The happiness effect
Subtitle: how social media is driving a generation to appear perfect at any cost
By: Donna Freitas ; foreword by Christian Smith
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2017
Language: eng
Number of pages: 339
ISBN-13: 9780190239855
Subjects: Youth; Social media; Internet and youth; Psychological aspects; Social life and customs
Description: Sexting. Cyberbullying. Narcissism. Social media has become the dominant force in young people's lives, and each day seems to bring another shocking tale of private pictures getting into the wrong hands, or a lament that young people feel compelled to share their each and every thought with the entire world. Have smartphones and social media created a generation of self-obsessed egomaniacs? Absolutely not, Donna Freitas argues in this book. And, she says, these alarmist fears are drawing attention away from the real issues that young adults are facing. Drawing on a large-scale survey and interviews with students on thirteen college campuses, Freitas finds that what young people are overwhelmingly concerned with -- what they really want to talk about -- is happiness. They face enormous pressure to look perfect online -- not just happy, but blissful, ecstatic, and fabulously successful. Unable to achieve this impossible standard, they are anxious about letting the less-than-perfect parts of themselves become public. Far from wanting to share everything, they are brutally selective when it comes to curating their personal profiles, and worry obsessively that they might unwittingly post something that could come back to haunt them later in life. Through candid conversations with young people from diverse backgrounds, Freitas reveals how even the most well-adjusted individuals can be stricken by self-doubt when they compare their experiences with the vast collective utopia that they see online. And sometimes, as on anonymous platforms like Yik Yak, what they see instead is a depressing cesspool of racism and misogyny. Yet young people are also extremely attached to their smartphones and apps, which sometimes bring them great pleasure. It is very much a love-hate relationship. While much of the public's attention has been focused on headline-grabbing stories, the everyday struggles and joys of young people have remained under the radar. Freitas brings their feelings to the fore, in the words of young people themselves.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 301-331) and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction: Masters of happiness; title: Is everybody hanging out without me? Comparing ourselves to others and the importance of being "liked"; title: The professionalization of Facebook: (And why everyone should keep their opinions to themselves); title: My name is my brand and my brand is happiness!; title: The selfie generation: Why social media is more of a "girl thing"; title: Performing for God: Religion on (and off) social media; title: Virtual playgrounds: The rise of Yik Yak, the joys of Snapchat, and why anonymity is just so liberating; title: An acceptable level of meanness: The bullies, the bullied, and the problem of vulnerability; title: So you wanna make that Facebook official?; title: The ethics of sexting: Tinder, dating, and the promise of mutually assured destruction; title: My smartphone and me: A love-hate relationship; title: Taking a timeout from the timeline: Students who quit social media and why.