sociology and social media essay

Social Media And Sociology Essay

Social Media and Sociology Berlirce Chetgna In this modern age, the majority of society has adapted to social media and the newest technology to fit around our lives. Technology provides tools that are imperative to the making and the use of other tools. It is a tool in itself. Technology is changing rapidly; so rapidly, in fact, there can be cultural gaps between generations. The construction of social media has enabled access to innovative phenomenon, broken barriers, changed our perspectives on ideas, and has even opened doors to new opportunities. Efficiency is a monumental advantage that technology and social media has provided for many. Whether someone is on the other side of the world or a few feet away, the geographical happenstance …show more content…

Television, movies, songs, and social media are the cultured lenses in which we view the world. What we perceive through a screen can change where we stand on certain topics; for example, gender messages and body images. Mass media not only reflects gender stereotypes but also plays a role in changing them. Females used to be portrayed as less brave and more dependent. Now there are strong, independent female characters like Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games and intelligent, brave female characters like Hermione Granger from Harry Potter. Like women’s changing positions in society, more aggressive and dominant females are being featured. Mass media molds new stereotypes but not all the ideas that are communicated are positive. Mass media is effective in teaching us what we “should” look like. Women should be thin. Men should be muscular. The skinny and muscular ideals portrayed in advertising encourage men and women to look a certain way. The depiction of the female ideal has helped shaped society’s perspectives about beauty. The media pushes you to “improve your body” by buying their products but soon the road to a skinny and toned body leads to a self destructive path of self hatred. The powerful ideas that the media transmits through words, images, and movement can have lasting impacts on the human brain, affecting how we think and

Negative Stereotypes In The Media

Gender stereotypes in the media are an example of some of the negative stereotypes the media pushes on society. They use advertisements targeting males and stereotyped female parts is in movies and shows to constantly reinforce the message “that a woman’s value lies in her appearance and sexuality”(Berland). This is detrimental to our society because all

Media and Body Image

The media has become a powerful source for changes in our society. There are so many factors and reasons for our society changing. Today I find most people obsessively worried about their body image. We all have a body and at one time or another, we worry about it. Women and men are both being affected by media sources such as television, advertising, magazines, music, and video games; not to mention the photo manipulation that goes along with it all. Questions can be asked; such as, “Is this the way our society should be leaning [obsessing over our bodies]? What could happen from here? Are there any solutions?”

Argumentative Essay On Women In Media

There is constant pressure that is put on women through advertising, internet, television, movies, and other media to be attractive or look good and be physically fit. Most would argue that many strides have been taken in how women are portrayed on the internet, television and magazines, and in film. In the last few years there has been growth in the number of women in media behind the scenes and their influence is growing. However, female stereotypes still flourish in the media we consume every day, on the internet, in print media, and on television.

The Effects Of Media On Body Image

Media holds such high standards in today 's society, and media as a whole has gotten so much power throughout the years. There are so many different forms of media in today 's world: newspapers, magazines, televisions, the hundreds of websites on the Internet, social media applications, computers, and novels. Media advertises thousands of different things, but something that has stayed consistent over the years is advertisement on body image. Media advertises a specific body type, pushes different dietary needs to achieve this body type and thus creating the standard of in order to be beautiful, this particular body type must be achieved. However, what advertisers seem to be neglecting is the effect their advertisements are having on its viewers. The constant push to achieve a certain body type has affected the health of thousands of people around the world, and directly affecting the eating disorder epidemic.

Body Image In The Media

The media group that retouches images skews the “normal” body image of people through many of its outlets, including models in advertising and magazines, and actors in TV and movie productions. “The average model portrayed in the media is approximately 5’11” and 120 pounds. By contrast, the average American woman is 5’4” and 140 pounds” (Holmstrom, 2004). This statistic shows how the media manipulates consumers into believing that because they are not what the average model looks like, they are not living up to a certain standard which implies that they need to look like that to be beautiful. Another research fact that shows a similar concept is that, “In the United States, 94% of female characters in television programs are thinner than the average American woman, with whom the media frequently associate happiness, desirability, and success in life” (Yamamiya et al., 2005). This association of female thinness and happiness, desirability and success makes consumers believe they must achieve this unrealistic thinness to achieve more ultimate goals and fulfillment in life. “The media also explicitly instruct how to attain thin bodies by dieting, exercising, and body-contouring surgery, encouraging female consumers to believe that they can and should be thin” (Yamamiya et al., 2005). This idealization of thinness in the media is seen so much, and is extremely harmful to women’s self confidence and is often associated with body image dissatisfaction, which can be a precursor to social anxiety, depression, eating disturbances, and poor self-esteem (Yamamiya et al.,

Miss Representation By Jennifer Siebel Newson

Julia Wood argues that media potraits a woman poorly. She states, “All forms of media communicate images of the sexes, many of which perpetuate unrealistic, stereotypical, and limiting perceptions. Three themes describe how media represent gender. First, women are underrepresented, which falsely implies that men are the cultural standard and women are unimportant or invisible. Second, men and women are portrayed in stereotypical ways that reflect and sustain socially endorsed views of gender.

Media Gender Roles

We are living in a world where your identity is influenced by the media. Media is involved in our daily lives. Media has represented on what people think about topics, one of the most common ones is gender roles. Media indicated their messages into our consciousness at every opportunity that it had. Gender roles are a set of norms dictating the personality and actions of people based on their biological sex or what they identify. Gender roles in media are used in delirious stereotypes can cause self-image in young adults, causing loss of confidence, mostly in women. Many authors had expressed their opinion about gender roles in media through non-fiction articles. For instance, Katty Kay and Claire Shipman, who wrote, “The Confidence Gap,” confronts the lack of woman’s confidence impacting their performance. Another example is given by Cordelia Fine, who wrote, “Why Toys so Gendered?” in which she says that gendered toy marketing doesn't create gender stereotype, but it reinforces them. Lastly, Allison Lantagne, who wrote, “Gender roles in Media,” says that is up to the individual to decide what type of role they are going to adopt. She also includes that media reinforces social norms because the public accepts them. I agree with Allison Lantagne says that the media has an influence on our beliefs and attitudes toward gender because of its perfected image of genders, projects what a woman and a male should do, and what abilities each

Media And Body Image Essay

Today in the world a vast majority of people are consistently exposed to media contents such as movies, social media, magazines and many more. The working thesis is “Most people have been exposed to some form of the media and many would argue that it's just images and it has no effect on a person's perspective on females but consistent exposure to the media can effect this,” which illustrates the issues in which the media influences how people and women perceive females. While some would disagree with the working thesis those critics can be swayed by explanations for the common objections.

Gender Roles In The Media

In today’s world us humans are surrounded by the media which shapes our beliefs, behavior, and perspective. Within the media, there is a vast amount of gender roles, stereotypes, and sexualization that clout our views on what we think of eachother. Gender roles consist of what people are drawn to believe what is the correct way to speak, act, and dress. Gender roles within the media sway the way that people think, which should not happen because there is no true definition of what intelligence, beauty, or what normal behavior is. Gender roles create stereotypes, body images, suggest that women aren’t equal to men, and imply that people should act a certain way. Gender roles within the media have an immense impact of what information impacts and influences people and their thoughts.

The Impact Of Social Media On College Students

Social media is defined as “websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.” However a more accurate definition of social media is as follows: “the relationships that exist between network of people” (Wiang, 3). Although social media traces back to before the 1800s, it is something that has become especially popular over the last two decades. What is interesting about this is that technology began going through a sense of both change and advancement of after

Emergency Management And Disaster Response Essay

In less than two decades, social media has revolutionized modern communication and information sharing. What began as a simple form of social networking has turned into innumerable platforms for people around the globe to share ideas, create and share businesses, promote brands, read news from various sources, as well as share and find vast amounts of information, among many other uses. Thus, with a few clicks of a button, people are now able to interact with someone on the other side of the world. The capabilities created through social media’s many uses have forever changed global politics, business, and interpersonal communication.

Social Media: Changing Our Society Essay

Social media has changed the way people think and how they communicate.  It’s incredible to see how social media has become such a big part of our daily lives. Just to think social media as we know it was birthed less than ten years ago in August 2003 with MySpace and has become such an integral part of our daily lives. Synonymous with checking our email we go to our Facebook for not only our daily gossip, but for up to date news and events.

Mass Media And Gender Stereotypes

As a Communication major, I spend a lot of time studying the human communication process, which is the exchange of verbal and nonverbal messages between a receiver and sender. This communication process does not only apply to face-to-face interactions but also includes mass media, rhetorical, and technological communication. Through these various forms of communication, the sender not only expresses his/her message but also expresses power hierarchies about race, gender, and sexuality that are present in society. Mass media has a significant impact on socializing gender roles and perpetuating gender stereotypes, and to prove that, I am analyzing mass media messages, such as television shows, movies, and advertisements.

Advertisements Sell Products, But Is That All They Do?

Does the vast amount of media that we filter through our eyes daily effect how we view ourselves? If so, do they accurately portray who we are as humans? As a society, can the amount of advertisements we view daily be a healthy consumption, or seriously harmful? Or are we passively allowing the media to dictate how we think and feel about literally everything that surrounds us, but also more importantly, ourselves? In Lee Monk’s poem “Under Water,” he writes “The world would be a better place if girls weren’t pushed from the womb and fed, tabloids, diets, (and) shame.” Boys and girls today are growing up in a generation of photoshopped and airbrushed images of women that are filtered in through their brains as normal from billboards, television, tabloids, and the internet. These sources are encouraging the altered images as glamorous and ideal, leaving advertisements to teach girls and women that the ideal of their gender is to obtain an unrealistic body image, while at the same time, subtly, or not so subtly devaluing and dehumanizing the female body. With the constant media pressure that surrounds girls and women, females are left with a very narrow definition of what beauty appears to be. This also causes most men to define women by their bodies, and to view females as sexual objects rather than humans.

Essay On Social Media

The project aim at teenagers, therefore sample group is between 13 to 19. I will set the sample sizes in 50 participants since it is easy to identity and more precision. If a sample sizes increase, it is very hard to estimate and become not accurate. Also, I’m worry about the extremes data can’t make a balance out, so the project prefers small sample sizes. It can take less effort to gain and maintain people, it is easy to produce significant results and comfortable to find a group of people. I will obtain samples from friends or friends’ sister and brother.

Related Topics

• Social network service
• Social network aggregation
• Communication

sociology for the public

Social media in society: a positive or negative force.

I teach a college-level introductory sociology course where we discuss the functional role of mass media. Talcott Parsons’ functional perspective espouses that society is comprised of interrelated parts in order to promote solidarity and stability. Therefore, the functional role of mass media is to teach and reinforce the norms, values, and belief systems of a society in order to further social solidarity. From a functional lens, social media , a type of mass media platform that facilitates the sharing of ideas, thoughts, and information between its users, which had been dismissed as a fad back in 2006 , has had a functional, and arguably positive, effect on society in recent years by empowering its citizens toward solidarity through collective action. Social media is now a platform that brings social justice issues to the forefront of the American discourse, and arguably, has helped rectify persistent inequities. To this end, social media has been a place where social movements of different forms, and their messages of empowerment through collective action, are solidified. 

One way that social media facilitates social movements’ message of empowerment through collective action is through grassroots online fundraising. For example, as a result of a tweet tweeted during the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak, online donors donated money to people who had student-loan and past-due medical bills. Another method in which social media empowers its users toward collective activism is through the use of hashtags, which then could be retweeted on Twitter. For example, in the article #SayHerName: a case of intersectional social media activism , Melissa Brown and her colleagues argue that #SayHerName, which has been retweeted many times over, is used to raise consciousness about the deaths of Black women, especially Black transgender women. As the data from the article demonstrates, hashtags, such as #SayHerName, can be used to bring awareness, and, in turn, attempt to rectify systemic injustices that affect hyper marginalized groups whose lived experiences have often been neglected by mainstream media. 

