Social media is a very popular and effective tool for interacting with society. Thanks to this opportunity, people can exchange opinions on a variety of topics, break stereotypes and feel freer. Nevertheless, we cannot consider social networks to be an unequivocally positive or negative phenomenon. It is necessary to analyze, using the example of the ProCon website, what arguments are made by supporters of cyberspace and its opponents.
First of all, it should be emphasized that for both points of view, the site provides more persuasive arguments. Nevertheless, the most effective in terms of the benefits of social media is the claim of reducing stigma for different individuals and social groups in general (Kendall, 2020). The fact is that, in the matter of the LGBT community or, for example, HIV-infected people, it is often necessary to face the problem of non-acceptance (ProCon.org, 2020). Representatives of the above-mentioned social groups are able to develop new visions through posts, publications, and discussions in cyberspace, thus positively affecting the credibility of members of, for example, the LGBT community.
However, it is not all so clear-cut because there is a counterargument, namely the imposition of a viewpoint on children and youth. It is important to note that children’s minds and worldviews are extremely malleable, which allows them to be manipulated. In other words, if children, who are also active users of social networks, consume information, improperly processing it, then negative consequences in the form of false values or distorted worldviews are possible (Phares, 2020).
However, it should be emphasized that the source of this potential problem is not so much the social networks as the uncontrollability of adolescents. Therefore, communication with parents who foster a correct worldview is primarily influential in this area (Phares, 2020). With the right psychological and educational work, social networks will not harm the child. Nevertheless, this argument can be called effective because reality shows an objectively high level of influence of the Internet on children.
References
Kendall, D. (2020). Sociology in our times: the essentials. Cengage Learning.
Phares, V. (2020). Understanding abnormal child psychology. Wiley.
ProCon. (2020). Are social networking sites good for our society? Web.