Essays About Social Media: 16 Ideas for Students

Essays about social media can explore these social websites’ ethical and social concerns. Here are 16 essay topic ideas you can use to build a solid essay on this topic.

At the dawn of the century, social media was in its infancy. Then, in 2001, Friendster, a site that allowed basic online networking, drew millions of users as people tried to find long-lost friends and relatives. Soon, LinkedIn joined the party, and in 2003 MySpace was launched, growing into the most visited website in the whole world by 2006.

This was the dawn of a new trend – the trend of social media. People found that they enjoyed connecting online with friends and strangers and getting to know what was going on in people’s lives. Soon, Facebook, which launched in 2008, joined the scene, and social media became a way of life. Soon Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and many more became part of everyday vocabulary.

Two decades since its birth, social media has become somewhat controversial. People are starting to weigh the pros and cons of these platforms, wondering if they are worthwhile or dangerous. This fact lends itself well to several essay ideas. So, if you need to write essays about social media, these ideas could get you started.

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1. What Is the Impact of Social Media on Teen Self Esteem

Social media has a direct impact on the self-esteem of children and teenagers. This is one of the most often studied negative impacts of many social platforms. When young people are constantly exposed to perfectly posed images and the social stressors of social media, not to mention the issue of cyberbullying, their self-esteem takes a nosedive.

This essay idea has a lot of research behind it. Spend some time exploring the research, and then discuss the effects of social media on developing minds. Finally, pull in the statistics you find online to make this essay topic shine. You can also check out these essays about the internet and essays about computers.

2. What Are the Advantages of Social Media

While the negative impact of social media gets discussed often, there are positives to it. For example, sites like LinkedIn allow you to explore work opportunities and build a professional network. Other social media websites make it easier to stay connected with far-away relatives. In addition, sometimes, social media can spark change in society on important cultural issues.

To counter all of the negative press about social media, consider looking at the positive influence of social media on our society in your essay. Then, pull in some of these positive impacts and benefits and build them into an essay that shows how, with proper guidelines in place, social media can help us. You might also be interested in these essays about Facebook.

3. What Are the Disadvantages of Social Media?

Like all things in modern society, social media has disadvantages. For example, when you are constantly connected to others, it can be difficult to get space to process emotions and work on bettering yourself. Cyberbullying, as already mentioned, is another drawback.

This essay topic has quite a few directions you can go. For example, you could explore how invasive social media has become in everyday life or how it sets up an unrealistic expectation of perfection. Social media use can also become invasive to people and detract from other enjoyable activities.

4. Is Social Media Addiction Real?

Social media addiction is something many people talk about, and you can discuss whether or not it is a real thing in your essay. Is it possible to have an addiction to using social media, and if so, how does the brain chemistry impact social media users’ experiences lead to addiction?

The truth is that getting likes and follows on social media creates a dopamine rush. People can become addicted to that feeling, which can significantly impact their social and mental health as they start fighting excessive use of social media. When used without control, social media can be addicting, and this is an excellent essay topic idea.

5. Does Social Media Fuel Cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying occurs when people experience bullying over text or the Internet, and this problem is becoming an important one to address in 21st-century culture. Children are particularly vulnerable to this issue because they lack the emotional maturity to be responsible social media users. Yet adults can also be victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying.

This essay topic will explore the connection between cyberbullying and social media use. For example, does social media serve as the primary platform, or are other avenues, like texting, more of an issue? Explore these questions in your essay.

6. Should Parents Be Cautious About What They Post About Their Children on Social Media?

If something gets posted online, it no longer is secret. Even if it’s deleted, screenshots or browser histories make it impossible to delete completely. For this reason, many caution parents against posting information about their children, especially if those children are too young to consent to have their daily lives put on the internet for all to see.

This ethical question is one that today’s parents are addressing for the first time. Previous generations did not have to wonder about whether or not to share information online about their kids because they lacked an easy platform to do so. So this is a new question that makes it an interesting essay choice.

7. Should Social Media Sites Have the Right to Censor Posts?

One of the potential negative effects of social media is the ease at which people can post hate speech and other dangerous posts and information. Social networking sites and social media sites have the option to censor this information, but this could also be seen as hurting people’s freedom of speech. You can think about this ethical question and choose a side, then write an engaging essay explaining your choice.