Despite these positive impacts of social media, a first-year student in my sociology course asked me if I believed that social media was harmful to modern society. Given the importance of this question, I wanted to dedicate some time to answering it here in detail. 

General Societal Effects of Social Media: The Pervasive Nature of Social Media

While social media was considered as a passing trend by researchers just a little less than a decade ago, social media has proliferated into mainstream society. Data from Pew Research Center show that 5% of the American adult population used social media in 2005, as compared to 72% of the public today. They also found that as social media usage increases so does the user base. In 2005, the few who used social media in America were young adults, but the user rates among older adults have also increased in recent years. In addition to the change in age among users of social media, the daily usage of social media sites, such as Facebook and Instagram, has also increased. Data from Pew Research Center show that roughly 75% of users visit Facebook and 60% of users visit Instagram at least once per day. 

People use social media for different reasons beyond keeping connections with friends and relatives who live far away. Increasingly social media will be used to complete daily tasks, especially in the field of commerce. For example, as of 2019, Facebook is developing a cryptocurrency system called Libra, which, some argue, will soon go mainstream with help from major banks. This is not surprising as social media, such as Facebook, is already changing the way we pay . Currently, Facebook users can pay other users through Facebook messenger. In addition to commerce, people use social media to keep up with the latest developments in the United States and abroad. Social media, specifically, has made information more accessible to consumers .  This is evident with Twitter, which is a social media platform where individuals and organizations can share ideas, thoughts, and information with their followers. 

Negative Effects of Social Media on Society: Social Media and the Proliferation and Consumption of Sensationalized (Clickbait) Content

While social media can be a platform to empower its citizens toward collective action, social media has also had a negative effect on society in recent years through the proliferation and consumption of sensationalized content. In fact, in the article The Road to Digital Unfreedom: Three Painful Truths About Social Media , Ronald Delbert, a professor of political science at the University of Toronto, has argued that social media proliferates attention- grabbing, often emotionally-driven and divisive material, rather than multi-facetted content that present multiple viewpoints. What Delbert is describing here is often known as clickbait. The article Misleading Online Content: Recognizing Clickbait as “False News” defines clickbait as content whose main purpose is to attract readers in by producing headlines that are often sensational and scandalous . 

It can be argued that social media websites proliferate clickbait because social media has become so pervasive in our society that we often turn to sites on social media to satisfy our impulsive curiosity to get more information about, and react to, shocking events that are unfolding before our eyes. In fact, a sensationalized article written about Malia Obama garnered readership from well-known celebrities and commentators, who then posted their equally provocative reactions on their social media pages for their followers to react to. Therefore, clickbait content is rampant on social media because it often exaggerates and scandalizes quotidian events, and turns these every-day events into the unspeakable, which satisfies our impulsive desire to get information about, and react to, the abominable. However, since clickbait content privileges itself on shocking content, rather than a principled approach to presenting pressing current issues, Delbert argues that the proliferation and the consumption of provocative content on social media is a breeding ground for individuals in positions of authority to create confusion and ignorance among the citizenry.       

Perspective on Power: The Intersection Between Authority and Misinformation on Social Media 

Steven Lukes, political theorist and the author of Power a Radical View , and Charles Lindbloom, the author of Policy Making Process , would probably agree with Ronald Delbert’s view on the societal effects of social media. If we use Steven Lukes’ perspective on power , which has its framework based on Karl Marx’s conflict perspective , we find that social media facilitates misinformation . According to Steven Lukes, individuals in positions of authority can use ideology to control the narrative by exercising considerable control over what issues people choose to care about and the degree of which they care about these issues. According to Charles Lindbloom, individuals in positions of authority can also use their power to divert attention and misinform the people about their actual circumstances. Social media is often used as a means for individuals in positions of authority to put out misinformation . Misinforming the people, which, in turn, could lead to confusion and ignorance among its citizenry can prove to be destructive . This was on full display during the 2020 presidential election where Trump and his followers spread misinformation , which, arguably, led to the insurrection on the Capitol in January.

Teaching the Importance of Evidence Based Research: Fighting the Negative Societal Effects of Social Media

Given the current pandemic and the recent presidential election, my student’s question points to a bigger issue on how we fight the negative societal effects of social media . While, Trump may be voted out of office, it is likely that there will be other individuals in positions of authority who will spread misinformation on social media which will affect the fabric of American democracy and future elections . I believe that teaching college-aged students , who, according to the Pew Research Center , are the primary users of social media, the importance of evidence-based research is a way to fight misinformation on social media. 

The concept of evidence-based research , which is grounded in the field of healthcare, encourages us to use sound research, rather than opinion, to make decisions. In practice, evidence-based research means that we must rely on reputable , often peer-reviewed, studies published in scientific journals to guide our decision making process. In fact, a recent study conducted by Gordon Pennycook on fighting misinformation found that people with an increase in science knowledge and an inclination for accuracy had a better time weeding out false information about Covid-19 and had an inclination not to share misinformation on social media.  

While evidence-based research is primarily discussed in the field of healthcare , it can be applied to other disciplines , especially in the social sciences .  In addition to teaching the college level introductory sociology course, I teach a research methods course where I have students analyze secondary data to better understand what makes information both valid and reliable. Students in my research methods course are taught to recognize signs that the information they found can be systematically verified as a trustworthy source. They are taught the importance and the signs of peer reviewed and fact-checked research. Moreover, they are taught data science methodologies, such as the process of replication and using the right instrument to ensure validity, that advances verified, and trustworthy, knowledge. I use a simple example to illustrate my point on validity: you would not measure temperature using a ruler. I often ask my students if the research can be replicated and if the same or similar results can be generated. I also teach them about the importance of sample sizes, stressing that the larger the sample size the better.

As an applied sociologist, I put theory into practice. I have students in my research methods courses generate a research paper based on a review of peer-reviewed studies and data from the General Social Survey , a nationally representative database. On the whole, my students successfully complete the assignment. They are able to synthesize and use peer-reviewed studies and data from the General Social Survey to support their arguments. By making students apply their knowledge of evidence-based research, it is my hope that they will be able to rely on evidence-based research to critically analyze the truth about the articles they may come across on social media. 

Conclusion: How Evidence-Based Research Can Make Social Media a Better Place

In sum, what I wished I had said in response to my student’s question on social media and its negative effects was that social media doesn’t have to be harmful to modern society . Social media can be a great place where we can show solidarity in times of need . While social media can be a place where misinformation is spread , we can teach current and future generations of college students the importance of evidence-based research practices as a means to filter out and not share misinformation on social media, which will hopefully make social media a better place.

Tom Chiang Jr. , is an adjunct faculty member in the Sociology and Anthropology Department at Rowan University. He is also affiliated with the Criminal Justice Department at the California State University, Stanislaus.   

I agree the this point about social media in society: a positive or negative force in my view social media good

Android development agency

It varies from person to person that how they are utilizing their time on social media, not everyone is the same, there are many people who are taking advantage from social media.

Farid Elsion

Great article!

Janelle Scott

I agree with this topic. I would like to make a comment on a previous comment I've seen on this post, yes some people can limit themselves but its like growing up with your favorite teddy bear you can't go no where without it because it brought you so much comfort growing up its hard to distant yourself from it, just like younger adults who turned to social media for everything and felt comfortable with not physically being there to talk to someone, sometimes not all young adults are a people person but if different platforms keep on advertising more things, like updates and stuff it'll be hard to stop using social medias.

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Winter 2024.

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Contexts is a quarterly magazine that makes cutting-edge social research accessible to general readers. We're the public face of sociology.

It is a publication of the American Sociological Association , edited by Amin Ghaziani and Seth Abrutyn (University of British Columbia), with Letta Page.

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The Oxford Handbook of Digital Media Sociology

Deana A. Rohlinger is a professor of sociology at Florida State University with expertise in political participation, political change, and digital technologies. She is author of Abortion Politics, Mass Media, and Social Movements in America (Cambridge University Press, 2015) and New Media and Society (New York University Press, 2019) as well as dozens of research articles and book chapters that analyze topics as diverse as the kinds of claims individuals make in the emails they sent Jeb Bush about the Terri Schiavo case to collective identity processes in MoveOn.org and the Tea Party movement. Her most recent articles can be found in Information, Communication & Society, Signs, Mobilization, New Media & Society, and Social Media + Society. Rohlinger has co-edited three volumes, Strategy in Action: Movements and Social Change (University of Minnesota Press, 2012), Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change: Media, Movements, and Political Change (2012), and Emerald Studies in Media and Communication: Social Movements and Mass Media (2017); guest-edited issues of two journals (Information, Communication & Society in 2018 and the American Behavioral Scientist in 2009); served as the book review editor for the journal Mobilization (2012–2018); and was the editor of the section on social movements for Sociology Compass (2012–2015). Rohlinger chaired the American Sociological Association’s Communication, Information Technologies and Media Sociology section (2018–2019) and is chair-elect for the Collective Behavior, Social Movements section. She has been interviewed on a range of topics including digital politics and controversies involving Planned Parenthood as well as written commentaries for a variety of media outlets including U.S. News & World Report, Fortune, The American Prospect, and The Conversation. Her body of research was recently honored with the 2021 William F. Ogburn Mid-Career Achievement Award from the Communications and Information Technologies and Media Sociology section of the American Sociological Association.

Sarah Sobieraj is a professor and chair of The Department of Sociology at Tufts University and a faculty associate with the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. Her most recent book, Credible Threat: Attacks Against Women Online and the Future of Democracy (Oxford University Press, 2020), examines the impact of identity-based digital abuse on women’s participation in social and political discourse. She is also the author of The Outrage Industry: Political Opinion Media and the New Incivility (Oxford University Press, 2014) with Jeff Berry and Soundbitten: The Perils of Media-Centered Political Activism (New York University Press, 2011). Sobieraj also edited (with Rob Boatright, Danna Young, and Tim Schaffer) A Crisis of Civility: Political Discourse and Its Discontents (Routledge, 2019). Her most recent journal articles can be found in Information, Communication & Society , Social Problems , PS: Political Science & Politics , Poetics , Political Communication , and Sociological Theory . Her work has been featured in venues such as The New York Times , The Washington Post , The Boston Globe , Politico , Vox , CNN , PBS , NPR , The American Prospect , National Review , The Atlantic , Pacific Standard , and Salon . Sobieraj serves on the advisory board of the Social Science Research Council’s Disinformation Research Mapping Initiative and is a member of the National Institute for Civil Discourse Research Network.

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Digital media are normal. But this was not always true. For a long time, lay discourse, academic exhortations, pop culture narratives, and advocacy groups constructed new information and communications technologies as exceptional. Whether they were believed to be revolutionary, dangerous, rife with opportunity, or otherworldly, these tools and technologies were framed as extraordinary. But digital media are now mundane, thoroughly embedded—and often unquestioned—in everyday life. Digital media are enmeshed in health and wellness, work and organizations, elections, capital flows, intimate relationships, social movements, and even our own identities. Although the study of these technologies has always been interdisciplinary—at the crossroads of computer science, cultural studies, science and technology studies, and communications—never has a sociological perspective been more valuable. Sociology excels at helping one re-see the normal. The Oxford Handbook of Digital Media Sociology is a perfect point of entry for those curious about the state of sociological research on digital media. Each chapter reviews the sociological research that has been done thus far and points toward unanswered questions. The 33 chapters are arranged in six sections which look at digital media as they relate to theory, social institutions, everyday life, community and identity, social inequalities, and politics and power. The contributors to this volume provide a distinctly sociological center that will be an indispensable resource for scholars looking to find their way in the subfield, offering an overview of the research on digital media that is sure to illuminate this shifting terrain. Readers will find it accessible enough for use in class and thorough enough for seasoned professionals interested in a concise update in their areas of interest.

