Social+Networking,+Gen+Y+and+the+Internet

Name: Karryne Johns Student number: n8331791 Tutor: Emily Mann

=//**“The thing about quotes on the internet is that you can never confirm their validity.” – Abraham Lincoln.**//=

Cultural Artefact The internet can have many uses. These include searching for information, looking for a career, searching for a holiday destination or communicating through social networking web sites. Social networking is; “//the use of Web sites or other online technologies to communicate with people, and share information and resources.”// (Dictionary.com, 2011)



This picture shows eight icons which belong to social networking Web sites. A majority of teenagers would be able to tell you which icon belongs to which Web site. The icons belong to Google+ (Google Plus), Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Flickr, Msn Messenger and MySpace.

**Public Health Issue** The impact of communication technology has adversely affected the youth of today. It has impacted in ways wherein Generation Y are spending more time in front of a computer or glued to their mobile phone screens rather than interacting in person, or calling people using the telephone. More people are using phrases such as ‘I’ll facebook you about it’ or ‘We’ll chat on MySpace’ rather than I’ll call you or I’ll come over tomorrow. Circulating media as well as journals continually stipulate whether the internet, as well as websites such as the ones sighted above, affect the mental and general health of Generation Y.

Literature Review Research conducted by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, (AIHW), describes the general health and wellbeing of the young members of Generation Y (AIHW,2011). A report conducted by the AIHW called ‘Young Australians: their health and wellbeing 2011’ published in July of this year, generalises that overall health of Generation Y is improved to that of older generations, with the exception of their mental wellbeing. It states that; death rates among Gen Y have decreased, the minimum standards for reading, writing and numeracy are being met and there are reductions with the usage of illicit substances as well as smoking. The report also declares that there is a significantly high rate of mental disorders among this age group. (AIHW, 2011)

Many researchers have found that the mental health of Generation Y (from ages 16-24), is significantly lower to that of the mental health of previous generations. The Australian Bureau of Statistics, (ABS), conducts research and statistic projects such as the prevalence of mental disorders, contained within such publications as ‘Mental Health of Young People – 2007’, released in July 2010 (ABS, 2010). The ABS states, that in 2007 around one quarter of all young people suffered from a mental disorder (ABS, 2010). The graph that follows, shows that the prevalence of mental disorders is significantly higher within the Generation Y age group, rather than in those of the older generations.

(a) People aged 16-85 years who met criteria for diagnosis of a lifetime mental disorder and had symptoms in the 12 months prior to interview. (b) A person may have had more than one disorder. (ABS, 2010)
 * Prevalence of mental disorders(a)(b), Australia - 2007 **

The mental disorders that were focused on were Anxiety, Affective and Substance Use. The rates of these disorders differ between the age groups, with the 16-24 age group, (Generation Y), having the most significant amount of people affected. The following graph, supplied by the ABS, shows the percentage of young people affected by the different types of mental disorders.


 * Young people with selected mental disorders(a)(b), Australia – 2007**

(a) People aged 16–24 years who met criteria for diagnosis of a lifetime mental disorder and had symptoms in the 12 months prior to interview. (b) A person may have more than one mental disorder. The components when added may therefore not add to the total shown. (ABS, 2010)

Anxiety, Harmful Use of Alcohol, Bipolar and Depression were the most common mental disorders featured among the disorder classes. These can all be caused by different events in a person’s life, including something distressing, issues with family or friends, accidents and deaths.

A study conducted within the Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking journal compared the personality profiles of adolescent males with and without internet addiction disorder (IAD) in association to parental rearing behaviours (Xuiqin et al., 2010, p. 401). A number of 304 adolescents completed three tests which showed that adolescents with IAD had higher scores of depression, anxiety, hostility and paranoid ideation. It also showed that the profiles of the individuals with IAD had a significant degree of ‘psychoticism’ when compared with the control group (adolescents without IAD). Xuiquin et al. (2010, p. 401), states that “The results of this study confirm that IAD often occurs concurrently with mental symptoms and personality traits such as introversion and psychoticism. Adolescents with IAD consistently rated parental rearing behaviors as being over-intrusive, puntitive, and lacking in responsiveness. These findings suggest that the influences of parenting style and family function are important factors in the development of Internet dependency.” This study supports the hypothesis that mental health is adversely affected by internet usage, and thus social networking websites.

Another study conducted within the journal of Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking, titled Psychiatric Symptoms in Adolescents with Internet Use: Comparison without Internet Use, investigated psychiatric symptoms of adolescents with and without internet usage. A number of 2,080 students, (1,105 male and 975 female), were analysed and it was brought to conclusion that the usage of the internet concerning adolescents was associated with severe psychiatric symptoms. Kelleci and Sevil (2010), state that “Attention should be devoted to adolescents with Internet use for the design of preventive strategies.” The article also states that with the increasing use of the internet and withdrawal from family activities, there are heightened levels of disorders such as depression as well as feelings of loneliness. Kelleci and Sevil (2010), also state that “The Internet can also provide a medium for creating false senses of interaction. Therefore, increased Internet use may cause individuals to become isolated from their peers and from social interaction in real life. Furthermore, it has also been noted that individuals may increase their use of the Internet as feelings of isolation increases, possibly leading to a vicious circle of social withdrawal.” These studies both suggest that high internet usage //can// attribute to mental disorders in adolescents.

