Social Media and its Influence on Adolescent

Minds

Kevin Chan Shum

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

A. Facebook:

B.

C.

1.

Invented on the year of 2004, creator; Mark Zuckerburg.

2.

This website was created for people to interact easily and get connected
with each other.

3.

This creation has evolved to be one of the most used websites in the
world.

Twitter:
4.

Founded on 2006.

5.

The purpose of this website is to tweet.

6.

Tweets are posts people make for others to read.

Instagram:
7.

It is a free app that was created on 2010 and now it is very popular.

8.

App created to post pictures and be able to show them publicly or you

I.History of Social Media

A.Most people know that social media has been around for a long
time.
1. Social media was introduced during the 1990s.
2. One of the first social media ever created, Geocities.

B. As time advanced, technology and social media surged.

3. The graph presents, after 1990s, that is when the era really started.
4. More and more types of social media were invented starting on the year 2000.

C. Social media today.

5. It is safe to assume that right now, we are witnessing social medias prime and it
will just keep on growing.
6. People have depended on social media for information for some time already.

II. How Society Perceives Social Media

A.Most members of society view social
media as a way to spend their free time.
1. They are able to talk freely amongst their friends,
as well as interact with others across the world.
2. They can find any kind of information on nearly
any website.

B. Some individuals view social media as

a nuisance, especially people of older age.
1. They claim that it is a distraction, mainly for
teenagers.
2. Some of the older population do not know how
to utilize social media, and therefore do not care
for it.

III. Inside Perceptions

A.People who utilize social media enjoy
spending their time on the internet.
1. Many of us who are accustomed to the ways of
social media are quick to grab our smartphones the
minute we wake up.
2. These individuals will spend time checking all that
they missed while they were sleeping.

A.Social media is similar to a culture.

1. People converse with each other without having to
see one another.
2. Sometimes this aspect is seen as more convenient.

IV. Developments Over Time

A.Social media is more popular than it used to be before.
1. Social media has become easier to use with the invention of apps.
2. Since our technology has grown, it is more easily accessible to many users.
3. People who have access to internet can make use of social media, any time of the
day.

V. Reasons of Change
A.Social media will keep on evolving and improving as time advances.
1. It will have a more futuristic look.
2. More social media apps will be created.
3. More up to date technology.

VI. Stable Features

A.One of the stable features of social
media includes the use of websites
or apps.
1. Websites such as Facebook have been
used for almost 12 years (it was
introduced on February 4, 2004).
2. Although websites and apps are stable
features, we continue to update them to
create even easier ways to communicate.

B. Another stable feature is the aspect

of social interaction.
3. Individuals can communicate with nearly
anyone over social media.

VII. Improvements
A.There is no need for change.
1. As of right now, there is no need to change
the way social media works.
2. Since some individuals are highly dependant
on social media, I would not want to change
the system.

B. Social media makes improvements on

its own.
3. The institution of social media is always
growing, and new websites are introduced
frequently.
4. Sites such as Facebook, Twitter and apps like
Instagram, are also being updated every few

VIII. Major Participants, Roles and Statuses

A.The participants in my institution so to call are the
the people who use the net.
1. Individuals who own any type of technology.

B. The roles they hold in this institution are simple:

2. They blog about stuff and other people read it and in a
sense learn from it.
3. Individuals all over the world can either post pictures, texts
and/or tweets and it is a form of communication with each
other.

C. Statuses:
4. When it comes down to social media, we all hold the same
status because we are all participants interested in the
same thing.

IX. Does Social Media Work Better for

Some?
A. Adolescents have adapted to social media use very
quickly.
1.

Especially in high school, adolescents befriend others, and

sometimes are required to complete group assignments
with unfamiliar people.

2.

Social media is a way to connect these individuals and

possibly spark friendships.

B. In this case, social media is a better fit for adolescents.

3.

They are constantly being exposed to many different

groups of people.

4.

They have more opportunities to connect with individuals,

X. Functionalist Analysis
In terms of functionalism, social media is a component of society that
ultimately promotes its stability. The functionalist perspective is
concerned about the macro, rather than micro, so in this case social
media can pose as an institution that stabilizes the communication of
the society. Most individuals contain a social media account whether it
is Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or even Tumblr, which is a blogging site.
With these tools, people are able to communicate with one another in
seconds. Communication is a very important aspect of human society,
and allows us to not feel isolated. Overall, social media creates a
network of communication that increases the stability of our society.

XI. Conflict Analysis

Conflict perspective also focuses on the macro problems of society, by focusing mainly on
the struggles between individuals. By relating social media to the conflict perspective, the
main problem that would be evident would be the attempt of becoming popular or famous
on these websites. A great example would be how some of the people who use Instagram
would like to become Instagram famous. In this case, individuals are competing against
each other to see who can get more likes or more followers. This so-called status is basically
like a reward that individuals are trying to achieve. Another type of struggle between
individuals is cyberbullying. By using these websites, people are able to create fake
accounts, and appear as someone they are not. Cyberbullying can happen at any time and
is a serious offense towards the victim. Cyberbullying can be considered a struggle of power
between individuals, because the victim can feel inferior towards the bully. In a broader
sense, the conflict perspective would explain social media as an institution which creates
competition amongst society.

XII. Citations
Ehmke, Rachel. Teens and Social Media: Experts say kids are growing up with more anxiety and less selfesteem.
childmind.org.Child Mind Institute, 14 August 2015. Web. 11 October 2015.
Ellison B., Nicole; Steinfield, Charles; and Lampe, Cliff. The Benefits of Facebook Friends: Social Capital
and College
Students Use of Online Social Network Sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 12
(1143-1168), 2007.
Web. 10 October 2015.
Hanna, Richard; Rohm, Andrew; and Crittenden L., Victoria. Were All Connected: The Power of the Social
Media
Ecosystem. Business Horizons 54.3 (265-273), 2011. Web. 11 October 2015.
Kay Green, R. The Social Media Effect: Are You Really Who You Portray Online?. huffingtonpost.com.
HuffPost, 7 August

XIII. Citations Cont.

Lenhart, Amanda, Purcell Kristen, Smith, Aaron, Zickuhr, Kathryn. Social Media and Internet Use Among
Teens and
Young Adults. ERIC (2010). Web. 10 October 2015.
Romero, Daniel M., Galuba, Wojciech, Asur, Sitaram, Huberman, Bernardo A. Influence and Passivity
in Social Media.
Lecture Notes in Computer Science 6913 (2011): 18-33. Web. 10 October 2015.
Schurgin O Keeffe, Gwen, Clarke-Pearson, Kathleen. Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents,
and Families.
Pediatrics 127.4 (2011). Web. 10 October 2015.

For pictures: google images