager needs for self-development. Many groups are directly related to studying. In order not to miss new publications, it is enough to enable notifications. The variety of groups in social networks is so great that every teenager will be able to find something for themselves, ranging from culinary recipes to international politics.

There is also a large database of videos and music files on social networks, among which one can find rare or necessary book copies. On the web, teenagers can get information that is significant for education. For example, Facebook is the largest repository of audio, video, and photo materials on many academic subjects that can be listened to, viewed, and downloaded (Nisar et al., 2019). In addition, a social network is a quick transfer or dissemination of information about the school, class, events, and student news.

The network provides an excellent opportunity to promote oneself as a person. Teenagers can try to start their own business or engage in blogging. They can also write books or stories on social networks, try to earn money, or realize their strengths in SMM (Pouwels et al., 2021). Social networks attract with their ability to express themselves, to acquaint everyone with their talents, hobbies, and achievements. Some post the results of their creativity – poems, songs, music, and videos.

Finding Friends

Communication has been simplified to the maximum level; nowadays, the huge distance between people is no longer a hindrance to their communication. It is enough to have a computer or laptop connected to the Internet, and special software that makes it possible to communicate, hear and see each other. Therefore, due to social networks, teenagers can stay in touch with friends who live at a great distance. There is a video call function that only requires the Internet. Teenagers can chat with friends without spending money on the balance.

In social networks, one can easily find people: when registering on a social network, the user provides their first and last name, as well as other data – age, educational institutions, contact phone numbers. This allows teenagers to find any person in a matter of seconds, provided that they have provided reliable information about themselves. However, social networks help not only to be aware of the lives of friends, acquaintances, and classmates. Teenagers can also look for like-minded people online (Nisar et al., 2019). There are many important groups where people can share their accumulated experience or their views on life. The network makes it possible to find friends, familiar classmates, and insecure teenagers to feel in demand (Pouwels et al., 2021). It makes new acquaintances without fear that there may be nothing to talk about with this person in the future. By joining interest groups, a teenager is not afraid that they might be rejected.

The ability to find friends is also associated with psychological comfort. Teenagers can say much more online than in real life, and not feel uncomfortable at the same time: they have time to formulate thoughts more clearly and express them most accurately (Pouwels et al., 2021). The Internet has the opportunity to follow the life of idols, to know what they are doing and what new things have happened to them. Friends can also watch the user, so one does not need to tell everyone about an important event, it is enough to share it on social networks. Thus, teenagers have the opportunity to realize themselves in the eyes of friends and acquaintances.

Negative Effects of Social Media

Physical & mental health.

The properties of social networks have a negative impact when a teenager uses them non-stop. The flow of news, the change of emotions, impressions, and the solution of multi-level tasks lead to fatigue and harm to health. The radiation of the monitor has a detrimental effect on the retina of the eyes (Byrne et al., 2018). Many teenagers do not understand that most of the visitors of social networks embellish their reality. Perceiving the virtual image as reality, an inferiority complex is created. This perception affects self-esteem and harms the psyche. As a result, the body gets stressed, and the teenager is at risk of depression.

A constant presence in social networks develops the habit of receiving information in portions of the brain. Several processes are going on at the same time: listening to music, viewing photos, writing comments, and reading news. As a result, there is a decrease in the concentration of attention, and the teenager’s body is harmed (Charoensukmongkol, 2018). The term hyperactivity, well-known in psychology, accurately defines the state of a teenager. They cannot concentrate on one task, useful material is not assimilated, and the effectiveness of education decreases.

Social networks have a significant impact on the psyche of a teenager. A person needs constant recognition as a person for harmonious development. Before the advent of social networks, people had to constantly work on themselves to prove their worth. With the appearance of social media, everything has become simpler: it is enough to post a photo or video and one can collect likes. Having received approval on social networks, the user experiences a kind of euphoria (Byrne et al., 2018). Gradually, the teenager develops an addiction: the first thing their morning starts with is viewing their account. If there is free time during the day, they also constantly visit their page, spending too much time online.

Communication

Teenagers want to use easy ways to have fun, interaction in social networks is reduced to affixing likes, and correspondence is saturated with emoticons and abbreviations. For example, a story about one’s mood shortens to sending a smiley face. This way of communication becomes a habit, becomes the norm, and is used in everyday life. It is difficult for active visitors of social networks to rebuild their relationships into generally accepted forms (Szabla & Blommaert, 2020). This becomes an obstacle to a full-fledged dialogue, since people who are far from computer slang hardly understand such a narrative.

The presentation of information on the Internet occurs in such a way that, having the intention to view the weather forecast, the user is forced to close pop-up windows with advertisements, news blocks, or links to various sites. Many teenagers cannot cope with this task: all this attracts their attention and distracts them from the search (Charoensukmongkol, 2018). A teenager receives a stream of unnecessary information. If they do not control this process and do not block the excess, the brain is overloaded, fatigue accumulates, irritation and the body is harmed.

By texting, people lose the skills of real communication; in social networks, words and feelings that are transmitted through personal contact lose their meaning. It becomes easy to hide experiences or fake emotions (Szabla & Blommaert, 2020). A teenager addicted to social networks misjudges people and does not feel responsible. They become capable of insulting an opponent and causing harm without experiencing any remorse or empathy.