Cultural and Social Analysis <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Computer technology and the World Wide Web are undoubtedly influencing cultural and societal changes. There are many implications this can have on society, including the mental health and wellbeing of Generation Y.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">“Understanding a computer-oriented culture involves more than understanding the operation and functions of computers; it also involves understanding how computers influence the ways people perceive and interact with their environments. The technological, digital culture that emerged in the late twentieth century, organizes individuals, influences their patterns of interactions, and their feelings, and thought processes as much as ethnicity, race, and geography” (Westby, C. and Atencio, D. J., 2002).

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Some researchers view the Internet as superior, in relation to understanding and integrating more information types quickly, to succumb to new types of reasoning and thinking. Although some researchers are making the best of new technology other views aren’t so welcoming. “They [researchers] see children spending much time working in isolation, mindlessly clicking and surfing, collecting bits of information, with minimal understanding of the relationship between the pieces”. (Westby, C. and Atencio, D. J., 2002). Physicist Frijof Capra is concerned that “technology is demanding more of our time and priorities, distorting our relationships to our world and to one another, and eliminating alternate views of reality.” (Westby, C. and Atencio, D. J., 2002).

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">The internet is like an infinite galaxy of knowledge, with any individual being able to publish information about almost anything, whether the information is true or false. Which brings about the headline of this critical analysis; “The thing about quotes on the internet is that you can never confirm their validity.” – Abraham Lincoln. This ‘quote’ was found on the social networking website ‘tumblr’, the icon in the top right had corner of the social networking icon picture. It’s with this in mind, that young adolescents need to remember that not everyone on the internet is who they say they are and that not everyone in society has the best of intentions when becoming a member of a social networking website.

Analysis of Artefact and own Learning Reflections <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">There is a lot of stigma around the usage of the internet, within that, social networking websites. The social networking website icons shown in the picture; Google Plus, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Flickr, Msn Messenger and MySpace; are the main websites which are used as communication technology, with facebook topping the lot with over 800 million active users.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">A percentage of the population only perceive the risks that are taken when you become a member of a social networking website. Such risks include; security or privacy settings, identity theft and obtaining a computer virus. But, there are also the other risks of being part of a social networking website. These include; internet addiction, cyber bullying (by strangers OR the people you know) as well as internet predators. This type of risk factor could be very detrimental to the mental health of Generation Y, with such things as cyber bullying leading to heightened mental health issues such as depression, self harm or mutilation and it can even lead to something as devastating as suicide.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">The literature review and cultural analysis of this ‘artefact’ has brought about the beliefs that there //is// such a thing as ‘too much access’ to social networking websites as well as the internet in general. If the usage of these websites is not monitored, kept private or used in moderation it //can// be detrimental to an individual’s mental health and cause significant health problems in the future.

References <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Dictionary.com, 2011. Social Networking. Retrieved from: []

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">AIHW, 2011. Young Australians: their health and wellbeing 2011. Retrieved from: []

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">ABS, 2010. Prevalence of Mental Disorders. Retrieved from: []=

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Xiuqin, H. Huimin, Z. Mengchen, L. Jinan, W. Ying, Z. Ran, T. (2010). Mental health, personality, and parental rearing styles of adolescents with internet addiction disorder. //Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 13//(4), 401-406. doi:10.1089/cyber.2009.0222.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Kelleci, M. Inal, S. (2010). Psychiatric symptoms in adolescents with internet use: comparison without internet use. //Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 13//(2), 191-194. Doi:10.1089/cyber.2009.0026.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Westby, C. Atencio, D. J. (2002). Computers, culture, and learning. //Topics in Language Disorders, 22//(4), 70-87. Retrieved from: []

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Responses/Discussions

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Are you Sexy Enough for Sport: http://healthculturesociety.wikispaces.com/+Are+you+Sexy+Enough+for+Sport%3F

I totally agree with what you have talked about within your wiki. Even when you look through the sport section of the newspaper it is predominantly full of males and their achievements and what-not. Women shouldn't have to be put on display like this to be taken seriously within sport. Women in sport should be respected, and not objectified.This wiki is very well put together and researched, great job.

Cupcakes or Cricket: http://healthculturesociety.wikispaces.com/Cupcakes+or+Cricket%3F I think you've done a good job on your wiki and you raise some very valid points. Especially that sport shouldn't be defined by a specific gender, which in the dictionary it isn't.. I think that you're right, and that there need to be changes within the sporting industry to make way for equality between genders. You've gone in depth and have researched the topic thoroughly, well done.