Persuasive Speech Outline Attention Getter: Did you know that there are over 300 million people in the United States that use social media? That’s around 91% of the total population of the U.S.A! This number is expected to grow to 96% in the next 5 years, with 327 million people projected to use social media in 2027. Most people are most likely using platforms like Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, or Instagram, which were cited as the top 4 social networking platforms, with both statistics being cited from surveys given by Statista and DataReportal. Credibility Building Material: I use social media almost every day, and I think this topic applies perfectly to college students, with a large portion of us also using social media daily. I think that the effect of social media is very impactful on not only us but as a society. While the spread of information has increased due to social media, I believe that social media has negatively affected society. Thesis: We should ban social media Preview of Main Points: Today, I want to explain to you the negative effects of social media on people. There are two different categories that I will discuss, the first being an individual effect, and secondly the societal effect. I will also explain and show better alternatives to our current social media state. Transition: Now some of the most notable effects that people know of when it comes to social media are individual effects. These can affect how a person thinks, their habits, as well as how they treat others. I. Negative effects on an individual 1. Causes addictions to form A. Our phones make it easier than ever to stay connected and keep up to date on current issues, trending topics, and news. i. Research shows that around two thirds of Twitter users (71%), use Twitter multiple times a day, and around a third (37%) post or retweet multiple times a day. a. Rosenstiel, Tom. “Twitter and News: How People Use Twitter to Get News.” American Press Institute, 2 Sept. 2015, https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/publications /reports/survey-research/how-people-use-twitternews/single-page/. 2. Other bad habits like cheating can form A. Social media can make it easier to share answers, test scores, and other information that would otherwise be private and not accessible to those who are not affiliated. i. In 2012, students in 12 Californian schools were found to have shared pictures online of standardized tests. a. Blume, Howard , “Students’ Online Photos of California Tests Delay Release of Scores,” latimes.com, July 18, 2012 3. Unproductivity A. Multitasking while using a device can significantly bring down productivity and make it harder to complete tasks, especially in a work setting. i. Beland, Louis-Philippe and Murphy, Richard , “Ill Communication: Technology, Distraction & Student Performance,” cep.lse.ac.uk, May 2015. B. A previous experiment done to observe the effect of banning mobile phones in a school saw a 6.41% average improvement in student performance across their samples. i. Beland, Louis-Philippe and Murphy, Richard , “Ill Communication: Technology, Distraction & Student Performance,” cep.lse.ac.uk, May 2015. Transition: Not only can social media effect an individual, but it can have a group effect on society as well. I. Negative effects on society 1. Political tension created from social media A. There was widespread usage of the term “fake news” around the 2016 election, which was possible because viral tweets or misquoted or untrue information made themselves into mainstream news. i. Allcott, Hunt and Gentzkow, Matthew , “Social Media and Fake News in the 2016 Election,” web.stanford.edu, Jan. 2017 2. Distrust in the government from society A. Many Americans feel they have a lack of control over their personal information, due to information collectors through the government and corporations online. i. Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, “Internet’s Broader Role in Campaign 2008: Social Networking and Online Videos Take Off,” peoplepress.org, Jan. 11, 2008. B. Due to a survey conducted, “91% of adults in the survey “agree” or “strongly agree” that consumers have lost control over how personal information is collected and used by companies”, and “80% of those who use social networking sites say they are concerned about third parties like advertisers or businesses accessing the data they share on these sites.” i. Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, “Internet’s Broader Role in Campaign 2008: Social Networking and Online Videos Take Off,” peoplepress.org, Jan. 11, 2008. Transition: With all this in mind, it would be beneficial to explore some options we have in order to solve these problems. Social media provides its own set of problems, so we should see what we can do to prevent or solve issues created by social media presence in society. I. Finding alternatives to social media 1. Provide government sanctioned / confirmed non-bias news sources A. Most news is reached today by social media and non-primary sources, so bias and political opinion can distort news. Providing news sources that are non-biased and controlled by an organization not trying to make money off of their service can make it easier to acquire news that isn’t swaying in political or personal opinion. i. Comparing the 2004 and 2008 election campaigns, almost double the amount of Americans (13% to 24%) said “they regularly learn something about the campaign from the internet”. a. Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, “Internet’s Broader Role in Campaign 2008: Social Networking and Online Videos Take Off,” peoplepress.org, Jan. 11, 2008. 2. Provide more security and privacy options for current social media platforms. Many users are simply unaware of how available their information is to potential stalkers or others trying to take information. A. “Stalkers could use this information to lock victims out of their accounts, buy goods or transfer money, go online and pretend to be the victim, add or delete files and block websites so victims were unable to access support sites.” i. Topping, Alexandra. “Social Networking Sites Fuelling Stalking, Report Warns.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 1 Feb. 2012, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/feb/01/soci al-media-smartphones-stalking. 3. Provide ways to incorporate technology into school curriculums that can improve and not distract from student learning. A. This study also found that certain types of students reacted differently, with low-performing students having a larger increase in performance then high-performing students. i. Beland, Louis-Philippe and Murphy, Richard , “Ill Communication: Technology, Distraction & Student Performance,” cep.lse.ac.uk, May 2015. B. “the mere introduction of technology has a negligible impact on student test scores, but when incorporated into the curriculum and being put to a well-defined use, technology has the potential to improve student outcomes.” i. Beland, Louis-Philippe and Murphy, Richard , “Ill Communication: Technology, Distraction & Student Performance,” cep.lse.ac.uk, May 2015. Summary of Main Points: So, to recap, social media has had significant effects on individuals, as well as separate effects on society in general. Because of this, we have found possible alternatives and fixes to the problems created by social media. Build up to Last Sentence: When it comes to social media, many of us see it as a large time-taker in our lives, and there might be reasoning behind its effects and why many people see it as an issue in today’s world. Closure: With all this in mind, I hope that you will understand why social media has negatively affected society, and possibly reconsider scrolling next time you pick up your phone. Works Cited: We Are Social, & Hootsuite, & DataReportal. (January 26, 2022). Most popular social networks worldwide as of January 2022, ranked by number of monthly active users (in millions) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved November 04, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/272014/global-social-networks-ranked-by-number-of-users/ Statista. (June 15, 2022). Number of social media users worldwide from 2018 to 2027 (in billions) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved November 04, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/278414/number-of-worldwide-social-network-users/ Rosenstiel, Tom. “Twitter and News: How People Use Twitter to Get News.” American Press Institute, 2 Sept. 2015, https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/publications/reports/surveyresearch/how-people-use-twitter-news/single-page/. Topping, Alexandra. “Social Networking Sites Fuelling Stalking, Report Warns.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 1 Feb. 2012, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2012/feb/01/social-media-smartphones-stalking. Beland, Louis-Philippe and Murphy, Richard , “Ill Communication: Technology, Distraction & Student Performance,” cep.lse.ac.uk, May 2015. Blume, Howard , “Students’ Online Photos of California Tests Delay Release of Scores,” latimes.com, July 18, 2012 Allcott, Hunt and Gentzkow, Matthew , “Social Media and Fake News in the 2016 Election,” web.stanford.edu, Jan. 2017 Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, “Internet’s Broader Role in Campaign 2008: Social Networking and Online Videos Take Off,” people-press.org, Jan. 11, 2008. Madden, Mary , “Public Perceptions of Privacy and Security in the Post-Snowden Era,” pewinternet.org, Nov. 12, 2014.
