This is the first source that will be debated upon, summarized, and analyzed in this pages viewpoint. See the link for more info: news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7898510.stm In this article we see the topic of how social media affects ones health through the viewpoint of Dr. Aric Sigman. According to him, social media could affect us biologically with some of the examples being: altering how our genes work (which includes the hormonal genes which cause mood swings), how our arteries function, influencing ones mental performance, etc. He also states it could increase the risk of contracting serious health problems, cancer being one of them. Dr. Sigman doesnt state his exact sources however which makes these claims of his quite questionable. Dr. Sigman states that social media has made its users more isolated. Being isolated physically from any sort of societal norm for long periods has the potential to negatively affect ones social health, and in the long term emotional health. However, this in opinion is varying depending from person to person. Dr. Sigman points out a point which seems more reasonable among all of the other affects it has on ones health, namely the social and emotional aspect. Research has proven that face-to-face interaction has greatly decreased since 1987. This is quite true, as it is much more convenient these days to use a social networking site or program to contact someone than having to take a walk for a block or two just to ask your friends about what your classes English homework is for the day, for example. Dr. Sigman claims that interacting in person provides a completely different effect on the body than talking over social media. According to bodylanguageexpert.co.uk/communication-what-percentage-body-language.html , 55% of communication is shown through body language, 38% per voice tone (angry, sad, etc.), and only 7% is shown through spoken words. Most social media users, including me (the writer of this post) only chat by typing text messages on my computers keyboard, which in a face to face conversation would only be 7% of the whole conversation. Even though theres voice chat and video chat, which allows for voice tone and facial expression, it doesnt show the whole 55% of body language communication. Even so, with school and the workplace, face to face interaction is common so this might just fully negate the affects social media has on our social skills. According to the comments on this page, we can see that many people are agreeing with the statement that social media has negatively affected the social skills of its users, breaking apart personal relationships. Others say that its a great tool to keep in touch with friends miles away from them, it provides the starting steps that brings and binds people together into a community, and that it doesnt affect their social skills at all. Social media as stated by Dr. Sigman is like the tail of the dog, where the dog is metaphorically users of social media. The tail of an animal has been known as a tool to help keep their balance. But tools do have limitations, and therefore we should not be letting the tail wag the dog. The meaning behind this metaphor being, social media is a tool, and it has its limitations. Use it wrong, and itll do more harm than good. In conclusion, what CAN be concluded through this source is that social media definitely has the potential to affect our social skills (social health). But this varies from user to user due to their usage of social media, and that places such as the workplace and school could potentially negate the affects social media could have on our social health.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 10:19:38 +0000
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