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C: This Youtube video was uploaded September 5, 2013.

R: This information relates to my claim because they list facts on how not everything about social media is terrible.

A: The video was uploaded by a user named "In a Nutshell", which is a channel dedicated to giving advice to people starting businesses.

A: I think the video supports my claim because at first, the woman told us that we were using social media for a bad purpose. She thinks that social media could be used for greater purposes, like saving lives instead of party pics. It goes with my claim that social media was not intended to be a bad thing, just that people are using it wrong.

P: This video's purpose is to inform, as it was made by a channel whose main goal is to give advice and help to others.

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Is social media good or bad? In a nutshell

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C: This Youtube video was uploaded July 31, 2017.

R: This information relates to my claim because Throughout the video, the man and his wife share opinions on social media.

A: The video was published by Youtuber "GaryVee", who upon research, owns a multimillion dollar fine wine company.

A: I think the man is siding against my claim, and the woman is neutral. The man shares his opinion, stating that "in 20 years, we will all be in VR pods in San Diego". The woman says that social media could be a nice little escape from reality when we need it.

P: I think the purpose of this video was to entertain, as the man cracks some jokes, as well as the video being a result of one of the viewers asking a question.

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Is Social Media Good or Bad for Society?

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Image by Bryan Reynolds, Found on Channel Futures, 2018

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Image by Bryan Reynolds, Found on Channel Futures, 2018

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Image by "Press Release Journal", Artist not credited ,2021

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Image by "Press Release Journal", Artist not credited ,2021

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C: Published December 8, 2016.

R:  This information relates to my claim because it notes that social media has a range of benefits. It goes along with my claim on how social media isn't a terrible thing that encourages danger.

A: Written by Dr. Perry Kern of the University of Melbourne.

A: The information supports my claim because it explains that social media isn't designed to be bad, just some people might have negative experiences with it. An example they used is how somebody said they enjoyed it, but then somebody suffering from depression did not.

P: The purpose of this article is to inform people about social media and how it isn't as bad as people could say.

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Whether I'm standing on the tram, sitting in a café, or walking down the street, I'm struck by the sight of so many people looking down at their phones, scrolling through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or a myriad of other social media platforms.

I immediately ask myself, in this increasingly technological age, what is the impact of constant social media use on our mental health?

On one hand, it allows us to stay up-to-date and connected. I can find out what friends in America and around the world are doing at any time of day or night.

Someone can have thousands of online 'friends' but still feel alone. Picture: Kaysha via Flickr

On the other, it's hard to carry on a normal conversation without someone compulsively checking their feed, rendered paranoid by FOMO (fear of missing out). A person might have thousands of "friends", but feel completely alone.

So is social media good or bad for us? In a new study published in the Journal of Mental Health, PhD student Elizabeth Seabrook, Dr Nikki Rickard from Monash University and myself found that it is not as clear-cut as you might think.

We reviewed 70 studies that have examined how social network use relates to depression, anxiety, and subjective wellbeing. Results were mixed. Some studies found social media users were happier and more connected with other people.

But other studies found that social media users had more signs of depression or anxiety. So we also looked at various factors that had an impact on when it is beneficial or harmful.

How gender shapes our Facebook chats

Studies were conducted between 2005 and 2016, mostly with adolescents and young adults. Most focused on Facebook, with a few studies centred around the use of Twitter, MySpace, or social media in general.

These studies examined a variety of themes, including how much time people spent on social media, the number of friends they had, and whether or not they liked and felt accepted by their friends.

Also examined were the words they used, how much personal information they shared, whether they compared themselves with others, and how much they felt addicted to social media.

Across the studies, it appears that it's not so much that social media causes anxiety and depression, but that people have different ways of using social media, which may be more or less helpful.

For example, Chris, who reported high levels of wellbeing, liked to use Facebook to catch up on the latest gossip and share with others fun things that happened during the day.