With the development of Internet technologies, the world has changed a lot, and it also changed the way of thinking of young people. Undoubtedly, it is possible to highlight numerous advantages of social networks. These are freely available groups where teenagers can find like-minded people, keep up to date with the latest developments, find a new hobby, develop their skills in some endeavor or relax by browsing interesting communities. However, social networks not only have a positive impact on a teenager but can also cause harm. It is associated with the distortion of reality in social networks, information overload, and a change like live communication. It is impossible to eliminate the negative impact of the use of social networks, however, by maintaining a balance, they can be minimized.

Byrne, E., Vessey, J. A., & Pfeifer, L. (2018). Cyberbullying and social media: Information and interventions for school nurses working with victims, students, and families. The Journal of School Nursing, 34 (1), 28-39.

Charoensukmongkol, P. (2018). The impact of social media on social comparison and envy in teenagers: The moderating role of the parent comparing children and in-group competition among friends. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27 (3), 69-79.

Nisar, T. M., Prabhakar, G., & Strakova, L. (2019). Social media information benefits, knowledge management and smart organizations. Journal of Business Research, 94 (7), 264-272.

Pouwels, J. L., Valkenburg, P. M., Beyens, I., Driel, I. I., & Keijsers, L. (2021). Some socially poor but also some socially rich adolescents feel closer to their friends after using social media. Scientific Reports, 11 (1), 9-13.

Szabla, M., & Blommaert, J. (2020). Does context really collapse in social media interaction? Applied Linguistics Review, 11 (2), 251-279.

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IvyPanda. (2023, March 22). Positive & Negative Effects of Social Media on Teens. https://ivypanda.com/essays/positive-amp-negative-effects-of-social-media-on-teens/

"Positive & Negative Effects of Social Media on Teens." IvyPanda , 22 Mar. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/positive-amp-negative-effects-of-social-media-on-teens/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'Positive & Negative Effects of Social Media on Teens'. 22 March.

IvyPanda . 2023. "Positive & Negative Effects of Social Media on Teens." March 22, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/positive-amp-negative-effects-of-social-media-on-teens/.

1. IvyPanda . "Positive & Negative Effects of Social Media on Teens." March 22, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/positive-amp-negative-effects-of-social-media-on-teens/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Positive & Negative Effects of Social Media on Teens." March 22, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/positive-amp-negative-effects-of-social-media-on-teens/.

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• Published: 10 May 2024

Social, economic, and demographic factors drive the emergence of Hinglish code-mixing on social media

• Ayan Sengupta 1 ,
• Soham Das 2 ,
• Md. Shad Akhtar 2 &
• Tanmoy Chakraborty   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-0210-0369 1 , 3  

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications volume  11 , Article number:  606 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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• Language and linguistics

The advent of globalization and adaptation to multiple cultures has emanated a fusion of Hindi and English, casually known as Hinglish . The phenomenon of mixing multiple languages (such as Hindi and English) within a single utterance is often called code-mixing . Lately, code-mixed Hinglish has emerged as a dominant conversational language for Hindi-speaking citizens both online (on social media platforms) and offline. Although previous studies investigated such linguistic traits of Hinglish over the past few years, some pertinent questions still need to be answered: How did Hinglish evolve? And, what are the factors behind the evolution of Hinglish? Does the fusion of English impact all Hindi words similarly? To this end, we explore the empirical and statistical shreds of evidence behind the rise of Hinglish on social media such as Twitter. We show that adopting Hinglish depends on several socio-economic and demographic factors. We further formulate dynamic models to explore the socio-economic factors driving the growth of Hinglish, derive the future growth of Hinglish in the upcoming years, and estimate the propensity of users to change their linguistic preferences. Our study highlights that the Hinglish population has evolved steadily between 2014 and 2022, with an annualized growth rate of 1.2%, and the usage of Hinglish on Twitter has increased annually by 2%. Further, we find that the impact of Hinglish evolution is not uniform across different word groups and affects the contextual meaning of different words differently. Although our findings are specific to the Indian Hinglish community, our study can be generalized to understand the evolution and dynamics of other code-mixed languages, such as Spanish-English or Chinese-English.

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Introduction.

India is a land of diversity. Diverse linguistic origins and diverse ecology have given birth to over 700 languages in India (Gazette 2014 ), out of which over 100 are spoken as the mother tongue by natives. As different cultures interchange, they give rise to multilingualism (Mallikarjun 2019 ). In fact, according to the 2011 census, over 26% of the Indian population is multilingual (TOI 2010 ). Spoken by over 500 million Indians, Hindi is among the most popular choices for bilingual and multilingual speakers. Hindi is also a dominant global language, the third most-spoken language worldwide with 602 million speakers (counting both first and second-language speakers) (International 2022 ; Barath 2019 ). An undeniable impact of British colonization in India is the interface between Hindi and English (Annamalai 2004 ). English was introduced in India by the British primarily for administrative and educational purposes. In the early days of English adoption, the elitists mainly adopted it as a symbol of modernity and societal status. Over the years, Indians have owned English in their vernaculars, amalgamating English and other Indian languages. This hybridization has also impacted the linguistics and morphology of both foreign and domestic languages. There are several instances of English words originating from Hindi or Urdu, such as ‘chutney’ (a thick sauce of Indian origin that contains fruits, vinegar, sugar, and spices, which is used as a condiment), ‘khaki’ (a light yellowish-brown cloth usually made of cotton or wool), and ‘mantra’ (a mystical formula of invocation). Similarly, loanwords can also be found in Hindi that originated from English : ‘botal’ (bottle), ‘kaptaan’ (captain), and ‘tamatar’ (tomato).