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An Essay About Social Media: Definition, Outline and Examples

An essay about social media is a piece of writing that explores social media’s impact, influence, and consequences on various aspects of society, such as communication, relationships, politics, mental health, culture, and more.

The essay can take on different forms, such as an argumentative essay , a cause-and-effect essay, a critical analysis, or an exploratory essay.

A good essay about social media aims to provide a well-researched and thought-provoking examination of the topic and to help readers better understand the complex nature of social media and its role in our lives.

The essay may address questions such as:

• How has social media changed communication?
• What are the positive and negative effects of social media on mental health?
• How has social media impacted politics and public opinion?
• What is the future of social media, and how will it continue to shape our lives?

Why do college students write essays about social media

College students may write an essay about social media for several reasons:

• To fulfill an assignment: Many professors assign social media essays as part of a communication, media studies course, or sociology. Writing an essay on social media helps students understand the topic more deeply and grasp its impact on society.
• To demonstrate critical thinking skills: Writing an essay about social media requires students to analyze the topic and form an informed opinion critically. It provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate their critical thinking skills and shows that they can evaluate complex ideas and arguments.
• To develop research skills: Writing an essay about social media requires students to conduct thorough research and gather information from credible sources. This helps students develop important research skills and evaluate the reliability and relevance of different sources.
• To express personal views and opinions: Writing an essay about social media allows students to express their views and opinions on the topic. This can be a great opportunity for students to showcase their creativity and thoughtfulness and share their insights.
• To prepare for future careers: Social media is a rapidly growing field, and many careers in marketing, advertising, public relations, journalism, and other fields require a deep understanding of the role of social media in society. Writing an essay on social media can help students prepare for these careers by better understanding the topic and its impact on the world around them.

How to write an essay about social media

Step 1: Choose a Topic Before you start writing your essay, you must choose a topic you are interested in and clearly understand. This could be a specific aspect of social media, such as its impact on mental health, or a more general overview of the pros and cons of social media.

Step 2: Research To write an effective essay about social media, gather information and data on your topic from various sources, such as books, articles, websites, and interviews. Make sure to take notes and organize your research to make it easier to reference later.

Step 3: Create an Outline An outline is a roadmap for your essay about social media and will help you organize your thoughts and ideas. A standard essay outline includes an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Step 4: Write the Introduction In the introduction of your essay about social media, provide background information on social media and introduce your thesis statement. A thesis statement is a sentence that states your argument and sets the direction of your essay.

Step 5: Write the Body Paragraphs The body paragraphs are the main part of your essay, where you will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of social media, its impact on society, and other relevant topics. Each body paragraph should have a topic sentence, supporting evidence, and a conclusion.

Step 6: Write the Conclusion The conclusion should summarize your main points and restate your thesis. It should also provide a final thought or call to action, encouraging the reader to think critically about social media and its impact on society.

Step 7: Edit and Revise Once you have completed your first draft, take some time to revise and edit your essay. Check for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors, and ensure your ideas are well-organized and presented.

Step 8: Proofread Proofread your essay one last time to catch any mistakes you may have missed in the previous steps. This will help to ensure that your essay is well-written and error-free.

Essay about social media: outline example

I. Introduction

Definition of social media A brief history of social media Importance of social media in today’s world II. Advantages of social media

Connectivity and communication Access to information Improved marketing and advertising Increased global exposure and reach Ability to participate in social movements and activism III. Disadvantages of social media

Cyberbullying and online harassment Addiction and decreased productivity Spread of misinformation and fake news Decreased privacy and security Impacts on mental health and self-esteem IV. Social media and its impact on society

Influence on politics and elections Changes in the way we interact and communicate Increase in consumerism and materialism Impact on journalism and news media Effects on personal relationships and communication skills V. Conclusion

Recap of the advantages and disadvantages of social media Final thoughts on the role and impact of social media in society Call to action for the responsible and mindful use of social media

Example 1: Short social media essay

Social media is a term that refers to the various platforms and websites that allow individuals to communicate, share information and content, and connect with others on the internet. With the rise of social media, the way people communicate, interact and consume information has dramatically changed. Overall, Social media has changed the way we communicate, access information, and interact with others, but its impact on society is both positive and negative, highlighting the need for responsible and mindful use. One of the most significant advantages of social media is the ease of connectivity and communication. Social media has brought people from all over the world together, making it possible to form online communities and interact with others who share similar interests (Lin et al., 2021). This has been especially beneficial for individuals who live in isolated areas or have mobility issues, as social media provides a way to stay connected and engaged with others. In addition, social media has provided unprecedented access to information. The internet has become a vast library of knowledge available to anyone with an internet connection. With the help of social media, people can access the latest news, events, and trends from around the world and learn about various topics and issues from diverse perspectives. However, social media also has its negative aspects. One of the most significant drawbacks is the spread of misinformation and fake news. The ease of creating and sharing content online has led to an increase in misleading information, which can have far-reaching consequences, particularly in politics and public opinion (Kuss & Griffiths, 2017). Additionally, social media can be addictive and can negatively impact productivity, as people spend hours browsing and scrolling through their feeds. Social media has also had a significant impact on the way we interact with one another. The anonymity provided by the internet has led to an increase in online harassment and cyberbullying, which can be particularly damaging to young people’s mental health ()Lin et al., 2021; Kuss & Grifffiths, 2017). Moreover, social media has decreased privacy and security, as personal information can be easily shared and spread online. In conclusion, social media has been both a blessing and a curse for society. On the one hand, it has revolutionized how people communicate, providing a platform for global connectivity and access to information. On the other hand, it has also led to an increase in misinformation, cyberbullying, and privacy concerns. As social media continues to evolve, it is important to find a balance between its benefits and drawbacks and to use it responsibly and mindfully. References

• Kuss, D. J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2017). Social networking sites and addiction: Ten lessons learned. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(3), 311.
• Lin, L. Y., Sidani, J. E., Shensa, A., Radovic, A., Miller, E., Colditz, J. B., Hoffman, B. L., Giles, L. M., & Primack, B. A. (2021). Association between social media use and depression among US young adults. Depression and Anxiety, 33(4), 323–331.

P.S: Click here if you need help with your social media essay 

Example 2: 1000 + words Essay About Social Media

Social media has become an integral part of our daily lives, connecting us to people and information from around the world. With the rise of platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, social media has transformed the way we communicate, share information, and consume media (Statista, 2021). This essay, we will explore the advantages and disadvantages of social media, as well as its impact on society. The overaching assertion is that by understanding the complex role that social media plays in our lives, we can begin to use these platforms in a more responsible and mindful way, ensuring that we are maximizing their benefits while minimizing their negative effects. Advantages of social media Connectivity and communication Social media has made access to information easier and more convenient than ever before. News, entertainment, and educational content are readily available through social media platforms, providing users with a wide range of perspectives and viewpoints. Social media has also made it easier for individuals to access information that would have previously been difficult to find or obtain (Gershon, 2019). For example, people can now easily find information about medical conditions, research studies, and government policies, all of which can be used to make informed decisions about their health, education, and politics. Improved marketing and advertising Social media has revolutionized the way companies market their products and services, enabling them to reach a wider audience and target specific demographics. Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram have sophisticated advertising algorithms that allow companies to target users based on their interests, location, and behavior (Gershon, 2019). This has made advertising more effective and efficient, resulting in higher engagement and conversion rates. Social media has also enabled small businesses and entrepreneurs to reach customers without the need for expensive marketing campaigns, making it easier to compete with larger corporations. Increased global exposure and reach Social media has given individuals and organizations global exposure, allowing them to reach audiences they would not have been able to reach otherwise. Social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram have been used by celebrities and public figures to build their brands and reach a wider audience (Pew Research Center, 2021). Social media has also been used by activists and social movements to raise awareness about issues and mobilize support across the globe. For example, the #MeToo movement, which started as a hashtag on social media, has become a global movement that has led to significant changes in the way society views sexual harassment and assault. Ability to participate in social movements and activism Social media has given individuals the power to participate in social and political movements, making it easier for people to voice their opinions and take action on issues they care about (Mesch, 2018). Social media has been used to organize protests, raise awareness about issues, and mobilize support for causes. It has also given marginalized groups a platform to share their experiences and perspectives, enabling them to demand change and hold those in power accountable. Disadvantages of social media Cyberbullying and online harassment While social media has many benefits, it also has several disadvantages. One of the most significant drawbacks is cyberbullying and online harassment. Social media platforms have become breeding grounds for bullying and harassment, with individuals using anonymity to attack and intimidate others. This can have severe consequences for the victim, including depression, anxiety, and in extreme cases, suicide (Mesch ,2018). Cyberbullying has become a significant concern, with one study finding that 59% of U.S. teens have experienced some form of online harassment (Pew Reserach , 2021). Addiction and decreased productivity Social media can be highly addictive, with users spending hours scrolling through their feeds and engaging with content. This addiction can have detrimental effects on productivity, with individuals spending less time on work or other important activities. Studies have shown that social media addiction can lead to a decrease in academic performance, work productivity, and overall well-being. Spread of misinformation and fake news Another disadvantage of social media is the spread of misinformation and fake news. With the ease of sharing content on social media, it has become easy for false information to be disseminated to a wide audience quickly. This can have severe consequences, as false information can influence people’s beliefs and behaviors, leading to harmful outcomes. The spread of fake news has been a significant concern, with social media companies facing criticism for not doing enough to combat it. Decreased privacy and security Social media has also led to a decrease in privacy and security, with users’ personal information often being collected and shared without their consent. Social media platforms collect vast amounts of data about their users, including their location, interests, and online behavior. This information can be used for targeted advertising, but it can also be used for nefarious purposes, such as identity theft or cyber attacks. Impacts on mental health and self-esteem Social media has been linked to several negative impacts on mental health and self-esteem. Studies have shown that excessive social media use can lead to feelings of anxiety, depression, and loneliness. Social media has also been linked to negative body image and low self-esteem, with individuals comparing themselves to unrealistic and idealized images presented on social media platforms (Pew Research Center, 2021). Social media and its impact on society Influence on politics and elections Social media has had a significant impact on politics and elections, with candidates and parties using social media to reach and engage with voters. Social media has enabled political campaigns to reach a wider audience, mobilize support, and fundraise (Tufekci, 2018). Social media has also been used to spread propaganda and false information, leading to concerns about its impact on the democratic process. Changes in the way we interact and communicate Social media has transformed the way we interact and communicate with others, with many individuals relying on social media platforms as their primary means of communication. Social media has enabled individuals to connect with people across the globe, but it has also led to a decrease in face-to-face interactions. This can have significant consequences, as face-to-face interactions are crucial for building strong relationships and developing social skills. Increase in consumerism and materialism Social media has contributed to an increase in consumerism and materialism, with individuals being exposed to a constant stream of advertisements and product promotions. Social media platforms have become virtual marketplaces, with individuals being bombarded with messages that encourage them to buy more and consume more. Impact on journalism and news media Social media has also had a significant impact on journalism and news media, with many individuals turning to social media platforms for their news and information. While social media has enabled citizen journalism and given a platform to marginalized voices, it has also led to the spread of misinformation and fake news. Social media has also led to a decrease in traditional news media outlets, with many newspapers and TV stations struggling to compete with social media platforms (Tandoc et al., 2018). Effects on personal relationships and communication skills Finally, social media has had significant effects on personal relationships and communication skills. While social media has enabled individuals to connect with people across the globe, it has also led to a decrease in the quality of interpersonal relationships (Pew Research Center, 2021). Many individuals rely on social media for their social interactions, leading to a decrease in face-to-face interactions and the development of social skills. Additionally, social media has enabled individuals to present a curated and idealized version of themselves, leading to a lack of authenticity and trust in personal relationships. Conclusion In conclusion, social media has become an integral part of our lives, with many individuals relying on social media platforms for communication, information, and entertainment. While social media has many advantages, it also has several significant disadvantages, including cyberbullying, addiction, spread of misinformation, decreased privacy, and negative impacts on mental health and self-esteem. Social media has also had a significant impact on society, influencing politics and elections, changing the way we interact and communicate, contributing to consumerism and materialism, and affecting journalism and news media. As we continue to navigate the complex world of social media, it is crucial to be mindful and responsible in our use of these platforms, ensuring that we are using them to their fullest potential while minimizing the negative impacts. By doing so, we can continue to enjoy the benefits of social media while mitigating its negative effects. References  Statista. (2021). Number of social media users worldwide from 2010 to 2026 (in billions). https://www.statista.com/statistics/278414/number-of-worldwide-social-network-users/ Pew Research Center. (2021). Social media fact sheet. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/ Tufekci, Z. (2018). Twitter and tear gas: The power and fragility of networked protest. Yale University Press. Mesch, G. S. (2018). Social media and social support. In J. Wright (Ed.), International encyclopedia of the social & behavioral sciences (pp. 28–33). Elsevier. Tandoc, E. C., Jr., Lim, Z. W., & Ling, R. (2018). Defining “fake news.” Digital Journalism, 6(2), 137–153. Gershon, I. (2019). Media ideologies: A comparative study of Russian and US journalism. Cambridge University Press.

