Amedie, Jacob, "The Impact of Social Media on Society" Santa Clara University Scholar Commons Advanced Writing: Pop Culture Intersections, 2015, pp.1-19., https://scholarcommons.scu.edu/engl_176/2  This article reviews, generally, the benefits and drawbacks of social media for society today.  The discussion starts by outlining the benefits of social media platforms including how it is a form of global communication, a free and widely used marketing/advertising platform, and a media outlet.  More pertinent to this project, however, is his later detailing of the many under-researched, and undiscussed risks/drawbacks of these social media platforms.  Jacob focuses on the false sense of connectivity social media provides which may temporarily give users a sense of relief from social isolation, but in fact may lead to more serious mental health implications including depression and anxiety.  He also goes into how these platforms are capping people’s interpersonal skills as more and more use social media and online communication in place of actual interactions.  Later, Jacob goes more in depth with how social media has become a powerful tool for criminals, however, this information will likely not be as relevant to this project as the prior two.  

 

Baccarella, Christian V, et al. “Social Media? It's Serious! Understanding the Dark Side of Social Media.” European Management Journal, vol. 36, no. 4, 2018, pp. 431–438., doi:10.1016/j.emj.2018.07.002. This source discusses the seven aspects of social media: sharing, conversations, presence, reputation, relationships, groups, and identity.  These pillars of social media are spun, however, to show how they each play into the darker side of social media.  The article’s discussion of identity, in particular, present information relevant to my research as it shows how identities can be and are tainted/augmented more as people use social media more. 

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Fardouly, Jasmine, et al. “Parental Control of the Time Preadolescents Spend on Social Media: Links with Preadolescents’ Social Media Appearance Comparisons and Mental Health.” Journal of Youth and Adolescence : A Multidisciplinary Research Publication, vol. 47, no. 7, 2018, pp. 1456–1468., doi:10.1007/s10964-018-0870-1.  This study examines the link between how much time a child was allowed to spend on social media, searching the web, and making comparisons of their appearance to those on social media with the child’s overall mental health.  The study found children with stricter restrictions tended to have better mental health.  The study examines the differences between active and passive social media usage and how these factors also play into an individual’s wellbeing.  

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Garsd, J. (2018, August 06). #Blessed: Is Everyone Happier Than You On Social Media? Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2018/08/06/636016812/-blessed-is-everyone-happier-than-you-on-social-media This piece begins with Mankaprr Conteh’s story which essentially describes the now common phenomenon of someone posting a picture online that did not represent their true state of being.  The article, however, then links this story to how people may actually be doing this as a means of self-medicating for a looming sense of isolation.  Dr. Brian Primack describes a continuous vicious cycle of people comparing themselves to others online, feeling isolated or even left out, posting something (perhaps a not representative of what they are going through/feeling) in attempt to reach out, and subsequently not finding what they are really in need of.  Dr. Primack continues in the danger of these “curated photos” which are of real people, people individuals know, not people acting or people leading drastically different lives, and how this further blurs the line between what is real and what is a part of the façade.  The blurring of this line then lends itself to harsher comparisons where people compare their whole stories to the snapshots of a profile online.  This source will be particularly useful in showing how quickly and simply people get swept into the unrealistic comparisons, the following vicious cycle described, and ultimately the toll these may have on one’s mental health. 

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Krishna, Nithin, et al. “The Role of Social Media Networks in Psychotic Disorders: A Case Report.” General Hospital Psychiatry, vol. 35, no. 5, 2013, pp. 1–576., doi:10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2012.10.006.  This source describes a case study done involving a 21 man with psychosis who used social media in the midst of a psychotic break.  Although the article largely revolves around the implications of social media specifically on those with psychiatric disorders, in the conclusion the article also reviews in more general terms the definitions of stalking, and the role isolation and social media can play in inducing these behaviours.  This article will be most helpful in detailing these definitions of stalking which remains a largely abstract/conceptual concept with a fluid meaning as it becomes more prevalent, even accepted, in society today.  The discussion of isolation feeding into this behaviour may also be an interesting idea to connect or allude to as isolation often feeds into the cycle of social media usage - which is one of the three main arguments to be made in the project.

 

Meikle, Graham. “Book Review: José van Dijck, The Culture of Connectivity: A Critical History of Social Media, Sam Hinton and Larissa Hjorth, Understanding Social Media and Jeremy Hunsinger and Theresa Senft (Eds), The Social Media Handbook.” Media, Culture & Society, vol. 36, no. 7, Oct. 2014, pp. 1057–1060, doi:10.1177/0163443714544861.  This review examines the cultural shift over time towards an idea of shared, or collective identities allowed by the growing presence of social media.  The platforms lend themselves to form groups of individuals who connect over certain commonalities.  Meikle explores how this occurs and the effect it has on the definition of social media.  This review largely revolves around defining the fluid concept of social media, but it will be helpful in the specific discussion of ‘collective identities’ and the effects these ‘identities’ can have on an individual.

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Social Media Fact Sheet. (2019). Retrieved June 18, 2020, from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/ This fact sheet provides an overview of the usage of social media platforms from 2005-2019 among US adults.  The sheet shows the uptick in use of social media over the course of 14 years, the demographics of the population using social media most, and the amount of time people spend on average using social media.  Overall, the data from Pew Research will allow the comparison of the usage of social media over the course of little over a decade which will be helpful in showing the historical aspect of social media usage.  

Whaite, Erin O, et al. “Social Media Use, Personality Characteristics, and Social Isolation among Young Adults in the United States.” Personality and Individual Differences, vol. 124, 2018, pp. 45–50., doi:10.1016/j.paid.2017.10.030.  This paper reviews a study done which measured the correlation between perceived social isolation and the time spent on social media.  The study details how the variation between sample groups was determined by conscientiousness while using the platforms - how aware individuals were, specifically of how they were using social media and interpreting themselves and others on the platforms.  The study found that individuals with low conscientiousness and placed in the highest quartile of social media usage were nearly three times more likely (compared to those in the lowest quartile of social media usage) to show symptoms/express feelings relating to perceived social isolation. 

 

Yang, Chia-chen, et al. “Social Media Social Comparison and Identity Distress at the College Transition: A Dual-Path Model.” Journal of Adolescence, vol. 69, 2018, pp. 92–102., doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2018.09.007.  This article discusses the risks social media presents in terms of the opportunities for comparison.  Yang describes the implications of the comparison game - which mainly include risks to one’s mental health.  Yang also details a study done which attempted to evaluate correlation between comparison via social media, and the rates of identity distress.  The study reported that among college freshmen, social comparison of abilities had a positive association with predicted identity distress markers thus conveying the role of comparison via social media in an individual’s identity.  Yang’s discussion specifically of how social media can undermine an individual’s perceived self-worth will be particularly useful in describing the dangers of social media.  Also, his allusions to how comparison may be connected to a user’s loss of a sense-of-self online will be needed to describe the role comparison plays in the blurring of identity through social media.