This cultural fusion has manifested in mixing Hindi and English, giving birth to a new hybrid language of ‘code-mixed Hinglish.’ In general, code-mixing (aka code-switching) (Nilep 2006 ) is a phenomenon that occurs when two or more languages are used together in a single utterance. It is a commonly observed phenomenon in multilingual societies and is widely spread in many language pairs such as Hinglish (Hindi-English) (Nema and Chawla 2018 ; Parshad et al. 2016 ), Spanglish (Spanish-English) (Otheguy and Stern 2011 ), Dutch-English (Roelofs 2019 ), and Chinese-English (Zhang 2012 ).

Several linguistic theories have been proposed (Poplack 1980 ; Sankoff and Poplack 1988 ) to understand the emergence of code-mixed languages from monolinguals. Generally, code-mixing emerges from a dominant language (aka matrix language) and a non-dominant foreign-embedded language (Myers-Scotton et al. 2002 ). In most cases, code-mixed texts follow the matrix language’s syntactic structure.

As shown in example 1, Hindi is the matrix language, and English is the foreign-embedded language. On the other hand, in example 2, English is the matrix language, and Hindi is the embedded language. Being an informal conversational language, code-mixing can be observed in many conversation settings, a popular one being online social networks (Yusnida et al. 2022 ). Due to ease of access, most users prefer using romanized scripts for written communications, leading to script-mixing . Transliterations in script-mixing have become a common way to write Hinglish on online platforms, and it has allowed users to express themselves in their preferred language, regardless of the script. In example 1, we find the Hindi words ‘tumhara’ , ‘kya’ , ‘hai’ transliterated to Romanized script. On the other hand, in example 3, both Romanized and Devanagari scripts are used for the Hindi text. These diverse linguistic properties of code-mixed languages need to be studied to understand the emergence of derived synthetic languages from natural languages.

Several computational studies (Srivastava et al. 2020 ; Pratapa et al. 2018 ) have been conducted to understand how code-mixed texts are formed. Computational linguists have also attempted (Bhatia and Ritchie 2016 ; Nema and Chawla 2018 ; Mabule 2015 ; Thara and Poornachandran 2018 ) to understand the linguistic variabilities of Hindi-English code-mixed language. Significant efforts have been made for building computational systems for several applications; sentiment analysis (Joshi et al. 2016 ), parts-of-speech tagging (Singh et al. 2018 ), named-entity recognition (Priyadharshini et al. 2020 ), hate detection (Sreelakshmi et al. 2020 ), and sarcasm detection (Aggarwal et al. 2020 ) from Hindi-English code-mixed texts. Notable contributions have also been made to develop computational systems (Chakravarthi et al. 2022 ; Wang et al. 2018 ) to solve semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic tasks for other code-mixed languages.

Like any other language, code-mixing as a language shows evolutionary traits. Societal, cultural, and evolutionary changes drive the evolution of human languages. Kothari and Snell ( 2011 ) delved into the history and origin of the Hinglish language, and the different extents of its integration into various geographical, cultural, and social strata. The authors also explored the potential of Hinglish to grow further as a regular conversational instrument among Indians and in Indian media. Today, Hinglish has become a popular choice of communication for the young Indian population from different demographic and cultural backgrounds. Not only within India, Hinglish has also emerged as a popular language among the Indian diaspora in the US and the UK (Baker 2015 ). Code-mixing is a phenomenon that has been shown to evolve, bringing changes in the interacting languages and the populations speaking them. The dynamics of such a system can be understood through language competition models, which establish a relationship among the fractions of the population using each participating language. In this work, we answer the following questions: What are the empirical and statistical pieces of evidence of the evolution of Hinglish code-mixing in social networks? Does code-mixing have a similar impact on different word groups? What are the drivers behind the evolution of Hindi-English code-mixing? And, can they be used to predict the adaptation of Hindi-English in the upcoming years?