Social media essay topic ideas

• Why social media has changed the way we communicate
• A critical analysis of the impact of social media on mental health
• How social media has affected politics and public opinion
• Where social media has made the biggest impact on society
• An examination of the benefits and drawbacks of social media
• The role of social media in the spread of misinformation
• How social media has changed the advertising industry
• The impact of social media on privacy and security
• Why social media can be addictive and what can be done to mitigate its negative effects
• An exploration of the use of social media in education and learning.
• The influence of social media on relationships and personal connections
• How social media has impacted the job market and employment opportunities
• The role of social media in promoting cultural exchange and understanding
• An analysis of the influence of social media on popular culture
• The impact of social media on traditional forms of media, such as television and print
• The potential of social media for social activism and social change
• How social media has changed the way we consume and share information
• The impact of social media on the way we perceive and experience events
• The role of social media in shaping the future of technology and communication
• An examination of the ethical considerations surrounding social media and its use.
• The influence of social media on fashion and beauty trends
• How social media has impacted the way we perceive and experience travel
• An analysis of the impact of social media on professional sports and athletics
• The influence of social media on the music industry and artist promotions
• The role of social media in fostering online communities and relationships
• How social media has changed the way we access and consume news
• An examination of the impact of social media on the way we shop and make purchasing decisions
• The influence of social media on the way we view and engage with art and creativity
• The impact of social media on personal branding and self-promotion
• An exploration of the use of social media in crisis management and emergency response.

Essays about social media additional tips

• Start with a strong thesis statement that clearly states your argument.
• Use reputable sources for your research and reference them properly in your essay.
• Avoid using overly technical language or overly casual language.
• Use specific examples to support your argument and make your essay more relatable.
• Be mindful of the tone of your essay and aim for a balanced, neutral perspective.
• Avoid making broad generalizations and instead focus on specific, well-supported claims.
• Consider both social media’s positive and negative aspects and provide a nuanced perspective.
• Use clear, concise, and well-structured sentences and paragraphs to make your essay easy to read and understand.
• Use a variety of sentence structures and avoid repeating the same sentence structure repeatedly.
• End your essay with a strong conclusion summarizing your main points and providing a final thought or calls to action.

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8.3: Media and Technology in Society

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Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you should be able to:

• Describe the evolution and current role of different media, like newspapers, television, and new media
• Describe the function of product advertising in media
• Demonstrate awareness of the social homogenization and social fragmentation that occur via modern society’s use of technology and media

Technology and the media are interwoven, and neither can be separated from contemporary society in most core and semi-peripheral nations. Media is a term that refers to all print, digital, and electronic means of communication. From the time the printing press was created (and even before), technology has influenced how and where information is shared. Today, it is impossible to discuss media and the ways societies communicate without addressing the fast-moving pace of technology change. Twenty years ago, if you wanted to share news of your baby’s birth or a job promotion, you phoned or wrote letters. You might tell a handful of people, but you probably wouldn’t call up several hundred, including your old high school chemistry teacher, to let them know. Now, you might join an online community of parents-to-be even before you announce your pregnancy via a staged Instagram picture. The circle of communication is wider than ever, and when we talk about how societies engage with technology, we must take media into account, and vice versa.

Technology creates media. The comic book you bought your daughter is a form of media, as is the movie you streamed for family night, the web site you used to order takeout, the billboard you passed on the way to pick up your food, and the newspaper you read while you were waiting for it. Without technology, media would not exist, but remember, technology is more than just the media we are exposed to.

Categorizing Technology

There is no one way of dividing technology into categories. Whereas once it might have been simple to classify innovations such as machine-based or drug-based or the like, the interconnected strands of technological development mean that advancement in one area might be replicated in dozens of others. For simplicity’s sake, we will look at how the U.S. Patent Office, which receives patent applications for nearly all major innovations worldwide, addresses patents. This regulatory body will patent three types of innovation. Utility patents are the first type. These are granted for the invention or discovery of any new and useful process, product, or machine, or for a significant improvement to existing technologies. The second type of patent is a design patent . Commonly conferred in architecture and industrial design, this means someone has invented a new and original design for a manufactured product. Plant patents , the final type, recognize the discovery of new plant types that can be asexually reproduced. While genetically modified food is the hot-button issue within this category, farmers have long been creating new hybrids and patenting them. A more modern example might be food giant Monsanto, which patents corn with built-in pesticide (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office 2011).

Anderson and Tushman (1990) suggest an evolutionary model of technological change , in which a breakthrough in one form of technology leads to a number of variations. Once those are assessed, a prototype emerges, and then a period of slight adjustments to the technology, interrupted by a breakthrough. For example, in terms of portable data storage, the first mainstream device was a floppy disk–a square, plastic object larger than a playing card, which in its final iteration held 1.4 megabytes of data (or less than a single high-resolution photo). Until the early 2000s, these were common formats, and students and professionals would regularly carry several of them. Floppy disks were improved and upgraded, then replaced by higher-capacity Zip and Jaz disks, which were then replaced by flash drives. This is essentially a generational model for categorizing technology, in which first-generation technology is a relatively unsophisticated jumping-off point that leads to an improved second generation, and so on.

Another type of evolution involves disruptive technology (or disruptive innovation), which is a product, service, or process that has a major effect on the operation of an entire industry, and/or may create new industries or new markets. In the example above, a disruptive technology might be the advent of cloud-based storage platforms like Google Drive and iCloud, which have significantly reduced the need for physical portable storage. Disruptive technology can create and destroy entire industries, sometimes in a rapid manner rather than in an evolutionary one. In one of the most famous examples, the advent of digital photography rendered film-based cameras obsolete; the change came quickly, and many companies could not adjust. In a similar manner, ride-sharing services have had a massive impact on the taxi and limousine industry. Emerging technologies such as blockchain, additive manufacturing (3D printing), and augmented reality are likely to have similar impacts. For example, if companies decide that it is more efficient to 3D print many products or components close to their destinations instead of shipping them from distant manufacturing plants and warehouses, the entire shipping industry may be affected.

The sociological impact of disruptive technology can be sudden. Digital photography, for example, resulted in the rapid decline of companies like Kodak, which had been stalwarts of the American economy and a major employer. Layoffs devastated cities like Rochester, New York. The advent of online music purchasing and subscription services resulted in the closure of thousands of record stores, both small businesses and large chains like Tower Records. Beyond the economic impact, these stores were often parts of the fabric of communities, places for fans to gather to explore and share music. Automation has likewise changed manufacturing and mining, resulting in severe job loss and drastic alterations in regions such as the Great Lakes, where many towns went from being part of the Manufacturing Belt to being part of the Rust Belt.

Sociology in the Real World

Violence in media and video games: does it matter.

A glance through popular video game and movie titles geared toward children and teens shows the vast spectrum of violence that is displayed, condoned, and acted out.

As a way to guide parents in their programming choices, the motion picture industry put a rating system in place in the 1960s. But new media—video games in particular—proved to be uncharted territory. In 1994, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ERSB) set a ratings system for games that addressed issues of violence, sexuality, drug use, and the like. California took it a step further by making it illegal to sell video games to underage buyers. The case led to a heated debate about personal freedoms and child protection, and in 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the California law, stating it violated freedom of speech (ProCon 2012).

Children’s play has often involved games of aggression—from cops and robbers to fake sword fights. Many articles report on the controversy surrounding the suggested link between violent video games and violent behavior. Is the link real? Psychologists Anderson and Bushman (2001) reviewed forty-plus years of research on the subject and, in 2003, determined that there are causal linkages between violent video game use and aggression. They found that children who had just played a violent video game demonstrated an immediate increase in hostile or aggressive thoughts, an increase in aggressive emotions, and physiological arousal that increased the chances of acting out aggressive behavior (Anderson 2003).

However, though the American Psychological Association and other researchers found an increase in aggressive tendencies based on video game play, several studies and conclusions indicated "scant evidence" that violent video games cause either physical violence or criminal behavior. Researchers have found correlations between those behaviors, essentially indicating that violent people may be more likely to play violent video games, but that still does not mean that video games cause violence.

Types of Media and Technology

Media and technology have evolved hand in hand, from early print to modern publications, from radio to television to film. New media emerge constantly, such as we see in the online world.

Early forms of print media, found in ancient Rome, were hand-copied onto boards and carried around to keep the citizenry informed. With the invention of the printing press, the way that people shared ideas changed, as information could be mass produced and stored. For the first time, there was a way to spread knowledge and information more efficiently; many credit this development as leading to the Renaissance and ultimately the Age of Enlightenment. This is not to say that newspapers of old were more trustworthy than the Weekly World News and National Enquirer are today. Sensationalism abounded, as did censorship that forbade any subjects that would incite the populace.

The invention of the telegraph, in the mid-1800s, changed print media almost as much as the printing press. Suddenly information could be transmitted in minutes. As the nineteenth century became the twentieth, U.S. publishers such as Hearst redefined the world of print media and wielded an enormous amount of power to socially construct national and world events. Of course, even as the media empires of William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer were growing, print media also allowed for the dissemination of countercultural or revolutionary materials. Internationally, Vladimir Lenin’s Irksa ( The Spark ) newspaper was published in 1900 and played a role in Russia’s growing communist movement (World Association of Newspapers 2004).

With the invention and widespread use of television in the mid-twentieth century, newspaper circulation steadily dropped off, and in the 21st century, circulation has dropped further as more people turn to internet news sites and other forms of new media to stay informed. According to the Pew Research Center, 2009 saw an unprecedented drop in newspaper circulation––down 10.6 percent from the year before (Pew 2010).

This shift away from newspapers as a source of information has profound effects on societies. When the news is given to a large diverse conglomerate of people, it must maintain some level of broad-based reporting and balance in order to appeal to a broad audience and keep them subscribing. As newspapers decline, news sources become more fractured, so each segment of the audience can choose specifically what it wants to hear and what it wants to avoid. Increasingly, newspapers are shifting online in an attempt to remain relevant. It is hard to tell what impact new media platforms will have on the way we receive and process information.