Meanwhile, Carey, who suffers from depression, spent hours browsing the newsfeed, and bemoaning how nice everyone else's life seems.

For many, social media appears to have a range of benefits. It provides a way for many of us to connect with others. We can support other people and feel supported by them. It may even be a useful way for those with social anxiety and those who have a hard time with face-to-face interactions to connect with others.

But for those with depression or anxiety, it could make their symptoms worse. Indeed people who often compared themselves to their friends, ruminated about life, or had negative interactions with others, were at greater risk of depression and anxiety.

Notably, the number of hours that people spent on social media didn't make a clear difference - it was more the feeling of being addicted to it. It seems like what a person writes about is more indicative of their state of mental health than the number of hours spent online.

Share the love with positive posts

Those with symptoms of depression were more likely to be jealous of their friends, compare themselves to others, and use negative language when using social media. This is similar to what I've seen in some of my other research, which points to the power of the words that we use.

A growing number of studies suggest that we might be able to use data from social media use to identify people suffering from depression or anxiety, thereby providing the possibility for offering support and resources for those who might not otherwise get the help they need.

So what can we take away from the study? We each have unique patterns in how we use social media, in terms of the language we use and how we behave when we are using it.

Do you keep your friends updated on your activities? Post pictures of your family? Complain about work or other people? Passively browse news feeds without commenting? Do you feel like it helps you connect with others, or do you feel addicted and controlled by it?

As a whole, our review suggests that it is valuable to pause and consider what our behavioural patterns are. By understanding them better, we potentially can make better choices about how to best use social media, as well as use it to promote good mental health.

Banner Image: Pexels

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Dr Peggy Kern Centre for Positive Psychology, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne

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Associate Professor Nikki RickardFaculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University

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Whether I'm standing on the tram, sitting in a café, or walking down the street, I'm struck by the sight of so many people looking down at their phones, scrolling through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or a myriad of other social media platforms. I immediately ask myself, in this increasingly technological age, what is the impact of constant social media use on our mental health?

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Image found on Enrole, illustrator not credited, 2021

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Image found on Enrole, illustrator not credited, 2021

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Image by  Amanda Disilvestro, Found on Salesforce, 2019

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Image by  Amanda Disilvestro, Found on Salesforce, 2019

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C:  Published June 29, 2021

R: This information relates to my topic because it shows statistics on how increased exposure to social media for marketing purposes has benefits.

A: Article written by "Statista Research Department

A: I think the information is siding with my claim because the article lists facts on how social media can be beneficial instead of dangerous.

P: The purpose of this article is to inform people about certain statistics. Say if they wanted to start a online business.

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Increased exposure is the most commonly cited advantage of using social media for marketing purposes among global industry professionals. This is unsurprising given the huge appeal of having billions of active users as a potential advertising audience. Improved traffic, lead generation and growing fan loyalty are further reasons why marketers see value in employing social networks in their campaigns. Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn are the top three most used social platforms among global marketers.

How are social media networks used for marketing?

The industry is mostly divided between those who have been using social media marketing for longer than five years and those who have been doing so for less than 12 months. Yet both veterans and rookies know that the approach to social media marketing might be either passive or active. The former is based on user-generated content and allows the flow of natural communication among existing and prospective customers to serve as organic advertising. The active approach, however, requires deliberate employment of tactics and/or teams focused on creating and executing actual marketing campaigns. Within this scope, influencer marketing was born and is proving more and more effective as customers look for knowledgeable, authentic and honest advertising.

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Benefits of social media marketing worldwide 2021 | Statista

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Increased exposure is the most commonly cited advantage of using social media for marketing purposes among global industry professionals. This is unsurprising given the huge appeal of having billions of active users as a potential advertising audience. Improved traffic, lead generation and growing fan loyalty are further reasons why marketers see value in employing social networks in their campaigns.

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C: This article was created June 10, 2013. It was last updated June 14, 2017.

R: This information relates to my topic because like all the articles, it's main point is about social media and effects.