To our knowledge, ours is the first large-scale computational study addressing the evolution of Hinglish code-mixed language and the drivers behind the evolution. We conduct thorough empirical and statistical analyses to understand the evolution of the Hinglish code-mixed language and the evolutionary dynamics of different linguistic groups. Beyond analyzing Hinglish’s current prevalence and characteristics, we look at the phenomenon’s temporal evolution in the social media context for Indian users. Social media users often use code-mixing to engage a wider audience and appear relatable. We hypothesize that the use of code-mixing has followed a trend over the years, correlating to the trend of other socio-economic factors. We attempt to find and analyze the strongest of such connections. Our analyses are based on a dataset we collected from Twitter, spanning 2014–2022. Twitter (Twitter underwent rebranding in July 2023 and has since been known as X), one of the most popular online forums among the young urban population, is a medium where users prefer hybrid code-mixed language over monolinguals for a wider audience and for expressing creativity and humor. We chose our population of study from Twitter and collected 262, 578 tweets posted by 16, 710 unique Twitter handles between January 2014 and September 2022. Unlike existing Hinglish code-mixed corpus, we retain the user information (although anonymized) to understand the micro traits of code-mixed evolution. Using a list of annually recorded socio-economic and demographic features of India, we conduct correlation analysis with these trends and create a dynamic model that can predict the growth or decline of code-mixing in the coming years, given certain constraints. Instead of modeling the language evolution purely using the ordinary differential equations (Parshad et al. 2016 ) or game-theory-based approaches (Nowak and Krakauer 1999 ), we adopt an econometric technique on the available proportional data while including the exogenous socio-economic and demographic variables recorded annually. Our proposed dynamic model considers the dynamics among Hindi, English, and Hinglish languages and captures the dependence of different exogenous socio-demographic and economic macro features on language evolution. We conduct linguistic analysis to understand the impact of code-mixing on different words their linguistic properties and how they evolve (Srivastava et al. 2020 ). Our analyses conclude that Hinglish adoption has evolved consistently between 2014 and 2020 with an annualized growth rate of 1.2% and will grow beyond 2023 at an even higher rate of 2.98%. Artifacts collected in this work can aid in computational research on code-mixed language. We also hypothesize and, through our analysis, highlight the role of Bollywood films and actors in the widespread adoption of Hinglish in the Indian community. Code-mixing affects the hierarchy of society differently and, therefore, emerges as a personalized language instead of a language with universal recognition. Our current work sheds light on these aspects and leaves room for researchers to explore more about the personalization of this cultural phenomenon. Insights from our work can also aid in building conversational systems – chatbots and virtual assistants in code-mixing languages. These applications can leverage the code-switching patterns found in real-life conversations to break the language barrier and reach wider audiences. Our work shows the existence of an evolutionary trend in code mixing in the Indian social media context and extracts several patterns about it. It provides arguments for the need to work with newly collected data to capture the ever-evolving semantics of the Hinglish language in natural language models. From our results, we argue the inability to treat natural language processing (NLP) tasks on code-mixed data the same as the tasks on monolingual corpora. We find various characteristic patterns of the Hinglish phenomenon, which are integral to determining and predicting the semantics of the language. Our work is not a comprehensive analysis of the language but provides a basis for deeper analysis that new research works on code-mixed datasets should perform to eliminate erroneous, outdated assumptions of older research and models.

Related work

In one of the earliest studies on code-mixing, Joshi 1982 explained how the dynamics between two grammatical systems lead to the hybrid language of code-mixing. Motivated by this study, Myers-Scotton 1997 proposed a matrix language frame (MLF) model, which theorized the effect of the matrix language and embedded language in forming code-mixed language. Other popular theories on code-mixed language formation include equivalence constraint (EC) (Poplack 1980 ) and functional head constraint (Di Sciullo et al. 1986 ). The EC theory expands the concept of code-mixing beyond lexical substitutions and highlights the roles of context-free grammars of the matrix and embedding languages. Several attempts (Bromham et al. 2015 ; Nowak and Krakauer 1999 ; Parshad et al. 2016 ; Abrams and Strogatz 2003 ; Nie et al. 2013 ; Walters 2014 ; Patriarca and Heinsalu 2009 ) have been made to study the effect of exogenous socio-linguistic and geographical features on the spread of code-mixing and language competition phenomena. Variations can also be observed in the amount of code-mixing observed in utterances on average. Nema and Chawla 2018 discussed the adoption and impact of Hinglish in Indian media, its causes and effects, and various sociological aspects. Analyses of different modes of code-switching have been explored in Bollywood scripts (Si 2011 ). The language dynamics of Hindi and English were discussed via several models and assumptions, such as ordinary differential equation (ODE) and partial differential equations (PDE) models (Parshad et al. 2016 ), reaction-diffusion models (Walters 2014 ), and control theoretical approaches (Nie et al. 2013 ). Despite these linguistic and computational studies, there has been no large-scale empirical study on the evolution of Hinglish code-mixing that unearths the socio-demographic aspects behind code-mixing. Moreover, most existing studies on the emergence of code-mixed language are based on social interactions and, therefore, overlook the impact of social media on linguistic evolution. We attempt to model the evolution of Hinglish code-mixing on both linguistics and exogenous socio-economic and demographic factors. In contrast to existing studies, we conduct our analyses on curated social media data instead of census data, allowing us to perform both aggregated and fine-grained studies. Our study aims to shed light on the language dynamics in the Indian social media space, where people might be motivated to present and converse differently than in other day-to-day interactions, given different sizes of audiences.

Dataset collection and labelling

To understand the temporal trend of linguistic preferences of Indians on Twitter, we used Twitter academic API (Twitter 2023 ) (Application Programming Interface) to fetch 260k tweets related to ‘Cricket’, ‘Bollywood’, and ‘Politics’ from 2014 (see SI Appendix , Section 1.1) . We did not have any specific criteria for choosing the keywords for our queries, except for using terms and themes widely discussed in the Indian social media context. Cricket, for example, has a much wider consumer space in India than most other sports (Economist 2014 ). We filtered tweets posted by users in the Mumbai and Delhi metropolitan regions, two regions with predominantly Hindi-speaking populations. While multiple Indian states satisfy the previous condition, we arbitrarily chose Delhi and Mumbai to obtain a sizable number of tweets as representatives of the Hindi, English, and Hinglish-speaking populations in the Indian social network scenario. Starting from the year 2014, Twitter automatically tags the language of a tweet. We considered tweets with tagged language ID ‘hi’ (Hindi) and ‘en’ (English). This led us to 2,62,578 tweets from 16,710 Twitter handles (users), averaging ~16 tweets per user. We used a pre-trained language model open-sourced with (Sagorsarker 2020 ) to perform word-level language identification and parts-of-speech (PoS) tagging (see Section 2.3 and Table 3 of SI Appendix ). A popular metric to quantify the degree of code-mixing is the code-mixing index (CMI) (Gambäck and Das 2014 ). For a text with n tokens (including Hindi, English, language-invariant words, and symbols) with n h i Hindi and n e n English words, we defined the code-mixing index (CMI) as:

CMI quantifies the extent of code-mixing in the text; having a higher CMI indicates more mixing patterns in a text. Therefore, a text with an equal number of Hindi and English words has a higher CMI than a text skewed more toward any particular language. We adopted the following logic to determine if a text is written in monolingual Hindi, English, or Hinglish.

