This document discusses both the positives and concerns regarding social media. It addresses three key issues analyzed in a CQ Researcher article: 1) whether social media fosters greater community engagement or hinders real-world interaction, 2) if social media makes personal relationships more difficult by replacing face-to-face interaction, and 3) if social media erodes privacy through oversharing photos and information online. While these are significant concerns, the document also notes that social media can benefit fields like healthcare by providing education and medical information to users.

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Jessica Neal
11/16/15
FYS 100
Positives of Social Media
Social media has become a major topic of controversy within the last couple of years.
The debate for and against social media is ongoing and will probably never come to a
conclusion. Many people only look for the bad and never see the good that can come out of
using and interacting online. With the rise of technology and many advances, opportunities
and possibilities have emerged for bundles of organizations. But, although there is such a
growing success surrounding social media, many people have tremendous concerns involving
this rapid advancement.
There are three significant concerns within the CQ Researcher article. These issues are
discussed throughout the article and discuss the good and bad outcomes of each issue.
“Do social media foster greater community engagement?” Social media can have many
different effects on its users. Some get sucked up into it all and use it for all contact instead of
face to face interaction. This can foster greater community engagement. Same as for making
friendships/ relationships, community engagement can also be hindered in the same way. With
everyone speaking online, it can become more challenging to communicate in the “real world”.
People can possibly become socially awkward from using social media.

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“Are social media making personal relationships more difficult?” Many people take to
social media, such as Facebook, to interact with friends and family or people they’ve never
seen. In doing so, it may make it harder to actually feel a close, personal relationship. Also, after
so long of having online interactions, “real life” relationships can be harder to create or keep
up. People can end of forgetting their social skills and have a harder time communicating face
to face.
“Are social media eroding privacy?” Tagging a friend on social media is very popular.
Mostly anyone who has a Facebook or Instagram has tagged a friend, or been tagged by
someone else. As stated by this article, this can sometimes result in privacy issues. On
Facebook, if a page isn’t made private, the person tagged will show up on the taggers page, and
also the timeline of every single person the tagger is friends with. This may interfere with
privacy and the way people are seen. It could also even effect the outcome of a job interview or
a job in general. Like stated before, people can post anything they want and if a page isn’t
public, and the post/picture isn’t flattering, major issues can occur. Pages should always be
private and the person controlling the page should always monitor what is on their page.
(citation)
These being the key issues, they also contribute to the growing concerns about social
media. Privacy along with interference/distractions are significant concerns regarding social
media in the CQ Researcher article. According to the article, mobile devices have turned into
an obsession. Anxiety can occur when not having a mobile device for more than ten minutes.
After those ten minutes, no attention is being put forth. All of the attention is being focused on
wanting to look at the mobile device/social media. (citation)

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As stated above in paragraph 5, privacy is a major concern to all users of social media.
Public pages and tagging are just a couple examples of how privacy is an issue online. (finish
later)
With everything above, it may seemas though there are no benefits mentioned in the
CQ Researcher, but there are some. (finish later)
Social Media has also played a role in effecting democratic societies. (finish later)

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With everything advancing, it’s hard not to expect an explosion involving social media.
Knowing it will be a big influence on people, mostly young adults, why not try to embrace it and
find the good? There are many benefits surrounding social media. For one, it can provide
education and information useful for medical practices.
The expansion of social media has made it possible for people to search a health care
provider, find fitness advice, and wellness all with a click of a button. According to
Professionalism in a Digital Age: Opportunities and Considerations for Using Social Media in
Health Care, nearly every health care establishment has their own website with and interactive
support feature (Gagnon, et al. 407). With everything that may be false on the internet, health
care providers have decided to do this since the tools are in their reach and they can help
people in need in a much easier fashion.

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Works Cited
Gagnon, Kendra, and Carla Sabus. "ProfessionalismIn A Digital Age: Opportunities And
Considerations For Using Social Media In Health Care." Physical Therapy 95.3 (2015): 406-414
9p. CINAHL Complete. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.