Research Questions

 Research Questions - Social Media

1. How has social media impacted the way you view yourself?

Person 1: Social media hasn't had a significant impact on my physical appearance, but it does make me feel very lonely sometimes. It makes me think I'm not fun enough or experiencing enough. 

Person 2: It has made me more aware of parts of me that don't meet certain standards or that I don't like in my appearance.

Person 3: Seeing things on social media has significantly impacted the way I view myself. I struggled with an eating disorder in high school and I believe social media had a significant effect on triggering some of that.

2. Have you tried to make any changes to your appearance or habits based on what you see on social media?

Person 1: I have tried to take more pictures with my friends when we do things for others to see.

Person 2: I have followed more health advice than I used to because I see it online.

Person 3: I tried to change my appearance based on random stuff I saw.

3. How much of the information/pictures do you believe is true/unaltered on social media?

Person 1: I believe a lot of what I see from people I know or are familiar with. Not everything from influencers or other people. 

Person 2: I think a lot of what I see is true based on who I follow. I trust it.

Person 3: I trust a lot of stuff but try to take information with a grain of salt.

Reflection:

There are benefits to social media use. It has given people a platform to be creative, share their thoughts, and show people their interests. However, with how easy it is to post, share information, and alter imagery, social media has shown to have more and more negative side effects. Many teenager have used social media to compare themselves to their peers, and it is overwhelmingly easy to fall into a trap of negativity based on what you see on different platforms. Looking at the responses to the research questions asked, it's clear that for many comparisons are easy on social media and many believe what they see others post. Whether users are comparing their appearance or lifestyle to other users, the comparisons are harmful and the consumption of false or altered information and pictures only makes this worse and more harmful. Social media has had significant impacts on everyone's daily lives and has been proven to have extremely harmful effects, particularly for young people. This is clear through these responses to these questions, there was little to no positives for how social media made them feel.