A: Article written by Jared Keller.

A: The information is siding with my claim because the writer agrees that at its basic level, all the internet really does is just allow people to communicate easily.

P: The purpose of this article appears to be to persuade, as he lists facts and reasons, as well as using the pronoun "you" multible times.

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‘The Internet Made Me Do It’: Stop Blaming Social Media for Our Behavioral Problems

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At the most fundamental level, all the Internet really does is make it possible for people to share information and ideas faster and more efficiently than earlier modes of communication.

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Image by Sean David Williams, Found on Yale University blog site, 2021

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Image by Sean David Williams, Found on Yale University blog site, 2021

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C: This information was last edited December 19, 2019

R: This information relates to my topic because it states facts about social media and possible negative effects.

A: The site, "Mayoclinic" published the article itself, as the article states "By Mayoclinic Staff."

A: The Information is most likely against my claim because it lists much more cons than pros about social media.

P: The purpose of this article is to inform parents and adults about possible dangers of social media.

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Teens and social media use: What's the impact?

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Find out how to help limit the negative impact of these popular apps on your teenager.

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C: This information was last edited August 22, 2017

R: This information relates to my topic because it is based on how social media can cause dangerous behavior, while mine is about how social media can be bad in some cases, but not purposefully.

A: The publisher is somebody named Amy Mcsweeny at the University of Plymouth.

A: The information is against my claim because they talk about how there is inappropriate content on social media. This is true, but it goes against my claim because they do not mention what the platforms are doing. They did not tell us how the company has rules and is always taking down bad content.

P: The purpose of this article is probably to inform parents and adults about what possible effect social media has on some teens.

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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

The use of social media is pervasive among young adults, but not all posted content is necessarily appropriate.

Now a new study by the University of Plymouth investigates why young adults might post content on social media that contains sexual or offensive material.

Led by Dr Claire White from the University's School of Psychology, the study suggests that such risky social media posts are not just due to impulsivity, but might be a deliberate strategy to fit in with the wider social media culture that makes people believe 'it's the right thing to do'.

Existing studies show that impulsiveness is predictive of online risk taking behaviours, but this additional research with British and Italian young adults highlighted that high self-monitoring - or adapting behaviour in line with perceived social norms - was equally predictive of posting risky content, which Dr White says could mean young people think it's the best way to behave.

To measure risky online self-presentation the research team, which also included PhD student Clara Cutello, Dr Michaela Gummerum and Professor Yaniv Hanoch from the School of Psychology, designed a risk exposure scale relating to potentially inappropriate images or texts, such as drug and alcohol use, sexual content, personal information, and offensive material. They also evaluated people's level of self-monitoring and impulsivity.

Dr White said:

"It's counterintuitive really because it would be easy to assume that a high self-monitor would question their actions and adapt accordingly. But the results show that high self-monitors are just as likely to post risky content as those in the study who are more impulsive, which suggests they think it's not only OK to be risky - and potentially offensive - but that it's actually the right thing to do.

"The only notable difference between the nationalities was that British students were more likely to post comments and images related to their alcohol and drug use on social media, whereas their Italian counterparts were more likely to post offensive content and personal information.

"This difference shows that culture as a whole seems to play a part in what type of content is shared. But the fact that the behaviours predicting risky online choices are the same for both nationalities suggests there's a wider social media culture that encourages this type of risk-taking behaviour."

The full paper, titled "A Cross-Cultural Study of Risky Online Self-Presentation," is published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.

More information: Claire M. White et al. A Cross-Cultural Study of Risky Online Self-Presentation, Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking (2017). DOI: 10.1089/cyber.2016.0660

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Social media culture can encourage risky and inappropriate posting behaviour, new study suggests

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The use of social media is pervasive among young adults, but not all posted content is necessarily appropriate. Now a new study by the University of Plymouth investigates why young adults might post content on social media that contains sexual or offensive material.