To determine the linguistic preference of a user, we adopted a similar logic, where we calculated the mean CMI and the total number of Hindi words and English words used by the user in a quarter.

Dynamic model

To understand the trends expressed in the monolingual Hindi ( h i ), monolingual English ( e n ), and Hindi-English code-mixing ( c m ) populations (fraction of total population) and the role of various socio-economic factors in influencing these trends, we developed a dynamic econometric model. Towards this, we curated 1, 442 countrywide socio-economic indicators ( SI Appendix , Section 1.2) between 2014 and 2022. We selected 10 features based on Spearman’s rank correlation with the three population trends (see Section 2.1 and Tables 1 and 2 of SI Appendix ). The filtered indicators directly or indirectly influence the living standards, internet activity, and other behavioral traits of the Indian populace ( SI Appendix , Table 1) . Rather than the actual values of the exogenous variables, we hypothesize that the rate of change in the linguistic populations is influenced by the temporal trends captured in these variables (see Fig. 1 ).

All the features are scaled between (0, 1).

For the three population ratios represented by h i , e n , and c m respectively, we define the relationship as

Here p i → j is the transition probability from population i to population j . Therefore, it follows, ∑ j = h i , e n , c m p i → j  = 1, 7D1  ∀   i   ∈  { h i , e n , c m }. The dynamic system calculates the yearly rate of change in each population. Using the transition probabilities, we determined the inflow and outflow rates of each population. The bias terms b h i , b e n , and b c m denote the prior probabilities of each user being in Hindi, English, and Hinglish populations, respectively. For all the exogenous features (see Section 1.2 of SI Appendix ), we calculated the year-wise rate of change, denoted by Δ X . The weight vectors W h i , W e n , and W c m denote the importance of each of these features on the Hindi, English, and Hinglish populations, respectively.

We assumed that the temporal trend of the population fractions only depends on the current fractions and the change in the exogenous features. The inflow of the net Indian population (combining Hindi, English, and Hinglish) on Twitter is captured through Δ X t . Using the total number of Twitter users per year as the actual population count does not work for two reasons. Firstly, the net population of India will directly depend on the birth, death, and migration rates. However, the number of Twitter handles extracted in our analysis depends on the subset of tweets returned by our API. Secondly, the number of Twitter handles available in a particular year would also not represent the Indian population. Hence, we worked with only the fractional populations to isolate a study on the relative trends of the three linguistic categories. The method used for identifying a particular Twitter handle as code-mixed, monolingual English, or monolingual Hindi for a year is independent of the volume of tweets extracted.

We trained our dynamic system with ordinary least square (OLS) regression. As exogenous features are of different scales, we standardized (scikit-learn developers 2023 ) these variables based on their values between 2014 and 2021. Using 2014 as the base year t  = 0, we calculated the proportion of Hindi, English, and Hinglish population in 2015 using the dynamic system defined in Equation ( 2 ). Henceforth, we calculated the population proportions in the subsequent years 2016 to 2022, which are used to fit the system parameters. Using our dynamic model and assuming that the exogenous factors stay the same in future years as in the last recorded year in our dataset, we predicted the future population trends for the three language-specific populations.

Word representation model and retention rate

We obtained a vectorized representation of each word using the context-based language model, Word2Vec (Mikolov et al. 2013 ). Word2Vec uses neural architecture to learn representations of words from each sentence that are algebraically viable. We used the Gensim toolkit (Řehůřek 2022 ) to train the Word2Vec model on tweet corpora collected each year. We obtained a 100D vector representation for each word in every year between 2014 and 2022. To define each word’s context, we used a window of size 4 (i.e., considering all 2-hop neighbors). To avoid overfitting the models, we considered only the words that appear at least 10 times in the corpus. The contextual similarity between any pair of words can be calculated using the dot product between their vectorized representations. We defined the neighborhood of each word by considering the closest 25 nodes. For each word w and its neighbor \({N}_{w}^{(t)}\) in t th year, we defined ‘retention rate’ as:

According to the principles of contextualized word representation (Mikolov et al. 2013 ; Liu et al. 2020 ; Sezerer and Tekir 2021 ), the meaning of a word can be determined based on its context, i.e., its neighboring words. Therefore, a word that does not change its neighborhood structure in subsequent years has a higher retention rate.

Evidence of Hinglish evolution

We conducted regression analyses on CMI calculated on tweets posted by different users. We highlighted the year-wise CMI distribution and the temporal drift in median CMI over the years in Fig. 2 . The drift in year-wise CMI distribution suggests splitting the entire period into several smaller phases (time periods with consistent trends). We adopt the Fisher-Jenks break point algorithm ( SI Appendix , Section 2.2) to split the entire period details into three phases, with the first phase spanning January 2014 to December 2014 (containing 1502 tweets with a median CMI of 0.52). The second phase spanned January 2015 to March 2020 (43,877 tweets with median CMI 0.53), and the third phase spanned April 2020 to September 2022 (217, 120 tweets with a median CMI 0.57). We observe that median CMI increased 0.2% per year between 2014 and 2022 with an intercept (bias) of 0.506 (see Table 1 a). In phase 2, CMI increases significantly with an annualized growth rate of 1.2%. We observed the goodness-of-fit of the regression model with a high adjusted R 2 of 0.755 and F-statistics of 59.41 with p  < 0.001. On the other hand, after 2020, CMI stabilizes, which can be empirically justified with a low adjusted R 2 and a slope of 0.00.

