Free Argumentative Essay About Social Media’s Influence On American Culture

Social media has a big impact on American culture nowadays. Today the first thing that most American people do is check up their computers or phones in order to get updated on what is happening in the world. Social media has become a vital part of everyday’s life when going to work, cooking breakfast, going in a bus people use it. Social media has improved drastically over the last century hence it has an influence on American culture. “The definition of social media is evolving with most explanations describing a fusion of technology, social interaction, and the sharing information” (Curtis A. 2013).
Accordingly social media are web sites where Americans can discuss and share information about everything what is happening in their lives as well as interact freely. Also they can use a mix of multimedia of personal audio, picture and videos. Through social media people can exchange and create any content they like and engage in discussion person-to-person. A century ago media was presented through newspapers, later radio and then television but today the internet has substituted all of them.
Social media differs from traditional media in many ways. For instance both social and traditional media serve a function of a so-called agenda-setting hence events are covered but in traditional media Americans are not told what to think about they are given the information. Also, in traditional media information is broadcasted and disseminated as a monologue unlike the social media using which people can express their opinions in a dialogue. Lastly audience feedback on social media is much faster when in traditional letters should be written and sent which would take a very long time and delays. Concluding social media is better and more useful that traditional media. This essay will discuss both good and bad impact of social media. Therefore social media has its pros and cons on American society which are the following.
Social media is a key for obtaining new information from all over the world and from completely different sources, which are sometimes independent but sometimes biased. No doubts it has a control over the information presented on screens.
According to Curtis (2012) if earlier people had an access only to television, which content was controlled, then today’s social media is an exposure to sexuality, celebrity idolization, violence and suffering (p.20). The electronic age began hence technology matured and expanded. Because almost every American can access information now faster and faster and without a problem it can be assumed that Americans are exposed to its sometimes not beneficial content. Nowadays social media is the power that controls people, their thoughts, the foreseeable actions and attitude. American culture is influenced by social media for instance people now can share their thoughts on particular topic using the internet, the individuals create themselves through social media sites, blogs and other forms of sharing a content ( Effects of mass, 2013).
It is obvious that as social media is developing and spreading day by day, so has the influence on American culture enhanced. Talking about the positive impact of social media then earlier, when there were only radio and newspapers as the main sources of information, people did not wondered whether the information broadcasted was truth or not because they had no choice and no variety. But today Americans withdraw information from a wide variety of sources and can decide by themselves which point of view they support and which not. Hence because it is possible today to get opinions and information from different sources, this opportunity has a big effect on American society.
According to Wendt & Spohn (n.d) we are more prone to biased information nowadays because more and more information is shown to Americans. The social media’s rapid development has eventually lead Americans to become more aware of what is happening both economically and socially.
The positive influence of social media on American culture is that because of having a variety of different sources hence different opinions, people are able now to form his or her own opinion and find the truth on a particular subject. Individuals do not feel anymore that they are controlled by the government and have a freedom when choosing an opinion. People can filter now the information they receive. Although a government or a political party’s source happen to be the most biased in media and have the most impact on American culture.
Therefore it can be assumed that the negative impact of social media is that despite people having a freedom to choose a source they want to believe to biased information still happens to take place and control opinion of American individuals. Hence sometimes the information received is not necessarily the truth. On the other hand a good impact of social media is that citizens can indulge themselves in circulated information. Americans become media literate, use social media as a key to develop their culture and become more cautious of what they read to.
Social media is transforming American culture in several ways. Nowadays Americans are able to connect with each other, challenge the status quo hence change the world. Also, a good influence on American culture is that today we can delight over celebrity or family photos, pay attention to the small details of the way people live all over the world and be supported when we want to be. Both diverse and comfortable perspectives, Americans are being exposed and connecting to.
The positive social media’s influence on American culture is the opportunity to learn something new and improve knowledge on any topic. Now any information can be reached through a social media hence people can learn about anything in the world and moreover even pursue a higher education. Inspiration and creative ideas are widely shared through social media. The good thing about social media is everyone can contribute to it. Growing consciousness and changes are one of the perks of social media mavens.
Social media has also a negative impact on American culture. There is a tendency of idealized, healthy women on TV hence many girls of ordinary proportions want to look like thin models, which eventually leads to health issues. Obviously there are endless examples of bullying through social media among teenagers that usually end up with suicides.
Asynchronous communication is exemplified by discussion boards. It is an important form of mass communication due to its asynchronous nature and format permit lengthy discussion of a particular subject. Individuals can exchange and discuss on different topics. Social media is an imaginary place and a virtual world of synthesized information inside a computer where people only by looking at the display can feel as if they are in a world full of fantasy or reality. Communications are the synthetic three-dimensional graphical space where people are able to interact with one another.
Nowadays’ sites of social network make connection with others possible even on a long distance. People can research social trends and gather information learning everything they like. Social media has brought the changes relatively rapidly, which have a powerful and strong impact on American culture, economics and society. People are empowered by the elaborate networks formed in surroundings of online communication. It is important that now collaboration between the media and audience online creates the fresh content. Source codes written by programmers can be improved and modified by anyone, which fact makes media a participatory channel.
Americans can create and share new knowledge using social media hence the information can reach any part of the world. Individuals are exposed to a wide variety of ways and viewpoints of different topics. Today media literacy and critical thinking are very important. Social media is created in such way that individuals can rank, comment or review a product of their preference which helps most people decide whether the information is biased or on the contrary trustworthy. Social media shapes public opinion depending on the topic in different ways such as political advertising.
In conclusion the impact of social media on American culture varies. It can be both positive and negative. There are many questions around compensation, fair use and copyright. There is no privacy anymore as social media encourage posting private videos, photos, thought and desires. Reviews and ratings enlarge transparency as individuals can share their opinions on a product and report whether it worked well. Social media has changed the power dynamic between the businesses and public.

Reference list:

(2013). Effects of mass media on American culture. Retrieved from  http://doctordialogue.hubpages.com/hub/Effects-of-Mass-Media-on-American-Culture.pdf
Curtis A. (2013). What is social media? University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Retrieved from http://www2.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/Courses/ResourcesForCourses/SocialMediaWhatIsIt.html
Curtis, A. R. (2012). Mass media influence on society. Master’s thesis, University of North Carolina at Pembroke. Retrieved http://www.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/Courses/ResourcesForCourses/PDFs/Mass_Media_Influence_on_Society.pdf
Wendt, T., & Spohn, A. (n.d.). The role of mass media in modern American culture. Retrieved from  https://sites.google.com/site/americanpoliticalparanoia/the-role-of-mass-media-in-american-political-culture