It is hard to tell what impact new media platforms will have on the way we receive and process information. The Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism (2013) reported that audiences for all the major news magazines declined in 2012, though digital ad revenue increased. The same report suggested that, while newspaper circulation is holding steady at around $10 billion after years of decline, it is digital pay plans that allow newspapers to keep their heads above water, and the digital ad revenue that is increasing for news magazines is not enough to compensate for print revenue loss in newspapers.

A 2014 report suggested that U.S. adults read a median of five books per year in 2013, which is about average. But are they reading traditional print or e-books? About 69 percent of people said they had read at least one printed book in the past year, versus 28 percent who said they’d read an e-book (DeSilver 2014). Is print more effective at conveying information? In recent study, Mangen, Walgermo, and Bronnick (2013) found that students who read on paper performed slightly better than those who read an e-book on an open-book reading comprehension exam of multiple-choice and short-answer questions. While a meta-analysis of research by Andrews (1992) seemed to confirm that people read more slowly and comprehend less when reading from screens, a meta-analysis of more recent research on this topic does not show anything definite (Noyes and Garland 2008).

Television and Radio

Radio programming obviously preceded television, but both shaped people’s lives in much the same way. In both cases, information (and entertainment) could be enjoyed at home, with a kind of immediacy and community that newspapers could not offer. For instance, many people in the United States might remember when they saw on television or heard on the radio that the Twin Towers in New York City had been attacked in 2001. Even though people were in their own homes, media allowed them to share these moments in real time. This same kind of separate-but-communal approach occurred with entertainment too. School-aged children and office workers gathered to discuss the previous night’s installment of a serial television or radio show.

Right up through the 1970s, U.S. television was dominated by three major networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) that competed for ratings and advertising dollars. The networks also exerted a lot of control over what people watched. Public television, in contrast, offered an educational nonprofit alternative to the sensationalization of news spurred by the network competition for viewers and advertising dollars. Those sources—PBS (Public Broadcasting Service), the BBC (British Broadcasting Company), and CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Company)—garnered a worldwide reputation for high-quality programming and a global perspective. Al Jazeera, the Arabic independent news station, has joined this group as a similar media force that broadcasts to people worldwide.

The impact of television on U.S. society is hard to overstate. By the late 1990s, 98 percent of U.S. homes had at least one television set, and the average person watched between two and a half and five hours of television daily. All this television has a powerful socializing effect, providing reference groups while reinforcing social norms, values, and beliefs.

The film industry took off in the 1930s, when color and sound were first integrated into feature films. Like television, early films were unifying for society: as people gathered in theaters to watch new releases, they would laugh, cry, and be scared together. Movies also act as time capsules or cultural touchstones for society. From Westerns starring the tough-talking Clint Eastwood to the biopic of Facebook founder and Harvard dropout Mark Zuckerberg, movies illustrate society’s dreams, fears, and experiences. While many consider Hollywood the epicenter of moviemaking, India’s Bollywood actually produces more films per year, speaking to the cultural aspirations and norms of Indian society. The film industry, like other media formats, has gone through substantial change as a result of streaming services, online privacy, and the new competition for people's entertainment dollars. Because the mainstream movie industry has been so reliant on ticket sales at live theaters, the COVID-19 pandemic affected it more dramatically than most other media categories. Highly anticipated movies slated for 2020 and 2021 releases were delayed or shifted to streaming distribution, reducing revenue. And some companies made lasting decisions regarding their future offerings.

New Media and Online Environments

New media encompasses all interactive forms of information exchange. These include social networking sites, blogs, podcasts, wikis, and virtual worlds. Many are not "new" in the sense that they were developed in the past few years (some may be older than you), but they are newer than the media mentioned above, and they rely on types of technologies that were not available until about thirty years ago. Many are ways disruptive to traditional media or to companies that rely on those other formats. Clearly, the list of new media grows almost daily, and you might feel we are missing some. In fact, the immediacy of new media coupled with the lack of oversight means we must be more careful than ever to ensure that we are making good decisions about the accuracy, ethics, and cultural responsiveness of these formats.

Planned Obsolescence: Technology That’s Built to Crash

Chances are your mobile phone company, as well as the makers of your laptop and your household appliances, are all counting on their products to fail. Not too quickly, of course, or consumers wouldn't stand for it—but frequently enough that you might find that it costs far more to fix a device than to replace it with a newer model. Or you find the phone company e-mails you saying that you’re eligible for a free new phone, because yours is a whopping two years old. And appliance repair people say that while they might be fixing some machines that are twenty years old, they generally aren’t fixing those that are seven years old; newer models are built to be thrown out. This strategy is called planned obsolescence , and it is the business practice of planning for a product to be obsolete or unusable from the time it is created.

To some extent, planned obsolescence is a natural extension of new and emerging technologies. After all, who is going to cling to an enormous and slow desktop computer from 2000 when a few hundred dollars can buy one that is significantly faster and better? But the practice is not always so benign. The classic example of planned obsolescence is the nylon stocking. Women’s stockings—once an everyday staple of women’s lives––get “runs” or “ladders” after only a few wearings. This requires the stockings to be discarded and new ones purchased. Not surprisingly, the garment industry did not invest heavily in finding a rip-proof fabric; it was in manufacturers' best interest that their product be regularly replaced.

Those who use Microsoft Windows might feel that like the women who purchased endless pairs of stockings, they are victims of planned obsolescence. Every time Windows releases a new operating system, there are typically not many innovations in it that consumers feel they must have. However, the software programs are upwardly compatible only. This means that while the new versions can read older files, the old version cannot read the newer ones. In short order, those who have not upgraded right away find themselves unable to open files sent by colleagues or friends, and they usually wind up upgrading as well.

Planned obsolescence is not always done ethically, and some companies can dictate the obsolescence after the user makes a purchase. Apple users took to social media to confirm that their older iPhones suddenly began losing power or were slowing down considerably. Many users bought new phones at high prices, and later learned that the slow downs were intended by the phone maker. Customers filed dozens of class action lawsuits, which are suits where a very large group of people can band together. Apple was found to have intentionally and improperly altered its phones through a software update in order to hide battery problems. While it never admitted guilt, Apple's $500 million settlement paid benefits to iPhone 6 and iPhone 7 users who had been affected, and a later $113 agreement with state attorneys general included provisions to behave more ethically and transparently (CNBC 2020).

Product Advertising and the Attention Economy

Companies use advertising to sell to us, but the way they reach us is changing. Naomi Klein identified the destructive impact of corporate branding her 1999 text, No Logo , an antiglobalization treatise that focused on sweatshops, corporate power, and anticonsumerist social movements. In the post-millennial society, synergistic advertising practices ensure you are receiving the same message from a variety of sources and on a variety of platforms. For example, you may see billboards for Miller beer on your way to a stadium, sit down to watch a game preceded by a Miller commercial on the big screen, and watch a halftime ad in which people are shown holding up the trademark bottles. Chances are you can guess which brand of beer is for sale at the concession stand.

Advertising has changed, as technology and media have allowed consumers to bypass traditional advertising venues. From the invention of the remote control, which allows us to skip television advertising without leaving our seats, to recording devices that let us watch programs but skip the ads, conventional television advertising is on the wane. And print media is no different. Advertising revenue in newspapers and on television has fallen significantly, which shows that companies need new ways of getting their messages to consumers.

Brand ambassadorships can also be powerful tools for advertisers. For example, companies hire college students to be their on-campus representatives, and they may target for students engaged in high-profile activities like sports, fraternities, and music. (This practice is slightly different from sponsorships, and note that some students, particularly athletes, need to follow strict guidelines about accepting money or products.) The marketing team is betting that if we buy perfume because Beyoncé tells us to, we’ll also choose our workout gear, clothing, or make-up brand if another student encourages that choice. Tens of thousands of brand ambassadors or brand evangelists work on college campuses, and such marketing approaches are seen as highly effective investments for companies. The numbers make it clear: Ambassador-referred customers provide sixteen percent higher value to companies than other customers, and over ninety percent of people indicate that people trust referrals from people they know (On-Campus Advertising, 2017).

Social media has made such influencer and ambassador marketing a near constant. Some formal ambassadors are sponsored by companies to show or use their products. In some cases, compensation arrives only in the form of the free products and whatever monetization the ambassador receives from the site, such as YouTube. Influencers are usually less formally engaged with companies than are ambassadors, relying mostly on site revenue to reward their efforts. Some influencers may overstate their popularity in order to get free products or services. For example, luxury hotels report that they are barraged by influencers (some with very few followers, and therefore questionable influence) who expect free stays in exchange for creating posts promoting the location (Locker 2019).

One ethical and perhaps relationship-oriented question is whether paid ambassadors should be required to disclose their relationship with a company, and how that works in online versus face-to-face interactions. In this case, online presence may be more "truthful" than in-person relationships. A video can formally include sponsorship information, and some ambassadors list partners or sponsors on their profiles. But in day-to-day, in-person conversations, it might be awkward for a classmate or colleague to mention that they are wearing a particular brand or using gear based on a financial relationship. In other words, the person sitting next to you with the great bag may be paid to carry it, and you may never know.

Homogenization and Fragmentation

Despite the variety of media at hand, the mainstream news and entertainment you enjoy are increasingly homogenized. Research by McManus (1995) suggests that different news outlets all tell the same stories, using the same sources, resulting in the same message, presented with only slight variations. So whether you are reading the New York Times or the CNN’s web site, the coverage of national events like a major court case or political issue will likely be the same.

Simultaneously with this homogenization among the major news outlets, the opposite process is occurring in the newer media streams. With so many choices, people increasingly customize their news experience, minimizing their opportunity to encounter information that does not jive with their worldview (Prior 2005). For instance, those who are staunchly Republican can avoid centrist or liberal-leaning cable news shows and web sites that would show Democrats in a favorable light. They know to seek out Fox News over MSNBC, just as Democrats know to do the opposite. Further, people who want to avoid politics completely can choose to visit web sites that deal only with entertainment or that will keep them up to date on sports scores. They have an easy way to avoid information they do not wish to hear. Americans seem to view this phenomenon with great concern, indicating that the impact of customized or personalized news delivers worse news. Yet, they still engage with the platforms that deliver news in that manner.

The fragmentation of the news has led to an increased amount of digital tribalism. Tribalism in this sense is the state or tendency to gather and reinforce ideas belonging to a group, and to do so out of a sense of strong loyalty. Digital tribalism, then, is the tendency to do so online, and also to forge new tribes purely based on online personas or ideologies. Instead of basing these groups on the classic bonds of ethnic, religious, or geographic ideologies, they are based on politics, emotions, lifestyles or lifestyle goals, or even brands (Taute & Sierra 2014). Digital tribes can lead people to a greater sense of belonging, and can also be heavily exploited for commercial or power-attaining interests.

