Barth, F. Diane. “Social Media and Adolescent Development: Hazards, Pitfalls and Opportunities for Growth.” Clinical social work journal 43.2 (2015): 201–208. Web.

This text talks about how adolescents find it harder to grow up without the internet. It becomes a part of their lifestyle and causes a great impact on their growth. The source compares the effect of the media on adolescents and adults. The effect, emotionally, may be the same. It explains how the media can both be destructive and helpful.

The intent of this text was to inform the psychological and physical effects of social media on adolescents. They used adults in comparison to further develop their studies. The tone was more information rather than opinionated since the source also explains counterarguments on how the media helps people. The counterarguments were not used to prove a point. Instead, it was used to figure out if the heavy use of social media has more pros than cons and vice versa. The goal was to find that solution of balance: how can social media be used so that it does not hurt us?

This source will help me have a better understanding of my topic since I am biased on one side. Although I can think of my own counterarguments, this text gives evidence that the media can be quite beneficial to an extent. Unlike the source, I will be using those counterarguments to further prove my claim. It also informs the bad effects of the media, which I will be using to cite in my assignment.

Hayes, Marie, Katherine van Stolk-Cooke, and Fred Muench. “Understanding Facebook Use and the Psychological Affects of Use Across Generations.” Computers in human behavior 49 (2015): 507–511. Web.

This text focuses on the comparison of social media use between people of old age versus people of a younger age by conducting surveys to see if it improves or hurts one’s well-being. The results explained how the younger generation spends more time on social media compared to older adults. In addition, they talk about how younger people are more emotionally affected by social media. They explain the negative effects social media, specifically Facebook as an example, has on younger individuals, which include the idea of self-image. Furthermore, they correlate the amount of Facebook use and personality traits, self-esteem, and depression. It even mentions how this can lead to eating disorders.

The article uses facts to explain the effect of social media on the well-being of an individual. They prove their claims through a series of surveys. The tone of the text is not biased or strongly opinionated. Instead, it uses the results of the surveys to form their conclusions. The article is very informative as it uses other academic sources.

This source will help me have a deeper understanding of my topic since it proves the negative effects social media has, especially on the younger generation. It talks about the impact on mental health and how people start to transform with the extreme use of the media. I will cite facts and explain the results of the survey, as well as the conclusions that are made after studying the surveys.