In 1997, the social networking website SixDegrees.com was created, and it is said to be the first ever social media website. Over the next few years, AOL, Yahoo and MSN all released their version of Messenger, and in 2001, Microsoft began including Windows Messenger with the XP operating system.
Over the next ten years, Myspace, Skype, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, and the infamous Twitter became household names, but Facebook shot to the forefront with an IPO in 2012 and now has over two billion users. In fact, Facebook has become so popular that over 88% of millennials get their news from this website. When you add the teen favorite Snapchat to the mix, it’s no wonder that many are cautioning that this mode of communication is very polarizing to society. Experts report that the newsfeed algorithm Facebook utilizes creates an “echo chamber” effect by sending news stories that are similar in content to the ones that the users previously viewed. In other words, the news becomes very limited and less objective in scope and subject matter.
Currently, it is reported that over 80% of teens in America have a profile on a social networking site. This is fertile ground for Facebook depression, sexting, and cyberbulling to occur. Pew research reports that over 39% of these teens have experienced cyberbulling, and an alarming 21% participate in sexting. Beyond the possible humiliation these activities may create, the legal consequences are very real and potentially severe. Many experts agree this digital footprint is permanent, and the ramifications may not manifest for years, but when they do, that provocative photo or unkind post may not seem so harmless when it adversely affects a college or job application.
Consider the plight of the Williams couple that dated for two years before beginning their happy life together. Both recently graduated college, but when Lucy applied for a security clearance with the State Department a few months later, an unsavory photo of her at a sorority party surfaced and complicated the clearance process.
In some cases, the utilization of technology and social media turns tragic. Recently, Massachusetts found Michelle Carter guilty of coercion in the suicide of her boyfriend, utilizing texting to pressure him into ending his life. In the past few months, Georgians lost a young person who struggled with depression after repeatedly engaging in chat rooms and could no longer separate fantasy and reality.
While technology may have become an acceptable means of communication, it is creating a desensitized society that is losing the art and skills necessary to articulate, express and even cope. Clinical psychologists are reporting that the development of crucial and critical social skills in young people is declining at an alarming rate, and soft skills necessary in the workplace are not being developed.
to your business!