Social Media Sociology

Social media was created two decades ago and has developed a lot since 1997 when it had first made an appearance in the world. Before social media many people did not have a way to communicate or interact with others using electronics, everything was verbal or written. When social media first made a blogging page it became a hit as told by Small Business Trends, “In 1999, the first blogging sites became popular, creating a social media sensation that is still popular today.” Social media has made an impact in many people’s lives throughout the years. After blogging was invented, social media exploded with popularity. Social media has made its way up with new development and although it helps us stay connected with others and helps us make new …show more content…

Many people in the outside world are not able to meet new people and interact at times because they may be shy or are not used to talking verbally, so when they have any type of social media it can help them. When some people are not allowed to go out or do not have time to socialize in the outside world then they can just pop on the computer and talk to others all over the place. Sometimes they are not able to find people who they may have things in common with so certain cites can help them meet new people whom they may have the same interest as them whether it is in the same state or another. There are some cases where people who have felt alone, depressed, sad, etc. because they have had no one to talk to and became different, happier, more social, etc., when making a social media as told by Cyberbullying Research Center, “teens around the world have embraced social media to connect with others who can encourage them, mentor them, inspire them, and – most of all – show them they are not …show more content…

Many people think that they do not exist because they are usually in disguise but they exist. Predators are usually what people know as “catfish.” Catfish means someone uses another person’s information and pictures in order to talk to people younger or older than them. The effect on people based on online predators is becoming a horrible and terrifying thing. It seems that usually younger teens are the ones trusting someone whom they have never seen in person only online and in pictures. Teenager are usually the ones to say that they “know” them or that they are “friends” just because they communicate behind a computer screen or phone, “Once a predator Instant Messages or Chats with a victim and gains their trust they often send pornographic pictures via the IM session or e-mail and sometimes gifts through the mail. “Predators sometimes do not only want to “talk” or be “friends” with their victim. Most of the time they are usually looking for something more. There have been many cases where teens are victimized because they do not do what the “predator” tells them to. When it comes to kids or teens it seems like they are scared to talk about what is going on because they are afraid to get hurt. In many cases the victims look for a way out but fail to do so, so they take the easy way out by committing

Catfish Motivation

How to tell lovers from liars online, and more”). People or law enforcement would use “Catfishing” as a method to approach and catch malicious people who are looking to deceive children and commit crimes such as lure them to

Cultural And Cultural Issues Related To The Determination Of The Population Of Children

Children’s and young people’s use of social networks is often baffling to parents. In addition, there are huge generational gaps in attitudes toward privacy, confidentiality and an individual’s rights over the data they own and share. The issues of safety, privacy, online predation and cyberbullying are complex, both technically and psychologically, and parents may find it a struggle to keep up. These factors point to an urgent need to encourage parents to engage with their children and to discuss their online activities, whatever their level of experience. Getting involved will allow parents, guardians, educators and other trusted influencers to keep children and young people out of harm’s

Mark Pfeifle's 'Changing The Face Of Social Activism'

Social media has always been a beneficial tool for the society. It is an inexpensive wildly accessible electronic tool that enables anyone to share, exchange and collaborate on common grounds. This joint effort allows people to connect and resolve critical and important issues. Social media is the fastest and the easiest way for the community to get involved and contribute to some of the most important decisions. Social media also enhances on to the steps taken toward a meaningful change.

Child Sexual Abuse In Canada Essay

The child sexual abuse can be in various forms including engagement in sexual activities such as asking or pressuring, indecent exposure of the sexual body parts, and producing the child pornography(Wolak et al, 2008). The child sexual abuse can occur in a variety offline setting including school, work, and family. However, online child sexual abuse can be more critical due to the unique characteristics of the online environment including the anonymity. As an example, the anonymity of the internet allows the offenders to hide their identity behind the computer, which, produces the feeling of comforts where they believe it is unlikely to be

The Pros And Cons Of Sexual Predators

Predators are good at looking for their prey; they will find a person who feels emotionally separated from others or who has low self-esteem, like young middle school students who are going through puberty and trying to figure out themselves or children who are having issues at home. The predator will act like he or she cares about the child’s problems by listening, asking questions, and consoling them. These cause children to fall for these false concernments and be dependent on the predators when they feel conflicted by an issue. After the child has created a bond or friendship with the predator, the predator will try to convince the child to meet or get involved in a sexual relationship, or the child will be curious to meet the person he or she has been talking to for weeks online. Coby Persin, a YouTube star, tried a social experiment where he socialized with a thirteen-year-old girl, having permission from her father to see if she was foolish enough to try to meet this stranger.

Social Media Influence On American Culture

America is known to be described as the “melting pot” because of the many different cultures from all over the world. Some see it as this perfect place when it really isn’t that perfect. Social media plays a big part in this world because it influence and shape people’s behavior. Social media has put this idea in girl’s mind that they need to wear makeup and have the right body image to be pretty. This has made people self-conscious about their self.

Essay Date Rape

George shows that dating abuse has now taken a new level. “A group of teenagers were asked if their partner had ever harassed them. In response, 25% of them admitted that their love interests threatened them or harassed them either by using texts or online.” They reported that their social media accounts were hacked as well. They were pressured into sending pictures exposing themselves and received unwanted sexual messages.

The Pros And Cons Of Social Media And Body Image

Social media sites enable people to convey and stay in contact with friends and also meet new people. These sites allow people to discover others with similar interests that they can create a relationship with and get to know one another. Groups can be joined or formed to meet people with similar interests, and viewpoints. “One of the biggest pros of social media is that it nurtures and expands relationships" (Pros and Cons of Social Media).

Media Ruining Children Research Paper

Once upon a time, people had to actually go out into the world to scream “stranger danger”. However, in today’s society there is a 14 year old Jake who in actuality is 43 year old Ronnie that is getting personal information out of children and preying on them. This can lead to rape, sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy and even suicide. The last way the internet is ruining childhoods is causing cyber bullying. There are so many kids posting selfies online and flipagrams.

Negative Effects Of Social Media On Children

Living in the modern era makes social media become part of our life. Basically, social media are used for communication and social interaction. Based on the Merriam-Webster, social media are forms of electronic communication (as websites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (as videos). There are lots of social media that people use nowadays such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Path, and others. Most of people probably have two or more social media’s accounts.

Influence Of Social Media

Sites such as Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and many more had created the medium to re connect with old friends, get updated about current topics and share pictures and videos (Q. Ta, 2014). Moreover it helps to become aware about social issues that prevail at the moment along with getting to know new contacts which helps in personal as well as professional life (Q. Ta, 2014). It is true that it enables people to connect with far away acquaintances in no time yet this simplicity has driven the human connections apart. According to Malay Shah “Social Media sites creates an illusion of connectivity” (Tasarra - Twigg, 2016). Before these sites came up, people used to have face to face conversations more but now the users get mislead by these quick communication methods.

The Importance Of Technology

Technology, ever changing and adapting in our modern world is now a common place in almost every child 's daily life is a hotly debated topic. Children now a-days have access to more technology and new platforms of social media than any generation before them. This provides unheard of opportunities for learning and growth but potentially altering a child 's social development in the process. Prosocial behavior including extending friendships and creating engaging platforms can benefit social development while negative influences and lack of real world connections can hinder proper social development. The documentary "Growing Up with Gadgets" created by Casey Kanode, explores this argument by following his second-grade niece in her classroom full of technology and then on a hike to facilitate her use of technology outdoors to further her learning.

Improving Our Use Of Social Media Essay

When asked about social media most times, it is seen by people as platforms where people make friends, form relationships, live fake lives, seek attention and bully others in different cases. But social media is much more than that. It is a form of media that describes online information that are created, circulated and used by people who wanted to educate themselves about services, people and personalities, brands and issues (Mangold & Faulds, 2009). It has about 1.96 billion users worldwide and keeps on growing. Some of the popular social media sites known and used are Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn but there are also other forms of social media like blogs, forums, company websites, and collaborative websites.

Cyber Bullying Effect

The Cyber bullying is a fact that negatively affects teenagers, both men and women around the world. This is a “trendy attack” the worst is that this type of aggression can make an even greater psychological disturbance that produces a face-to-face, for the insults and cyber bullying is much cruelty in new technologies with which most teenagers live in their daily lives. As technology advances and progresses, evidenced by the thousands of cases of this new methodology to attack people. Threats, photographs stolen or taken out of context, and toxic language, cyber bullying seeks to humiliate and ridicule. Facebook, emails and text messages are their platform.

Essay On Media Social

Media social Media social is an online medium that anyone can participate to use it. with the existence of social media it all becomes easy. with the social media that allows us to have a conversation we still must always be careful in using it. Because everthing always have consequences.

More about Social Media Sociology

Related topics.

• Social network service

How to Write a Sociological Essay: Explained with Examples

This article will discuss “How to Write a Sociological Essay” with insider pro tips and give you a map that is tried and tested. An essay writing is done in three phases: a) preparing for the essay, b) writing the essay, and c) editing the essay. We will take it step-by-step so that nothing is left behind because the devil, as well as good grades and presentation, lies in the details.

Writing is a skill that we learn throughout the courses of our lives. Learning how to write is a process that we begin as soon as we turn 4, and the learning process never stops. But the question is, “is all writing the same?”. The answer is NO. Do you remember your initial lessons of English when you were in school, and how the teacher taught various formats of writing such as formal, informal, essay, letter, and much more? Therefore, writing is never that simple. Different occasions demand different styles and commands over the writing style. Thus, the art of writing improves with time and experience. 

Those who belong to the world of academia know that writing is something that they cannot escape. No writing is the same when it comes to different disciplines of academia. Similarly, the discipline of sociology demands a particular style of formal academic writing. If you’re a new student of sociology, it can be an overwhelming subject, and writing assignments don’t make the course easier. Having some tips handy can surely help you write and articulate your thoughts better. 

[Let us take a running example throughout the article so that every point becomes crystal clear. Let us assume that the topic we have with us is to “Explore Culinary Discourse among the Indian Diasporic Communities” .]

Phase I: Preparing for the Essay  

Step 1: make an outline.

So you have to write a sociological essay, which means that you already either received or have a topic in mind. The first thing for you to do is PLAN how you will attempt to write this essay. To plan, the best way is to make an outline. The topic you have, certainly string some thread in your mind. They can be instances you heard or read, some assumptions you hold, something you studied in the past, or based on your own experience, etc. Make a rough outline where you note down all the themes you would like to talk about in your essay. The easiest way to make an outline is to make bullet points. List all the thoughts and examples that you have in find and create a flow for your essay. Remember that this is only a rough outline so you can always make changes and reshuffle your points. 

[Explanation through example, assumed topic: “Explore Culinary Discourse among the Indian Diasporic Communities” . Your outline will look something like this:

• Importance of food
• Definition of Diaspora 
• Relationship between food and culture
• Relationship between food and nation
• Relationship between food and media 
• Relationship between food and nostalgia 
• How food travels with people 
• Is food practices different for different sections of society, such as caste, class, gender ]

Step 2: Start Reading 

Once you have prepared an outline for your essay, the next step is to start your RESEARCH . You cannot write a sociological essay out of thin air. The essay needs to be thoroughly researched and based on facts. Sociology is the subject of social science that is based on facts and evidence. Therefore, start reading as soon as you have your outline determined. The more you read, the more factual data you will collect. But the question which now emerges is “what to read” . You cannot do a basic Google search to write an academic essay. Your research has to be narrow and concept-based. For writing a sociological essay, make sure that the sources from where you read are academically acclaimed and accepted.  

Some of the websites that you can use for academic research are: 

• Google Scholar
• Shodhganga 

[Explanation through example, assumed topic: “Explore Culinary Discourse among the Indian Diasporic Communities” . 

For best search, search for your articles by typing “Food+Diaspora”, “Food+Nostalgia”, adding a plus sign (+) improves the search result.]

Step 3: Make Notes 

This is a step that a lot of people miss when they are preparing to write their essays. It is important to read, but how you read is also a very vital part. When you are reading from multiple sources then all that you read becomes a big jumble of information in your mind. It is not possible to remember who said what at all times. Therefore, what you need to do while reading is to maintain an ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY . Whenever you’re reading for writing an academic essay then have a notebook handy, or if you prefer electronic notes then prepare a Word Document, Google Docs, Notes, or any tool of your choice to make notes. 

As you begin reading, note down the title of the article, its author, and the year of publication. As you read, keep writing down all the significant points that you find. You can either copy whole sentences or make shorthand notes, whatever suits you best. Once you’ve read the article and made your notes, write a summary of what you just read in 8 to 10 lines. Also, write keywords, these are the words that are most used in the article and reflect its essence. Having keywords and a summary makes it easier for you to revisit the article. A sociological essay needs a good amount of research, which means that you have to read plenty, thus maintaining an annotated bibliography helps you in the greater picture.  