This essay could go either way. You could build solid evidence for allowing full freedom of speech on social media. However, because of the vast reach of most social media platforms and how some hate groups have used them to start problems, you may want to side with some minor censorship for illegal activities.

8. How Does Social Media Marketing Influence the Modern Business

For many businesses, social media is not a social platform. Instead, businesses view social media as a marketing platform. Social media marketing is very effective at reaching users with a marketing message.

This essay topic steps away from the social impacts of social media and instead looks at the business aspects. You could explore how social media has become an integral part of modern society and how that makes it a vital component of modern marketing strategies. You could also discuss what platforms, like Facebook, WhatsApp, forums, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, and others, make the most effective online marketing venue for businesses.

9. Does Social Media Promote an Unhealthy Lifestyle

When you’re considering essay topics, consider not only the mental health component of social media use but also the lifestyle component. When people spend a lot of time online, they aren’t spending time exercising or taking care of their bodies in other ways.

In addition, social media can promote an unhealthy lifestyle by promoting an unrealistic body image. Many people, especially young girls and teenagers, end up with eating disorders or an over-reliance on exercise because they constantly see perfect figures on their favorite social media pages.

10. What Is the Impact of Social Media on Real-Life Communication

Many studies have shown that people in today’s society struggle to communicate in person. The rise in texting and social networks as a communication platform has influenced the way people communicate. You could explore the connection between social anxiety, and the rise of social media. This study will help you determine if there is a connection between these two changes.

11. Could Social Media Be Used by Hackers or the Government to Track Our actions?

The information technology resources available today are quite intensive. For example, website builders can use so many tools to track information about people. Should the government access this information, and how can hackers be prevented from accessing it? These are the questions worth asking and can make for an interesting essay.

The reality is that the World Wide Web is becoming a natural part of our daily lives. We must decide how much information we want the Internet to know about us. Conclusion This essay will allow you to look at your own opinion on this topic and come to a solid conclusion.

12. How Can Social Media Impact the Hiring Process?

Social media can have a very direct impact on someone’s ability to get a job. Some inappropriate posts on social media could give a potential employer could cost a person their job. Something a teenager posted while still in high school could potentially come back to hurt them.

This is yet another interesting ethical question that you should ask yourself when considering social media’s role in modern society. It can also create an interesting and engaging essay that will create thoughtful consideration in the reader’s mind.

13. Does Social Media Help or Hurt Productivity?

Social media can be a major time-waster. Yet it can also help businesses connect with potential customers or promote their marketing message. So is social media harmful or helpful for productivity? This question and its answers could work well as an essay.

While most people will readily agree that you can waste time on social media, you may find that there are some instances where it is a productivity booster. If you can compile those into an essay, you could have an interesting and engaging piece.

14. What Are Some Great Things That Have Come from Social Media?

Are there any positive impacts of social media that have affected most of the world? Does this type of mass media have the potential to create positive social change? Do some research to see the really big benefits of social media, and make those into an essay.

For example, you may find some important cause that few people knew about before it went to social media, or you may learn of fundraising efforts for worldwide issues, like war refugees, that came through social media. Many of these events or impacts would not have happened if we had not had social media.

15. How Fake News Affects the Political Climate

One potential drawback of social media is that information gets spread quickly, even without proper factual background checking. Unfortunately, this reality means that fake news stories often get circulated, even without validity.

These fake news stories directly impact what people think and feel about politics. In your essay, you could explore this fact and see how far this influence spreads. You can also discuss what can be done to stop this problem from growing even more. This essay idea could even discuss real-life instances where damage to someone’s political reputation occurred, even when there was no truth behind the reports, and impacted their political careers.

16. How Has Social Media Grown Over the Years

Social media started small but exploded quickly, and exploring that history is quite interesting. This essay topic idea could explore how it has grown and how many Americans experience social media every day. In addition, this essay would allow you to discuss some of the factors that impacted that growth.

You could also look at how social media could continue to grow in the future. For example, is there room for a new social media platform in the market? Will more adults embrace social media in the future than do today? Answering these questions can create a great essay option.

If you are interested in learning more, check out our essay writing tips!