We highlight three different temporal phases based on the trend in CMI. The shift in CMI distribution also shows how the perception of code-mixing has shifted at the population level.

Based on the CMI value, we divided the tweets into three categories: Monolingual Hindi, Monolingual English, and Hinglish Code-mixed. The overall trend in terms of the usage of Hinglish code-mixing language shows a similar upward trend (see Fig. 3 A). The yearly number of tweets has increased 12-fold in the third phase i.e., after 2020. The proportion of usage of code-mixing has increased from 42% to 60% between 2015 and 2020. After 2020, however, the usage of code-mixing has remained stable at ~60%. The use of monolingual Hindi and English steadily decreased between 2015 and 2022. Table 1 b highlights the results of the regression study to quantify these growth rates further. Between 2014 to 2022, usage of monolingual English on Twitter among Indians has decreased at a steady rate of 1.2% per year. On the other hand, code-mixing has increased with a growth rate of 2%. Compared to these, monolingual Hindi usage has remained almost constant, with a prevalence of 26.6%. For each user, we computed the total number of monolingual and code-mixed tweets, based on which we determined the most popular language for each user. Similar to the previous analyses, we analyzed the users and the evolution of their linguistic preferences over the years (see Fig. 3 B). It shows the quarter-wise trend in the number of users preferring monolingual Hindi, monolingual English, and Hinglish in their communication on Twitter. Based on regression analysis (highlighted in Table 1 c), we conclude that Hinglish has always been the most popular choice mode of written communication among Indian Twitter users (44.9% preferred Hinglish in 2014). The proportion of users preferring Hinglish has increased to 56.3% after 2020 with a steady growth rate of 1.2% year-wise. On the contrary, the proportion of users preferring monolingual English has decreased steadily from 23.3% to 11.2% with a rate of 1.6%.

A . Proportion of tweets made with different languages. The volume (secondary y-axis) shows the increase in the total number of tweets made by the Indian Hindi-speaking population. Both the quarterly and daily time-series data show an upward trend in code-mixed usage between 2015 and 2020 before saturating in 2021. B . Proportion of users from different language groups. The upward trend in both volume and code-mixing population shows the adaptiveness of the Indian Hindi-speaking population in terms of using code-mixing language on Twitter.

Linguistic changes due to Hinglish evolution

Frequent Hindi words are more likely to be written in Devanagari than Romanized ones. The topical difference between Hindi and English usage is clearly visible. A The most prominent Hindi words are either pronouns or adverbs. B On the other hand, the frequent English words are mostly nouns and adjectives and are majorly used in political tweets.

We observed words surrounded by words from other languages. We highlighted popular Hindi words ( A ) occurring in English contexts, i.e., Hindi words that frequently co-occur within other English words. Similarly, frequent English words occurring in Hindi contexts are highlighted in B .

We calculated the retention rate of words between the period 2017 to 2021 and categorized them based on the parts-of-speech (PoS) tags. Proper nouns, determinants, and conjunctions exhibited high retention over the years, whereas nouns, verbs, and adjectives exhibited low retention.

We further illustrate the evolution of Hindi words under the influence of English by highlighting two words in the context of other Hindi words – ‘government’, a noun, and ‘khan’, a proper noun, and a popular surname in India. To understand how Hinglish evolution impacted the meaning of individual words, we obtained their neighbors (words with high cosine similarity between their vector representations) and analyzed how their similarity values changed over the years (see Fig. 7 A). We observed that the similarities between the word ‘government’ and its neighbors, such as ‘Delhi’ and ‘central’, increase with time. On the other hand, for the word ‘khan’, the similarity and neighborhood structure remain stable over the years (see Fig. 7 B). Additionally, we analyzed the neighborhood structures of these words and their evolution over the years. Each year, we highlighted the neighbors retained in the neighborhood in the next year. Blue nodes denote the neighbors retained over the years, whereas green nodes denote the new neighbors. Thus, having more green nodes indicates that the word’s meaning changes and therefore changes its neighbors.

We visualize the linguistically similar words to `government', a noun ( A ), and `khan', a proper noun ( B ) between 2018 and 2022. We analyze the top five neighbors of the words `government' ( C ) and `khan' ( D ) to understand the linguistic evolution of these words. `Blue' nodes denote the neighbors retained over the years, `green' denotes neighbors added in a particular year, and `red' denotes neighbors from the previous year that are dropped in the next year. More red nodes for the word `government' highlight nouns' low retention rate. The neighborhood networks of `khan' are observed to be denser as compared to the networks of `government'.

On the other hand, having more blue nodes indicates a more stable neighborhood structure. For the word ‘government’, the blue nodes were reduced between 2018 and 2020, and more green nodes were introduced in the later years. We observe very few green nodes and more blue nodes for the word ‘khan’, suggesting that the word preserves its neighborhood structure and has not evolved. This analysis shows the micro-level linguistic changes due to Hinglish evolution.

