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Does Media Have An Impact?According to Global News, Canadian teenagers spend an average of nine hours a day engaging in some form of media. This is a substantial amount of time spent interacting with these different forms of entertainment.
By now, we are all aware that social media has had a tremendous impact on our culture, in business and on society as a whole. Media has revolutionized the way people communicate and socialize in their day to day lives. |
Effects of Media on SocializationSocial networks offer the opportunity for people to re-connect with old friends, make new friends, trade ideas and share content. Professionals use social media sites like LinkedIn to enhance their career and business prospects while students can collaborate with their peers to improve their academic proficiency and communication skills. Unfortunately, there are a few downsides too to social networking. For example, many introverts and socially reclusive users place too much emphasis on virtual interaction, and ignore the real world.
Effects of Media on PrivacyIf you are not careful, what you post on the Net can become dangerous. Revealing personal information on social sites can make users vulnerable to crimes like identity theft and stalking. Many companies perform a background check on the Internet before hiring an employee. If a potential employee has posted something embarrassing on social media, it can drastically affect their chances of getting the job. The same holds true for our relationships. Our loved ones and friends may find out if we post something undesirable on social networks.
Effects of Media on RelationshipsStudies and personal experience reveal people tend to put their best foot forward while interacting on social media. Displays of emotional weakness, insecurity, or conflicts generally tend to be concealed or minimized on social networking sites. It is often difficult, if not impossible, on social media to reveal the qualities that define deep, intimate relationships. While our social media friends offer us a lot, it is not a true substitute or even supplement for real-life interactions with others. Social support can be a strong predictor of positive mental health. Emotional support has been shown to protect us from a wide variety of both psychiatric and physical ailments. But unlike online friendships, real-life relationships take time and effort. They help us learn about others and ultimately ourselves. Online friendships, while certainly valuable in many ways, lack the ability to provide us with opportunities for deep and lasting emotional closeness. So accept and seek out your online friends, rekindle lost connections and revisit childhood friendships, as long as it is not at the expense of nurturing and deepening your real-life relationships.
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