The Volatility of Social Media in Today's Changing and Problematic World

Writer: Anna Barteck

Editor: Anindita Bhattacharjee

Social media has become a way that people seek to trust each other in today's changing and problematic world, where there are high levels of mental health issues among students, the global education system as a whole is insecure, and the economy seems unpredictable. In today's world, we should not take social media for granted. We should strive to better it and the technologies associated with it. A surplus of noise on social media frequently leads to misunderstandings that can be better resolved in person because, ultimately, we live in an atmosphere that demands cleaner modes of self-expression. The accessibility issues concerning social media also block children’s access to a commonwealth of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). 

ICTs are technologies that handle information and communication. They include hardware, software, and networks. Children need ICT to become educated, aware, and, more importantly, to have transparency with their teachers. This issue should be at the very least acknowledged through social media to someday be addressed. We must use our emotional understanding of social media and the clicking that goes on to delve deeper into the patterns that may follow. Expressions of positive or negative sentiments need to be filtered through the lens of social media. When we wish to know more and delve deeper into these sentiments that we bear witness to, rather than misuse and misconstrue them to our advantage, we can learn from the misunderstandings that they present to us. In time, recognizing and accepting rather than denying and slamming social media mishaps will directly contribute to our scrolling. 

Not only in the United States but also in China, social norms have stemmed from the circumstances that surround being online and using social media. These include how we view our friends, family, neighbors, and online friends. According to Wang, 2016, p. 102,  the noisy and heated, choleric temperament, of the responses that we demand from our friends online translates to a whole new and sometimes confusing identity as members of an in-person society. When we socialize with people whom we meet online, our interactions differ vastly from in-person meetups, yet online atmospheres are significantly growing and are becoming more and more popular. People can make use of social media to prepare for meetups, for self-expression, or to stabilize their already existing relationships or friendships by posting about them. However, an example where social media interactions do not directly translate to in-person interaction is for migrant workers in China, who use social media not only to explore and experience friendship but also to start to value it differently. Nevertheless, this adds noise to the interaction when they are addressed offline. The ordinary greeting of saying hello to a ‘friend’ becomes hello ‘my fellow worker/villager’ (Wang, 2016). 

A more contentious social media debate is whether or not we should be using it to express ourselves as freely as we do. An example of a teen prone to sharing her mental health problems on social media raised many concerns when her parents saw it. Must they wearily tiptoe around their concern for her or confront her directly? Along the same line, people who feel compelled to share about their relationships on social media to keep them going must then face the ongoing question of whether or not they are acceptable if their partner has not posted in three or so days. The question of trusting our neighbors comes up as even more of a concern when we go on social media since we seem to take on the mindset of I only care about you if you care about me (Wang, 2016). This brings to mind the question of ‘what do I need to do to prove that I care?’ 

The concerns that surround social media go beyond the microsystem of a person’s immediate environment and ripple into their meso, exo, macro, and chronosystems; i.e. the systems that govern them as individuals as well as those that are larger than them, the government itself, and international communication. Technology has changed the communication pattern from a single to a multi-dimensional mode, where users have become information providers and participants rather than simply passive receivers. The ever-changing ecology of the internet demands that we set higher standards for sectors of society that still do not have access to ICT, (Andover, 2022). Now there is a digital divide; a distance that exists between people or groups who do have access to technology and those who do not. Andover (2022) article on Bridging the Digital Divide in Nigeria found that the Diffusion of Innovation Theory counteracts this divide, positing that new technologies can spread through society to be adopted. It is important to simultaneously understand the characteristics of the target population, such as their personal attributes and social dynamics. This can bridge the gap in the digital divide and carefully lead people to adopt the new idea, behavior, or product. Although students with different requirements and learning styles could benefit from flexible learning options, not all students can participate in online platforms. This is because they would struggle to depend on internet access or digital tools, Andover (2022). This led to a negative bias among teachers who blindly chose to favor technologically savvy students. We must acknowledge the negative effects of this digital divide to begin to level the playing field. Through social media, peer-to-peer learning and support systems should be encouraged as the adoption of a better educational system, and in doing so will alleviate tech-related anxiety, making tech-immersive education closer to a commodity. 

Although social media does not bear any influence on well-being or academic success, it can be a key predictive factor in the prices of our true commodities, ranging from energies to metals, to agricultural products. When we look at consumer culture from the perspective of social media and pay specific attention to positive vs negative sentiments towards commodities, which can indicate either price escalation or price declines, emotional patterns can guide us to see through the volatility of cryptocurrencies and a general negative attitude towards GMOs. Mariono (2025) study found that the prices of commodities ranging from energies and metals to agricultural products and GMOs can be predicted and learned from by becoming sensitive to social media sentiments. When we look at the patterns that people reveal through Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook posts, just to name a few, we are able to make more informed decisions in risk management and investment decision-making. For example, in molding consumer behavior with emotions like shame, anger, and distress, we can more efficiently reduce smoking rather than trying to use fear and disgust as a preventative measure. We can use social media in order to become more in touch with our unique selves and find a transluscent understanding. 

In a google survey created that can be found below, the writer sought to scientifically assess the positives and negatives of social media. People answered a variety of different questions. Most people who enjoyed going on social media also felt that it brought them closer to their friends and family, and felt comforted by it at night. People who enjoyed going on it less still felt comforted by it when scrolling at night, but did not necessarily feel that it connected them to their friends and family. Some who felt that social media interfered with their life in a fragmentary way also tended to correlate it with their awe of technology. Finally, 60% of the participants rated the question Do you feel like social media interferes with your life in a fragmentary way? on a scale of 1 - 5, as a 3, where 20% rated the question as a 2 and 20% rated it as a 1. Ultimately, we can see that social media has both positive and negative forces surrounding it. Although it can be comforting, it can be difficult to strike a balance, and we should not have to feel as though it is interfering with our lives in a fragmentary way at all. More research needs to be done to truly understand and remedy the pros and cons of social media and how they affect our lives positively and negatively.