PHI 103 Week 3 Assignemnt

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Social Media and Relationships 1 Does the Use of Social Media Improve or Harm Relationships? University of Arizona Global Campus PHI 103: Informal Logic Professor VanZanten February 21 st , 2023

Social Media and Relationships 2 Does the Use of Social Media Improve or Harm Relationships? Modern advancements in technology have been revolutionary to the way society operates as a whole. Nowadays, people can complete important tasks and/or access sensitive information with a simple touch of their phones. Additionally, it has also heavily impacted how humans interact and socialize with one another. Since its induction and continuous growth within society, social media, which can be defined as websites and applications that allow users to post/share media and interact with that media by adding comments, sending private messages, etc., has changed the very basis of how people meet, communicate, and build relationships. Despite the basis of social media being to promote interaction between people, there have been many debates on whether or not social media use improves or harms relationships. This composition will explore and discuss both sides of the debate surrounding social media and its role in relationships, specifically platonic, romantic, and business relationships, while deciphering the strength of the sources in reaching their conclusions. Presentation of an Argument that Social Media Has Negative Effects on Relationships Upon conducting research on the connection between social media and relationships, many of the articles listed highlight the negative effects it has on relationships based on different studies. For one, a research study conducted by students of Brigham Young University analyzed surveys that they sent to over six hundred people, five hundred of them being between the ages of eighteen and thirty-four, regarding their romantic relationships and how they feel the use of social media has influenced them. (2018) Additionally, an article by Abby Moore, whose main objective is to highlight the negative and positive effects of social media, also provides insight into how social media can negatively influence how a person views themselves and thus,

Social Media and Relationships 3 negatively impact their interpersonal relationships. (2022) Based on the findings, it was concluded that: Premise 1: Participants that spent the most time on social media, witnessed the quality of their interpersonal relationships decrease. (Christensen, 2018) Premise 2: In terms of internal feelings, “…those who spent more time on social media (felt) their emotional well-being decreased…” (Christensen, 2018) Premise 3: It was found that social media negatively impacted various elements of the participants’ lives, thus, affecting their relationships as well. (Christensen, 2018) Premise 4: Moore expounds on the effects social media has on relationships by creating feelings of jealousy, setting unrealistic expectations, and making average life seem boring or uneventful. (Moore, 2022) Premise 5: Social media use is linked to more fights in relationships, especially because it interferes with spending quality time with loved ones. (Moore, 2022) Conclusion: The findings of the aforementioned articles show the magnitude of influence that social media can have not just on one’s relationship, but their personal mood and outlook of self. Without a proper understanding or control, these feelings of self doubt can seep into the way people interact with one another. The combination of this research indicates that there are definitely some areas for concern when it comes to social media and relationships. Evaluation of Research Christensen’s scholarly article was a strong source for the research because it adequately supports the main question surrounding the impact between social media and interpersonal relationships. This is because it uses the means of surveying random people with different ages,

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Social Media and Relationships 4 genders, experiences, etc., to determine how it affects the general population. Based on the findings of the source, one can also deduce that the writer would support the argument of whether social media affects relationships in favor of it definitely having affects. While the author does call for additional research to be conducted to determine the addictive habits that can also be formed with the use of social media, it would also be helpful to also get a bigger idea of the impact of social media on relationships since it was first introduced in the late 1990’s/early 2000’s. In comparison, Moore’s article provides a comparison of the positive and negative effects of social media on relationships. Some of the conclusion strongly supports the premise of the argument, however, it also supports some of the arguments of the opposing side which allows it to be a source for both. Although the article is itself supported by outside sources that are linked, it would be especially helpful to the author’s point, to maybe conduct her own research or study to measure how credible her sources were. Presentation of an Argument that Social Media Has Positive Effects on Relationships Although most of the research exploring the effects of social media and relationships highlight how it can quickly worsen important aspects of a connection, there is also research that discusses the positive impact it can have on relationships and one’s ability to interact. Conclusions found in a thirty-nine study review state that social networking and the use of social media platforms have the ability to improve brain function. (Kelly, Duff, et. al., 2017) Another study analyzed the patterns between social media usage and music festival visitors to determine if there were any positive influences between the festival brand’s relationship with their current visitors and other future guests. (Hudson, Roth, et al., 2014)

