How Social Media Affects Social or Psychological Norms/Behavior

Annotated Bibliography: How Social Media Affects Social or Psychological Norms/Behavior
NET ID
INF 100 -Summer 2017
How Social Media Affects Social or Psychological Norms/Behavior
Introduction
While social media platforms have made increasing contributions to socioeconomic and political developments, a recognized cluster of norms are yet to catch up with the speed in which the public has adopted the networking sites (Liggett & Ueberall, 2016). This has resulted in ambiguity regarding what can be perceived as appropriate while using these sites. It is therefore important to appreciate the unique features of the platforms and their direct impact in the creation of social or psychological norms/behaviors. Social media involve large networks and extensive sharing, and it is central for users to keep track of a number of complex behaviors that can be regarded as acceptable across networking groups. Social media also facilitates intricate communication style that increases a focus on self-interest, thus making it challenging to take the views of others.
The increasing access to social media as a strategy for emotional release has made the society to be more sensitive to events that fail to go as planned, thus leading to impulsive behaviors and frustrations. According to Ramasubbu (2015), an important issue with social media is that communication has become largely disjointed, an aspect that has made it easier for users to divert attention from others. This problem is further aggravated by the lack of face-to-face communication, which inhibits users the ability to physically recognize other people’s distress and the capacity to empathize with others in the society (Liggett & Ueberall, 2016).
The perceived anonymity of social networking sites creates a sense of deindividuation and diffusion of responsibility. This is particularly impactful as it increases conformity to detrimental views and a decline in critical thinking and the capacity to report any harmful content sourced from the platforms. This paper seeks to explore the unique features of social media and how it impacts the creation of social or psychological norms/behavior.
Key words used: “social media”, “psychological behavior”, “social networking sites”, “social media” AND “psychological norms”, “effects of social media” OR “social media effects, “Facebook AND psychological effects”, “social networks and society”
Databases used:
1 PsycINFO (ProQuest)
2 ScienceDirect (Elsevier)
3 Communication Abstracts (EBSCOhost)
Annotated Bibliography
Books
Qualman, E. (2011). Socialnomics: how social media transforms the way we live and do business. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons
“Socialnomics: how social media transforms the way we live and do business” is a textbook by Erik Qualman published in 2011. The book offers invaluable insights into major changes in the behaviors, macro trends and constructs resulting from the use of social media. The author provides examples and case studies that are relevant to individual readers or organizations that have all been impacted by the emergence of social networking site...