Annotate and divide your notes based on the outline you made. Having organized notes will help you directly apply the concepts where they are needed rather than you going and searching for them again.] 

Phase II: Write a Sociological Essay

A basic essay includes a title, an introduction, the main body, and a conclusion. A sociological essay is not that different as far as the body of contents goes, but it does include some additional categories. When you write a sociological essay, it should have the following contents and chronology: 

• Subtitle (optional)
• Introduction

Conclusion 

• References/ Bibliography 

Now let us get into the details which go into the writing of a sociological essay.  

Step 4: Writing a Title, Subtitle, Abstract, and Keywords 

The title of any document is the first thing that a reader comes across. Therefore, the title should be provocative, specific, and the most well-thought part of any essay. Your title should reflect what your essay will discuss further. There has to be a sync between the title and the rest of your content. The title should be the biggest font size you use in your essay. 

Pro Tip by Sociology Group: A title preferably should not exceed 5 to 7 words.  

This is an optional component of any essay. If you think that your title cannot justify the rest of the contents of your essay, then you opt for a subtitle. The subtitle is the secondary part of the title which is used to further elucidate the title. A subtitle should be smaller in font than the Title but bigger than the rest of the essay body.  

Pro Tip by Sociology Group: Make the font color of your subtitle Gray instead of Black for it to stand out. 

The abstract is a 6 to 10 line description of what you will talk about in your essay. An abstract is a very substantial component of a sociological essay. Most of the essays written in academia exceed the word limit of 2000 words. Therefore, a writer, i.e., you, provides the reader with a short abstract at the beginning of your essay so that they can know what you are going to discuss. From the point of view of the reader, a good abstract can save time and help determine if the piece is worth reading or not. Thus, make sure to make your abstract as reflective to your essay as possible using the least amount of words.  

Pro Tip by Sociology Group: If you are not sure about your abstract at first, it is always great to write the abstract in the end after you are done with your essay. 

Your abstract should highlight all the points that you will further discuss. Therefore your abstract should mention how diasporic communities are formed and how they are not homogeneous communities. There are differences within this large population. In your essay, you will talk in detail about all the various aspects that affect food and diasporic relationships. ]

Keywords are an extension of your abstract. Whereas in your abstract you will use a paragraph to tell the reader what to expect ahead, by stating keywords, you point out the essence of your essay by using only individual words. These words are mostly concepts of social sciences. At first, glance, looking at your keywords, the reader should get informed about all the concepts and themes you will explain in detail later. 

Pro Tip by Sociology Group: Bold your Keywords so that they get highlighted.

Your keywords could be: Food, Diaspora, Migration, and so on. Build on these as you continue to write your essay.]   

Step 5: Writing the Introduction, Main Body, and Conclusion 

Introduction 

Your introduction should talk about the subject on which you are writing at the broadest level. In an introduction, you make your readers aware of what you are going to argue later in the essay. An introduction can discuss a little about the history of the topic, how it was understood till now, and a framework of what you are going to talk about ahead. You can think of your introduction as an extended form of the abstract. Since it is the first portion of your essay, it should paint a picture where the readers know exactly what’s ahead of them. 

Pro Tip by Sociology Group: An apt introduction can be covered in 2 to 3 paragraphs (Look at the introduction on this article if you need proof). 

Since your focus is on “food” and “diaspora”, your introductory paragraph can dwell into a little history of the relationship between the two and the importance of food in community building.] 

This is the most extensive part of any essay. It is also the one that takes up the most number of words. All the research and note-making which you did was for this part. The main body of your essay is where you put all the knowledge you gathered into words. When you are writing the body, your aim should be to make it flow, which means that all paragraphs should have a connection between them. When read in its entirety, the paragraphs should sing together rather than float all around. 

The main body is mostly around 4 to 6 paragraphs long. A sociological essay is filled with debates, theories, theorists, and examples. When writing the main body it is best to target making one or two paragraphs about the same revolving theme. When you shift to the other theme, it is best to connect it with the theme you discussed in the paragraph right above it to form a connection between the two. If you are dividing your essay into various sub-themes then the best way to correlate them is starting each new subtheme by reflecting on the last main arguments presented in the theme before it. To make a sociological essay even more enriching, include examples that exemplify the theoretical concepts better. 

Pro Tip by Sociology Group: Though there is no word limit to the length of the paragraphs, if you keep one paragraph between 100 to 200 words, it makes the essay look more organized. 

The main body can here be divided into the categories which you formed during the first step of making the rough outline. Therefore, your essay could have 3 to 4 sub-sections discussing different themes such as: Food and Media, Caste and Class influence food practices, Politics of Food, Gendered Lens, etc.] 

This is the section where you end your essay. But ending the essay does not mean that you lose your flair in conclusion. A conclusion is an essential part of any essay because it sums up everything you just wrote. Your conclusion should be similar to a summary of your essay. You can include shortened versions of the various arguments you have referred to above in the main body, or it can raise questions for further research, and it can also provide solutions if your topic seeks one. Hence, a conclusion is a part where you get the last chance to tell your reader what you are saying through your article. 

Pro Tip by Sociology Group: As the introduction, the conclusion is smaller compared to the main body. Keep your conclusion within the range of 1 to 2 paragraphs. 

Your conclusion should again reiterate all the main arguments provided by you throughout the essay. Therefore it should bind together everything you have written starting from your introduction to all the debates and examples you have cited.]

Step 6: Citation and Referencing 

This is the most academic part of your sociological essay. Any academic essay should be free of plagiarism. But how can one avoid plagiarism when their essay is based on research which was originally done by others. The solution for this is to give credit to the original author for their work. In the world of academia, this is done through the processes of Citation and Referencing (sometimes also called Bibliography). Citation is done within/in-between the text, where you directly or indirectly quote the original text. Whereas, Referencing or Bibliography is done at the end of an essay where you give resources of the books or articles which you have quoted in your essay at various points. Both these processes are done so that the reader can search beyond your essay to get a better grasp of the topic. 

There are many different styles of citations and you can determine which you want to follow. Some of the most common styles of citation and referencing are MLA, APA, and Chicago style. If you are working on Google Docs or Word then the application makes your work easier because they help you curate your citations. There are also various online tools that can make citing references far easier, faster, and adhering to citation guidelines, such as an APA generator. This can save you a lot of time when it comes to referencing, and makes the task far more manageable. 

How to add citations in Google Doc: Tools → Citation

How to add citations in Word Document: References → Insert Citations 

But for those who want to cite manually, this is the basic format to follow:

• Author’s Name with Surname mentioned first, then initials 
• Article’s Title in single or double quotes
• Journal Title in Italics 
• Volume, issue number 
• Year of Publication

Example: Syrkin, A. 1984. “Notes on the Buddha’s Threats in the Dīgha Nikāya ”, Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies , vol. 7(1), pp.147-58.

Pro Tip by Sociology Group: Always make sure that your Bibliography/References are alphabetically ordered based on the first alphabet of the surname of the author and NOT numbered or bulleted. 

Phase III: Editing 

Step 7: edit/review your essay.

The truth of academic writing is that it can never be written in one go. You need to write, rewrite, and revisit your material more than once. Once you have written the first draft of your essay, do not revise it immediately. Leave it for some time, at least for four hours. Then revisit your essay and edit it based on 3 criteria. The first criteria you need to recheck for is any grammatical and/or spelling mistakes. The second criteria are to check the arguments you have posed and if the examples you have cited correlate or not. The final criteria are to read the essay as a reader and read it objectively. 

Pro Tip by Sociology Group: The more you edit the better results you get. But we think that your 3rd draft is the magic draft. Draft 1: rough essay, Draft 2: edited essay, Draft 3: final essay.

Hello! Eiti is a budding sociologist whose passion lies in reading, researching, and writing. She thrives on coffee, to-do lists, deadlines, and organization. Eiti's primary interest areas encompass food, gender, and academia.

8.4 Theoretical Perspectives on Media and Technology

Learning objectives.

By the end of this section, you should be able to:

• Discuss how we analyze media and technology through various sociological perspectives

It is difficult to conceive of any one theory or theoretical perspective that can explain the variety of ways in which people interact with technology and the media. Technology runs the gamut from the match you strike to light a candle all the way up to sophisticated nuclear power plants that might power the factory where that candle was made. Media could refer to the television you watch, the ads wrapping the bus you take to work or school, or the magazines you flip through in a dentist's waiting room, not to mention all the forms of new media, including Instagram, Facebook, blogs, YouTube, and the like. Are media and technology critical to the forward march of humanity? Are they pernicious capitalist tools that lead to the exploitation of workers worldwide? Are they the magic bullet the world has been waiting for to level the playing field and raise the world’s poor out of extreme poverty? Choose any opinion and you will find studies and scholars who agree with you––and those who disagree.

Functionalism

Because functionalism focuses on how media and technology contribute to the smooth functioning of society, a good place to begin understanding this perspective is to write a list of functions you perceive media and technology to perform. Your list might include the ability to find information on the Internet, television’s entertainment value, or how advertising and product placement contribute to social norms.

Commercial Function

As you might guess, with nearly every U.S. household possessing a television, and the 250 billion hours of television watched annually by people in the United States, companies that wish to connect with consumers find television an irresistible platform to promote their goods and services (Nielsen 2012). Television advertising is a highly functional way to meet a market demographic where it lives. Sponsors can use the sophisticated data gathered by network and cable television companies regarding their viewers and target their advertising accordingly. Whether you are watching cartoons on Nick Jr. or a cooking show on Telemundo, chances are advertisers have a plan to reach you.

And it certainly doesn’t stop with television. Commercial advertising precedes movies in theaters and shows up on and inside public transportation, as well as on the sides of building and roadways. Major corporations such as Coca-Cola bring their advertising into public schools, by sponsoring sports fields or tournaments, as well as filling the halls and cafeterias of those schools with vending machines hawking their goods. With rising concerns about childhood obesity and attendant diseases, the era of soda machines in schools may be numbered. In fact, as part of the United States Department of Agriculture's Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act and Michelle Obama's Let's Move! Initiative, a ban on junk food in school began in July 2014.

Entertainment Function

An obvious manifest function of media is its entertainment value. Most people, when asked why they watch television or go to the movies, would answer that they enjoy it. And the numbers certainly illustrate that. While 2012 Nielsen research shows a slight reduction of U.S. homes with televisions, the reach of television is still vast. And the amount of time spent watching is equally large. Clearly, enjoyment is paramount. On the technology side, as well, there is a clear entertainment factor to the use of new innovations. From online gaming to chatting with friends on Facebook, technology offers new and more exciting ways for people to entertain themselves.

Social Norm Functions

Even while the media is selling us goods and entertaining us, it also serves to socialize us, helping us pass along norms, values, and beliefs to the next generation. In fact, we are socialized and resocialized by media throughout our whole lives. All forms of media teach us what is good and desirable, how we should speak, how we should behave, and how we should react to events. Media also provide us with cultural touchstones during events of national significance. How many of your older relatives can recall watching the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger on television? How many of those reading this textbook followed the events of September 11 or Hurricane Katrina on television or the Internet?

Just as in Anderson and Bushman's (2011) evidence in the Violence in Media and Video Games: Does It Matter? feature, debate still exists over the extent and impact of media socialization. One recent study (Krahe et al. 2011) demonstrated that violent media content does have a desensitizing affect and is correlated with aggressive thoughts. Another group of scholars (Gentile, Mathieson, and Crick 2011) found that among children exposure to media violence led to an increase in both physical and relational aggression. Yet, a meta-analysis study covering four decades of research (Savage 2003) could not establish a definitive link between viewing violence and committing criminal violence.