Drivers behind Hinglish evolution

We highlighted the importance scores and Spearman’s correlation of the exogenous features (elaborated in Section 2 , SI Appendix ) with different population trends in Fig. 8 . We observed that the wholesale price index (WPI) has the highest correlation of 0.86 with the extent of code-mixing, followed by net secondary income (correlation of 0.83) and government consumption expenditure. Our proposed econometric model suggests that key economic indicators such as agriculture value-added and bilateral aid flows are the most important factors behind the growth of the Hinglish population.

We calculated feature importance ( A ) and Spearman’s rank correlation ( B ) between the features and the proportion of users speaking in monolingual Hindi, English, and Hindi-English code-mixed language. We highlighted the top 10 features in terms of the highest absolute correlation with any of the two language groups. A . We observed the importance of each feature on different populations obtained from the dynamic model. Each importance value signifies the change in the proportion of different linguistic groups with a unit change in the feature. C We highlighted the transition probabilities between Monolingual Hindi (Hi), Monolingual English (En), and Code-mixed (CM) populations. Transition probabilities are not symmetric, i.e., the transition probability En → CM is not same as the transition probability CM → En. A high transition probability CM → CM indicates the propensity of CM users to stay in the CM population. D The bias term denotes the probability of a user being in each group without prior knowledge. Generally, users are more likely (0.36) to prefer Hinglish over monolingual Hindi or English.

We further highlighted the transition probabilities between different linguistic groups in Fig. 8 C. The probability of changing a user’s linguistic preference from Hindi to Hinglish is 0.43. On the other hand, a user preferring English has a higher chance of moving to Hinglish (probability of 0.78) than to Hindi (probability of 0.14). Contrarily, a user preferring Hinglish has a high probability (0.74) of remaining in the Hinglish population. If the user plans to switch to monolingualism, the chances are very high that the user will prefer Hindi (conditional probability of 0.98) to English. On average, a user has a prior probability of 0.36 (shown in Fig. 8 D) being preferred to Hinglish, higher than monolingual Hindi and English.

Forecasting the growth of code-mixing on Indian Twitter

We obtained the probability of users being in different linguistic groups in the future years from the dynamic model, which we highlight in Fig. 9 . Our dynamic model obtains a root mean squared error (RMSE) of 0.029. We further used an ablation of our model without considering the exogenous variables. This model resembles the ODE model proposed by Parshad et al. 2016 and achieves an RMSE of 0.045. The relative improvement of our model (55% lower RMSE) compared to its ablation version can be attributed to the influences of the exogenous variables on the dynamics of different language groups. We observe that the Hinglish population is predicted to rise with a steady annualized growth rate of 2.97%. The population’s preference for monolingual Hindi will remain constant. However, the population preferring monolingual English will decrease between 2022 and 2025 with an annualized rate of 2.98%. A sudden drop in the code-mixed population is observed for the year 2022, which can be attributed to the break in the collected data. However, it is interesting that our fitted mathematical model can resemble the historical trends observed in future years.

A steady growth in the code-mixed population can be observed after 2022, with a consistent decline in the monolingual English population. The sudden dip in the code-mixed population in 2022 is due to discontinuity in the training data.

Our work aims to analyze the state of the English, Hindi, and code-mixed (Hinglish) languages and populations concerning the Indian population engaging with social networks. The datasets were curated from Twitter as a proxy of the Indian population to obtain its general linguistic trends and insights. Our empirical analyses suggest that Indians tend to prefer Hinglish over monolingual Hindi or English to communicate on Twitter. Monolingual Hindi has been the second preferred mode of communication. Although the population preferring Hinglish was 26% more in 2014 than in 2015, we could not use 2014 as the base year due to the lack of tweets during the early months. Considering 2015 as the base year, we observe that the propensity for speaking in Hinglish increases steadily between 2015 and 2020, after which it stabilizes. The extent of code-mixing has also increased steadily since 2015 - 2020. Also, instead of treating the year 2022 in retrospect, we used it in a prospective analysis, as the dataset was curated until August 2022. We observe that Hinglish evolution has left a different impression on different linguistic groups. The historical average CMI on political tweets is 0.51, which is significantly higher than tweets covering Bollywood (0.47) and sports (0.43). The most frequent English words are used in political contexts, indicating that political figures tend to use Twitter as a medium to reach out to more English-proficient demographics. Twitter has become a platform for social and political activism, and Hinglish has made it easier for Indians to express their opinions and debate important issues. Bollywood, the Hindi film industry, has played a significant role in the evolution of Hinglish (Dixit 2016 ). Bollywood films have been a significant source of entertainment and cultural influence in India. Hinglish usage on topics related to Bollywood has grown with an annualized rate of 1.7%. On the other hand, the annualized growth rates of Hinglish on political and sports-related tweets are 1.5% and 1.4%, respectively. The regression analysis highlights how Bollywood influences the adaptability of Hinglish and helps to popularize and standardize the language. Famous Bollywood actors – Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, and Akshay Kumar are often at the center of discussions among Hindi movie-loving communities. The high coherence among the keywords ‘khan’, ‘Shahrukh’, ‘Aamir’, and ‘Akshay’ (see Fig. 7 B) is the empirical evidence behind this. Further, as highlighted in the previous section, the coherence has remained stable over the years, indicating Bollywood’s consistent influence on Hinglish’s linguistic evolution.

