Social media has the potential to connect people from other sides of the globe, but has it disconnected people from those closest to them: themselves? To discredit social media for all that it has done would be wrong; however, social media has potential negative effects on a human’s behavior and psyche that are too blatant to be ignored. Social media helps showcase aspects of people’s lives. From the sharing of baby photos, to your recent meal, to a beautiful photo of your last vacation, the motives behind these experiences are becoming questioned. As an aphorism from Confucius’ Analects states, “The Master said, in old days mens studied for the sake of self improvement; nowadays men study to impress others” (Source B). This rings true for sincerity of experiences today. Capturing a memory has become much more. People now want to impress others with where they have been, what they have seen, and who they have met. Essentially, it has robbed the meaning and enjoyment of events, turning them into competition for likes and …show more content…
Source D describes teens reacting to same photo, but with varying amount of likes. Both groups reacted to this anonymous peer influence, which essentially dictated whether they chose to like the photo or not. Shocking, is what follows, “We should expect the effect would be magnified in real life, when teens are looking at likes by people who are important to them” (Source D). In a culture that both values individuality and connectedness, this seems almost paradoxical. Subconsciously, social media resorts people to pay more attention of the likes of others, than to ourselves. Dictating what one likes depending on others is a sure road to unhappiness. In Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, self actualization is on top, but how are people supposed to reach their highest potential if they’re living according to their like count of social