It is clear from watching people emulate the styles of dress and talk that appear in media that media has a socializing influence. What is not clear, despite nearly fifty years of empirical research, is how much socializing influence the media has when compared to other agents of socialization, which include any social institution that passes along norms, values, and beliefs (such as peers, family, religious institutions, and the like).

Life-Changing Functions

Like media, many forms of technology do indeed entertain us, provide a venue for commercialization, and socialize us. For example, some studies suggest the rising obesity rate is correlated with the decrease in physical activity caused by an increase in use of some forms of technology, a latent function of the prevalence of media in society (Kautiainen et al. 2011). Without a doubt, a manifest function of technology is to change our lives, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. Think of how the digital age has improved the ways we communicate. Have you ever used Skype or another webcast to talk to a friend or family member far away? Or maybe you have organized a fund drive, raising thousands of dollars, all from your desk chair.

Of course, the downside to this ongoing information flow is the near impossibility of disconnecting from technology that leads to an expectation of constant convenient access to information and people. Such a fast-paced dynamic is not always to our benefit. Some sociologists assert that this level of media exposure leads to narcotizing dysfunction , a result in which people are too overwhelmed with media input to really care about the issue, so their involvement becomes defined by awareness instead of by action (Lazerfeld and Merton 1948).

Conflict Perspective

In contrast to theories in the functional perspective, the conflict perspective focuses on the creation and reproduction of inequality—social processes that tend to disrupt society rather than contribute to its smooth operation. When we take a conflict perspective, one major focus is the differential access to media and technology embodied in the digital divide. Conflict theorists also look at who controls the media, and how media promotes the norms of upper-middle-class White people in the United States while minimizing the presence of the working class, especially people of color.

Control of Media and Technology

Powerful individuals and social institutions have a great deal of influence over which forms of technology are released, when and where they are released, and what kind of media is available for our consumption, which is a form of gatekeeping. Shoemaker and Vos (2009) define gatekeeping as the sorting process by which thousands of possible messages are shaped into a mass media-appropriate form and reduced to a manageable amount. In other words, the people in charge of the media decide what the public is exposed to, which, as C. Wright Mills (1956) famously noted, is the heart of media’s power. Take a moment to think of the way “new media” evolve and replace traditional forms of hegemonic media. With hegemonic media, a culturally diverse society can be dominated by one race, gender, or class that manipulates the media to impose its worldview as a societal norm. New media weakens the gatekeeper role in information distribution. Popular sites such as YouTube and Facebook not only allow more people to freely share information but also engage in a form of self-policing. Users are encouraged to report inappropriate behavior that moderators will then address.

In addition, some conflict theorists suggest that the way U.S. media are generated results in an unbalanced political arena. Those with the most money can buy the most media exposure, run smear campaigns against their competitors, and maximize their visual presence. Almost a year before the 2012 U.S. presidential election, the candidates––Barack Obama for the Democrats and numerous Republican contenders––had raised more than $186 million (Carmi et al. 2012). Some would say that the Citizens United vs. Federal Election Committee is a major contributing factor to our unbalanced political arena. In Citizens United , the Supreme Court affirmed the right of outside groups, including Super Political Action Committees (SuperPACs) with undisclosed donor lists, to spend unlimited amounts of money on political ads as long as they don't coordinate with the candidate's campaign or specifically advocate for a candidate. What do you think a conflict perspective theorist would suggest about the potential for the non-rich to be heard in politics, especially when SuperPACs ensure that the richest groups have the most say?

Technological Social Control and Digital Surveillance

Social scientists take the idea of the surveillance society so seriously that there is an entire journal devoted to its study, Surveillance and Society . The panoptic surveillance envisioned by Jeremy Bentham, depicted in the form of an all-powerful, all-seeing government by George Orwell in 1984 , and later analyzed by Michel Foucault (1975) is increasingly realized in the form of technology used to monitor our every move. This surveillance was imagined as a form of constant monitoring in which the observation posts are decentralized and the observed is never communicated with directly. Today, digital security cameras capture our movements, observers can track us through our cell phones, and police forces around the world use facial-recognition software.

Feminist Perspective

Take a look at popular television shows, advertising campaigns, and online game sites. In most, women are portrayed in a particular set of parameters and tend to have a uniform look that society recognizes as attractive. Most are thin, White or light-skinned, beautiful, and young. Why does this matter? Feminist perspective theorists believe this idealized image is crucial in creating and reinforcing stereotypes. For example, Fox and Bailenson (2009) found that online female avatars conforming to gender stereotypes enhance negative attitudes toward women, and Brasted (2010) found that media (advertising in particular) promotes gender stereotypes. As early as 1990, Ms. magazine instituted a policy to publish without any commercial advertising.

The gender gap in tech-related fields (science, technology, engineering, and math) is no secret. A 2011 U.S. Department of Commerce Report suggested that gender stereotyping is one reason for this gap which acknowledges the bias toward men as keepers of technological knowledge (US Department of Commerce 2011). But gender stereotypes go far beyond the use of technology. Press coverage in the media reinforces stereotypes that subordinate women; it gives airtime to looks over skills, and coverage disparages women who defy accepted norms.

Recent research in new media has offered a mixed picture of its potential to equalize the status of men and women in the arenas of technology and public discourse. A European agency, the Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities for Men and Women (2010), issued an opinion report suggesting that while there is the potential for new media forms to perpetuate gender stereotypes and the gender gap in technology and media access, at the same time new media could offer alternative forums for feminist groups and the exchange of feminist ideas. Still, the committee warned against the relatively unregulated environment of new media and the potential for antifeminist activities, from pornography to human trafficking, to flourish there.

Increasingly prominent in the discussion of new media and feminism is cyberfeminism , the application to, and promotion of, feminism online. Research on cyberfeminism runs the gamut from the liberating use of blogs by women living in Iraq during the second Gulf War (Peirce 2011) to an investigation of the Suicide Girls web site (Magnet 2007).

Symbolic Interactionism

Technology itself may act as a symbol for many. The kind of computer you own, the kind of car you drive, your ability to afford the latest Apple product—these serve as a social indicator of wealth and status. Neo-Luddites are people who see technology as symbolizing the coldness and alienation of modern life. But for technophiles , technology symbolizes the potential for a brighter future. For those adopting an ideological middle ground, technology might symbolize status (in the form of a massive flat-screen television) or failure (ownership of a basic old mobile phone with no bells or whistles).

Social Construction of Reality

Meanwhile, media create and spread symbols that become the basis for our shared understanding of society. Theorists working in the interactionist perspective focus on this social construction of reality, an ongoing process in which people subjectively create and understand reality. Media constructs our reality in a number of ways. For some, the people they watch on a screen can become a primary group, meaning the small informal groups of people who are closest to them. For many others, media becomes a reference group: a group that influences an individual and to which an individual compares himself or herself, and by which we judge our successes and failures. We might do very well without the latest smartphone, until we see characters using it on our favorite television show or our classmates whipping it out between classes.

While media may indeed be the medium to spread the message of rich White men, Gamson, Croteau, Hoynes, and Sasson (1992) point out that some forms of media discourse allow competing constructions of reality to appear. For example, advertisers find new and creative ways to sell us products we don’t need and probably wouldn’t want without their prompting, but some networking sites such as Freecycle offer a commercial-free way of requesting and trading items that would otherwise be discarded. The web is also full of blogs chronicling lives lived “off the grid,” or without participation in the commercial economy.

Social Networking and Social Construction

While Tumblr and Facebook encourage us to check in and provide details of our day through online social networks, corporations can just as easily promote their products on these sites. Even supposedly crowd-sourced sites like Yelp (which aggregates local reviews) are not immune to corporate shenanigans. That is, we think we are reading objective observations when in reality we may be buying into one more form of advertising.

Facebook, which started as a free social network for college students, is increasingly a monetized business, selling you goods and services in subtle ways. But chances are you don’t think of Facebook as one big online advertisement. What started out as a symbol of coolness and insider status, unavailable to parents and corporate shills, now promotes consumerism in the form of games and fandom. For example, think of all the money spent to upgrade popular Facebook games like Candy Crush. And notice that whenever you become a “fan,” you likely receive product updates and special deals that promote online and real-world consumerism. It is unlikely that millions of people want to be “friends” with Pampers. But if it means a weekly coupon, they will, in essence, rent out space on their Facebook pages for Pampers to appear. Thus, we develop both new ways to spend money and brand loyalties that will last even after Facebook is considered outdated and obsolete.

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The Role of Social Media in Modern Society Essay

The role of social media in modern society: essay introduction.

The recent developments in wireless technologies have introduced new means and directions of communication. Million of people all over the world are now engaged in political, economic, cultural, and educational discourses due to the vast expansion of the World Wide Web. Indeed, social media has transformed people’s lifestyles and has introduced a new pattern of social interaction.

Just several years ago, people many people did not even suspect of the possibilities that such popular social networks as Facebook and Twitter can provide in terms of communication.

The Role of Social Media in Modern Society: Essay Main Body

Nowadays, Facebook has become one of the largest networks in the world by means of which people can share and exchange views, images, and photos. However, apart from changes to social structures, the social networking systems have managed to go beyond and influence business, education, and politics. With this in mind, social media has a multifaceted impact on the modern society because it affects all spheres of life, including business, culture, politics, education, and economics.

Today social media cannot be regarded as a means of spending spare time because it has introduced the biggest shift since the times of the Industrial Revolution. Therefore, the spread of online communication can also be considered a revolutionary shift. Indeed, social networks have altered the traditional image of social communication and have provided new incentives and tools of information exchange.

Facebook and Twitter have become essential tools for initiating environmental activities and spreading news and services that can reach thousands of potential activists (Kutsko). As statistics shows, Facebook dominates in Google in terms of weekly traffic in the United States, which proves the fast-growing tendencies in using the social network for other purpose than communication and social interaction (Kutsko).

Social media has quickly penetrated the educational field. It has also introduced online learning, which is becoming more popular among international students all over the world. Indeed, Facebook has managed to reach more than 200 million users in less than a year (Kutsko).

Therefore, more and more students share their opinions and create online communities to advance their learning and improve performance. The possibility to discuss educational challenges is a beneficial perspective for students. In addition, the research studies conducted by the U.S. Department of Education have discovered that online students outperformed those who are engaged in a traditional learning scheme.

Finally, social media has become an integral part of business and marketing activities. Because every credible business premises on ethical and moral values dictated by society, adoption of social networking sites is essential for promoting products and services. In fact, social media allows business to gain immediate feedback about their products. Moreover, it also creates opportunities for predicting the needs and demands of consumers.

The Role of Social Media in Modern Society: Essay Conclusion

In conclusion, social media has reached every facet of human activities. It has become an integral part of communication means. Online networks, such as Facebook and Twitten, have penetrated to social and cultural realms and have provided new patterns of acting in a real environment.

Virtual space, therefore, have become one more source by means of which people can introduce their educational and business activities. Finally, online networks become powerful tools for advertising products and services, as well as for attracting new marketing targets. Overall, social media can be considered as a foundational shift in daily activities and lifestyles. It is also a step up toward a new communication environment.

Works Cited

Kutsko, Evan. “ Social Media Revolution ”. 2011. YouTube. Web.

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Home — Essay Samples — Sociology — Social Media — The Impact of Social Media: Causes and Effects

The Impact of Social Media: Causes and Effects

• Categories: Effects of Social Media Social Media

About this sample

Words: 1226 |

Published: Feb 7, 2024

Words: 1226 | Pages: 3 | 7 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, cause 1: increased connectivity and communication, cause 2: promotion of self-expression and individuality, cause 3: access to information and awareness, effect 1: impacts on mental health, effect 2: influence on societal norms and values, effect 3: privacy and security concerns.

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