To understand the key drivers behind the evolution of Hinglish, we analyzed the socio-economic and demographic indicators over the years and their impact on different linguistic groups. As described in the previous section, the economic indicators – bilateral aid flows, agriculture value-added, net secondary income, and government consumption expenditure play a positive role in the rise of Hinglish. Higher secondary income leads to higher purchasing power parity (PPP), leading to more access to the internet, which naturally gives rise to Hinglish in social media. Education and access to information are also important factors driving the evolution of Hinglish. We further report the year-wise values of these socio-economic factors in Fig. 1 . Due to the economic slowdown during COVID-19, there was a dip in most of the economic indicators during 2020 - 2021 (Chaudhary et al. 2020 ). However, the volume of tweets was high during this period, perhaps due to the countrywide lockdown (Lancet 2020 ) and more time to spare. As Indians are inherently biased towards Hinglish (as observed in Fig. 8 C, D), a higher number of tweets automatically leads to more code-mixing on Twitter. It is safe to assume that this will lead to Hinglish evolution in the future. Historical trends of linguistic evolution are captured in our statistical study. With the assumption that exogenous variables remain constant after the last recorded year, code-mixing follows an increasing trend after a sharp dip. This implies that under the current conditions, the code-mixed population that the linguistic environment in India can support is lesser than the present proportion and will increase steadily to a lower asymptotic value of around 50% of the population.

Hinglish is a linguistic phenomenon derived from the cultural fusion of Hindi and English. Indians, being multilingual at large, have always been inclined towards using this hybrid language, at least on social media platforms. The code-mixed language was widely adopted in 2015 - 2020, which can be attributed to the economic growth factors. However, the switching pattern differs across all the linguistic categories but depends on the context in which the words are used. These results imply how fusion languages are derived and adopted among communities. With more engagement in social platforms comes more ethical and societal responsibilities. Fake and harmful content detection (Goel et al. 2023 ) from social platforms has become an urgent need for the hour. Identifying harmful materials from social media content requires natural language understanding capabilities at different linguistic hierarchies. In this work, we lay the groundwork for several fundamental properties of Hinglish code-mixed language and shed some light on how the language could evolve. By understanding how fake-news peddlers and hatemongers make use of code-mixing for information propagation, one can build robust computational systems to tackle these issues. Observing the results of our dynamic model and the changing semantics of words over time, we conclude that any existing datasets for code-mixed utterances will fail to capture the semantics of the ever-evolving Hinglish language. Therefore, generating new code-mixed datasets might prove helpful in keeping large language models and other NLP applications updated to consumer needs.

Data availability

All data used in this study are shared at Harvard Dataverse (can be found at https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/BIUUW4 ). We collected the year-wise socio-economic features from a data bank maintained by the World Bank at https://data.worldbank.org/country/india .

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Ayan Sengupta & Tanmoy Chakraborty

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Sengupta, A., Das, S., Akhtar, M.S. et al. Social, economic, and demographic factors drive the emergence of Hinglish code-mixing on social media. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 11 , 606 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03058-6

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"Even though there are some very positive parts of social media, there are some negative things too, so we are seeing some studies looking at the fact that there's been increased anxiety, depression, and even some suicidal ideations, and even suicides because of social media," Clinical Psychologist Dr. Jeff Gardere said. 

Simone Nicole is a content creator who gained huge viral popularity with her videos showing Black women how to care for their hair and wear it beautifully and naturally. She is passionate about redefining beauty to include girls and women who look like her but says it wasn't always easy. She says learning to deal with harsh or hateful feedback helped her to grow and learn to focus on her own goals.

"I experienced some downfalls, but even that, negative comments are negative comments, but the good that has come has been the joy of my life. People who've told me that I've helped them change for the better, have helped them with their self-esteem, with their growth, and their journey. I'm smiling ear to ear, it's priceless," content creator and actor Simone Nicole said.

Social media companies are increasingly coming under fire for harming users' mental health. There's a growing number of private lawsuits where alleged victims are suing for damages. 

Mayor Eric Adams has called social media "a public health hazard." He made headlines with a lawsuit against a handful of the biggest social media companies for allegedly designing their platforms to exploit teen users mental health. The lawsuit stated that it cost the city $100 million for mental health services to help the young people adversely affected.

"It's an emerging legal landscape. There are creative lawsuits, there is proposed legislation, there are congressional hearings, so what we're really seeing is society feeling out how best to regulate this new animal of social media," Criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Eric Faddis said.

Of course, monitoring or limiting your child's social media screen time is easier said than done. Psychologist Dr. Jeff Gardere, a father of 6, says there's no question it's tough, but it's parents' duty to get it done.

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Migrated Content

ILO Working paper 96

This study assesses the potential global exposure of occupations to Generative AI, particularly GPT-4. It predicts that the overwhelming effect of the technology will be to augment occupations, rather than to automate them. The greatest impact is likely to be in high and upper-middle income countries due to a higher share of employment in clerical occupations. As clerical jobs are an important source of female employment, the effects are highly gendered. Insights from this study underline the need for proactive policies that focus on job quality, ensure fair transitions, and that are based on dialogue and adequate regulation.

Additional details

• Pawel Gmyrek, Janine Berg, David Bescond
• ISBN: 9789220395356 (print)
• ISBN: 9789220395363 (web pdf)
• ISBN: 9789220395370 (epub)
• ISBN: 9789220395387 (mobi)
• https://www.ilo.org/static/english/intserv/working-papers/wp096/index.html