Research Essay Sample on Benefits of Social Media

For many, social media has become a key part of their daily life, but is this recent fluctuation a good thing for society's future? Social media platforms like Facebook, Youtube, Instagram, and Snapchat are among the many that had blown up around the early 2000s. Also, as cellphones become normal, social media can be accessed in the palm of your hands. Many people argue that using social media is negative due to the fact that it hurts mental health as seen in rises of depression, and lack of sleep. However, social media increases general awareness, can also increase a company's success and helps people gain information in the palm of their hands. Therefore, the benefits of social media outweigh the negatives. 

Businesses will do anything to sell their products, and this can be done through advertisements on social media. For example, social media isn’t just used for entertainment, but “54% of social browsers use social media to research products” (GlobalWebIndex, 2018). Online shopping has become much more popular, and social media is making it possible for businesses to capitalize. Through paid advertisements, there are bound to be many scrollers who end up seeing these products. The teen population isn’t the only ones using social media, but there are many adults too, who grew up with Myspace and Facebook, that now use Youtube or Instagram. On these advertisement posts, comment sections are full of people who may have tried the product, and these give you an idea of what the companies are selling, coming from other consumers. These ads are everywhere, whether it be a sponsored post on Instagram or a sponsored message on Youtube. On Youtube, there are unskippable ads in front of most videos, and youtubers who received personal sponsorship from companies to advertise a product. These sponsorships and ads contribute to the youtubers making money. Splitting with the advertiser, “YouTubers keep about 68% of the ad revenue”(Tang, 2021). Social media creates these new jobs which benefits the workers, and the people enjoying the content. These people are able to follow their dreams, and benefit off these talents that usually wouldn’t be successful in a business setting. A college dropout could be turned into a well known video game content creator, which is seen on multiple occasions; Two well known dropouts include Dream, who currently has 28.2 million subscribers, and Technoblade with 10.1 million. Social media created these communities, whether it be gaming, beauty, vlogs, or challenges that benefits everyone involved.

Social injustice has always been present throughout history, but many are demanding change. News that go viral, are spread through social media retweets, reposts, and seen by the people who will invoke change for future generations. The young are learning about these injustices, and standing up for what’s moral. These events that happen go viral, and silent protests demand attention. With enough attention, the government has to do something. For instance, George Floyds was murdered by an officer who held his knee on Floyd’s neck, in which he couldn’t breathe. This was seen and shared by billions, but the government took it lightly at first. Many people found it wrong, but were not alone as “they were joined in spirit by politicians, activists, celebrities and athletes on social media, who also called for the officers to be held accountable.” (Diss, 2020). This situation, along with others led to the Black Lives Matter movement, which invoked change in 2020. George Floyd’s name was mentioned more than 80 million times on countless social media sites. The impact of being able to see the video with their own eyes was able to influence so many to stand for change. On social media, things can go viral in an instant, which was what this rally needed in order to gain its momentum. Martin Luther King Jr. spent years trying to get change in a world where he had to go from state to state telling speeches to gain followers for his movement. In the world of social media, one share is enough. In addition to social justice, there’s another way social media can change someone’s life. Going through trial and error is a way to see what works, but social media eliminates the amount of error you have to face when learning something new. Need homework help? Go to Youtube. Need some beauty tips? Go to Youtube. You can learn so much information from social media, and many people take this advantage as seen with “a new Pew research study surveyed 4,594 Americans in 2018 found that 51 percent of YouTube users use YouTube videos to learn new things.” (Berry, 2018). Educational videos can help children get ahead of their peers, and teachers can use social media to teach through videos. A person who is given instructions through a video would be able to grasp onto a topic much quicker than a person who has to learn on their own; sometimes it's ok to ask for help. 

Even with all these benefits, people still argue that social media has a negative effect on people’s mental health, and can lead to depression. For example, a University of Pittsburgh research team found that “those who spent the most amount of time on social media throughout the week had 1.7 times the likelihood of depression”(Campbell, 2020). It is true that some can be bullied on the internet, but many can be saved. There are people who make posts about keeping track of mental health, and many who recognize that there are people that can help, and that they can talk to. If there are people who feel more comfortable talking online, they can confide in people that don’t know them personally. It’s true that it can be dangerous, but most people have a higher moral sense than to bruise someone from a screen. There are countless numbers of people willing to just talk to make someone feel better and not alone. In the world, many people are now recognizing and trying to help people who are mentally broken, due to it being more normalized. Social media can connect you with people who could have survived that internal fight, and people who can help, rather than those who are out there to hurt you. If there is someone you don’t want to associate with that you meet online, you can block them and never talk to them again. Moreover, social media helps so many people connect “provid[ing] individuals with a platform that overcomes barriers of distance and time, allowing them to connect and reconnect with others and thereby expand and strengthen their in-person networks and interactions”(Roeder, 2020). You don’t have to physically see someone to be able to communicate, and can give people the chance to say what they need to say much quicker. The portability of social media is also a great benefit, meaning that someone can use it anywhere, whenever they want. This ability to always connect could help people feel less alone, causing an increase in mental health. Depression can be caused by feeling like there is no one there for you, yet social media makes sure you can always have someone to talk to, whether it be someone you love, trust, or someone you just need to rant to.

Social media is the future, and it’s necessary to understand that future generations are not going to be harmed by social media. A lot of people’s daily life is built on social media, and it's mostly positive. It’s understandable to see why many say social media is harmful, but the bigger picture is that social media helps in more ways than they think.