Social Media and Relationships 5 Premise 1: Improved cognitive function and other positive health outcomes were found to be associated with the use of social media platforms. (Kelly, Duff, et. al., 2017) Premise 2: Cognitive functions that social media usage may impact include: social activity, global cognition, working memory, reasoning, attention, social support, etc. (Kelly, Duff, et. al., 2017) Premise 3: There is a positive correlation between social media and a brand’s relationship quality. (Hudson, Roth, et al., 2014) Premise 4: Brands that utilize social media and engage their followers have a “direct effect” on visitor’s emotional connection to the festival. This connection, in turn, has a direct effect on word-of-mouth and the future visitors that decide to experience said festivals. (Hudson, Roth, et al., 2014) Premise 5: Social media can be a great tool to save and share memories and maintain connections with others. (Moore, 2022) Conclusion: Despite there being some negative correlations between social media and platonic or romantic relationships, many of the aforementioned cognitive benefits have the capacity to also influence interpersonal relationships and strengthen bonds between individuals. One can also deduce that businesses or brands that have social media accounts and find ways to promote engagement with their followers can, in turn, attract more people to their business while also creating a longer, withstanding relationships with previous visitors. Evaluation of Research The two main sources highlighted throughout the research of positive effects of social media on relationships both strongly support that there are not just negatives that can be

Social Media and Relationships 6 associated with social media and relationships. While the research review by Kelly, Duff, and others is not specifically about the relationship between the two, it does show other human functions that can benefit from the use of social media and/or social networking. The benefits can also be alluded to helping personal relationships which, thus, supports the argument of the article’s conclusion that there is a connection between cognition and social media usage. The article by Hudson, Roth, and others, also sheds light on another form of relationships that can be significantly strengthened by the use of social media, which is that of business/brand relationships. This article is significant because the authors also conducted their own study to support their hypothesis and determine the conclusion that social media use not only has a significant influence on the engagement of music festivals, but also leads to positive word of mouth recommendations. (2014) The findings of both articles heavily support the idea that although there are many worrisome qualities and effects of social media, if used correctly, it can be a great tool to help directly strengthen relationships and/or a person’s personal skills that, in succession, aid relationships. Evaluation of Arguments in Non-Scholarly and Scholarly Sources Based on the evidence collected throughout this composition, it is evident that there are several debates and conclusions that can be said about the influence of social media on different relationships. However, the articles used are all scholarly and either highlight the other credible sources that they used to determine their conclusion, or involve the writers conducting their own studies to reach their verdict. The only article that may pose some doubt is that of Abby Moore’s since it was written for a relationship blog curated by a lifestyle brand. Despite this, it was also expertly reviewed by a Board-certified Clinical Psychologist and cites other scholarly articles/books to back up the information presented throughout the text. All in all, despite two of

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Social Media and Relationships 7 the articles containing firsthand results from the authors’ personal studies, they were all good quality articles that provided insight into the crucial role social media is playing in different forms of human connection. Conclusion The components of this activity have provided me with a new perception in conducting research and in recognizing the accuracy and quality of an article. This is primarily because many of the initial sources found throughout my search did not provide enough context to determine its reliability. In the future, I plan on utilizing these skills to produce better quality and well-researched assignments. Furthermore, it will also aid me in vetting out the information I see and personally research, which is extremely crucial with the surplus of data that is currently on the internet and continues to be uploaded and shared on a daily basis.

Social Media and Relationships 8 References Christensen, S. P. (2018). Social Media Use and Its Impact on Relationships and Emotions . BYU Scholars Archive. Retrieved February 18, 2023, from http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/etd10188 Hudson, S., Roth, M. S., Madden, T. J., & Hudson, R. (2015). The Effects of Social Media on Emotions, Brand Relationship Quality, and Word of Mouth: An Empirical Study of Music Festival Attendees. Tourism Management , 47 , 68–76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2014.09.001 Kelly, M. E., Duff, H., Kelly, S., McHugh Power, J. E., Brennan, S., Lawlor, B. A., & Loughrey, D. G. (2017). The Impact of Social Activities, Social Networks, Social Support and Social Relationships on the Cognitive Functioning of Healthy Older Adults: A Systematic Review. Systematic Reviews , 6 (1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-017-0632-2 Moore, A. (2022). 12 ways social media affects relationships, from Research & Experts . mindbodygreen. Retrieved February 19, 2023, from https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/social-media-and-relationships#mbg- B5ZWe6aur

PHI 103 Week 3 Assignemnt

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