The rise of the tech generation has brought many advancements in communication. Nowadays we can all keep up with each other by simply pressing a button on our cell phones. We can post pictures and give or receive reinforcement for posts. All the positive reinforcement gets people addicted to social media. Most people check social media daily but fail to see the negatives that it brings towards their own mental health. Bullying has been around for quite a long period of time, however cyberbullying is something we can classify as part of the social era we reside in today. Cyberbullying can be called a zeitgeist of the modern day do to it being a common use of adolescents. Due to the advanced form of communication and interconnection, people have adapted to new ways of hurting one another through a more effective way of bullying. People can be victimized through the use of social media by means of cyber harassment and catfishing. Bullying is not an unheard issue; most people have bullied or have been bullied at one point in their lives, yet cyber bullying allows bullies to more effectively and discretely harass victims through the social media platforms people claim to love so much. Cyber bullying is a very loose term in that it can be made up of various factors and techniques that people have become accustomed to. Catfishing, exposing pictures or conversations, stalking, or malicious messaging are all apart of cyber bullying. Catfishing is the act of using a false account to mislead people and is portrayed in the song, “Digital Girl” by Jamie Foxx where he describes his online relationship with a girl who he truly knows nothing about. This arsenal is very effective in hurting people yet remaining undetected. This so-called arsenal is also noticeable in the film Cyberbully where the protagonist gets a series of malicious messages by a fake account, who tries to make the protagonist believe she is developing a relationship with this “catfisher”. People can look normal based on their pictures but one can never be too sure of who is behind their account as will be noticed by the two social artifacts.
Cyberbullying is a serious issue for many teens and is mainly done through the use of social media. Being bullied is one thing, but cyberbullying allows people to victimize people at home over a screen, which in many ways can be worse. The movie “Cyberbully” depicts the life of a teenage girl and the effect of cyberbullying on her life. The movie begins with a girl, Taylor, receiving a laptop for her birthday which she then uses to create a social media account. Her brother, as a practical joke goes on her account and posts a comment saying “Im a naughty girl; someone should spank me.” which isn’t revealed till later in the movie that her brother is behind the account. Taylor gets a bunch of nasty comments from people calling her a whore or a slut. She attempts to tell people and her friends that she didn’t send that comment but nobody really believed her. Later on, a boy on social media stands up for Taylor and she develops a crush on him. The boy manipulated her and then spreads rumors that she slept with him. At that point, Taylor’s friends start turning on her. Taylor finds out that her brother sent the comment in the beginning and that her friend created a fake account of the boy who stood up for her and she is flooded with depression and attempts suicide by overdose. Luckily her friend saw her suicide tape live and came over right on time to stop the suicide from happening. Although, the movie is with fictional characters, it depicts a true concept, cyberbullying, in the peak of its use. Cyberbullying is something millennials have become accustomed to. Many don’t even realize the pain they are causing by saying a few words or posting a picture, but the concept drawn from the film shows a real scenario that can occur to anyone given the right circumstances. The danger of this modern zeitgeist is immense, not uncommon, and must be stopped.
Cyberbullying is a major dilemma and affects many people in devastating ways as portrayed by the movie. It can come in many forms from sexual harassment to death threats but regardless it can be terrifying for many people. The film is vivid representation of a social zeitgeist in today’s society: cyber bullying, and how it affects people’s lives. The film demonstrates various forms of cyberbullying including malicious messages, exposing of personal social media content, and catfishing. The film demonstrates a social zeitgeist in the modern day, not only being cyber bullying but just millennial use and addiction to social media. Every student in the film is a user of social media and all give feedback for posts daily. This conveys an issue that can be seen in the modern day with real people. Social media addiction leads to cyber bullying. Bullying is not uncommon in grade school. Adding the factor of social media creates an extension on bullying and is a lot more intense and effective as clearly seen in the film when the students all begin using social media and get attached to it as they start using it on a daily basis.
The song “Digital Girl” by Jamie Foxx depicts the negative effect of social media on people’s social skills as well as trusting people through social media. The song is about socializing with a girl over social media. He incorporates the following lyric in the song, “I wanna see what’s under there there now put it in the air, Yeah load it on my Macbook air”. This line reveals how the protagonist is dependent on social media for social contact with a girl he likes. Jamie sings the following lyrics, “I’ll type you a message for the next send off, You shoot me a video and then I load, Even though I hate this distance it keeps me persistent”. Based off the lyric we can determine that he has the urge to constantly text her and be in contact before even meeting in person, which demonstrates how socializing is being transformed and also diminishes socialization with face to face encounters. Jamie Foxx also used the line, “I love you, girl, girl, You look right in the screen and take it off, off, See I can’t wait till I get a little taste of you, And I just upgraded to 10-80i, hi def just for you”. The line from Jamie Foxx’s song shows how he has serious affection for this unknown girl, and maybe even love. This is an unreal amount of emotion for a woman he has never met before. He deliberately changed his cellular platform to have a higher definition view of her on his digital screen. Which seems excessive for a digital relationship. It shows that social media corrupted people’s lives and maybe changed interacting between people forever. The way he sings the song, using tone and pitch, shows his care for this female he associates with over social media, which makes it evident how social media contact can be addictive and seductive, which can deceive people into believing most of anything based of texts or a picture. This is easily noticeable when listening to the following line in the song, “I love it girl, The way you bring your light into this room, I love it girl, The way you lace that up when you in them shoes, I love it girl, The way your lip looks after you apply the gloss, I love you girl girl”. This lyric from the song is sung with a high pitch and also sung slowly which is different with other lines in the song which are rap and faster paced. This signifies that the lyrics sung slowly is being stressed by the artist. It can be assumed that “Digital Girl” is a love song and about a woman he hasn’t met in person. Developing feelings for a person who you haven’t met can be very dangerous. It is a possibility that the girl is catfishing. Being that Jamie Foxx is a celebrity it is very possible that this person is talking to him on social media trying to get him to show affection for “her” to use his assets. This of course is not a fact about Jamie Foxx’s relationship due to the lack of evidence in the song but definitely a possible reality. This is what makes social media relationships so dangerous. People can’t possibly know if someone’s social media pictures are photographs of the person texting or a copy stolen from a flashy model on Google used to entice people.
What Jamie Foxx incorporates in his song is a form of catfishing. He was in an intimate relationship with a girl he had never met in person, through social media. Based on his lyrics it seems he had a serious affection for the girl he was talking with online. Although social media is good for making new connections and relationships, it is not 100% credible. Being mislead by a person you seem to have a connection with over social media is not uncommon. It is far more simple to give false information about oneself over phone than in person and is why many people use social media as a means to victimize people. Jamie Foxx shows that he fell in love with a girl over social media he hasn’t even met before, which is evident by the following lyrics. “I love you girl girl, You look right in the screen and take it off off, See I can’t wait till I get a little taste of you, And I just upgraded to 10-80-I hi def just for you”. Foxx says he loves this girl and can’t wait to get a taste, which signifies he hasn’t met this woman yet. He then goes onto say that he will upgrade his cell phone to stream her pictures and videos in higher quality. This shows a level of obsession and seduction in play. He claims to love her but when he meets her she could be completely different, possibly not even a female. What Jamie Foxx sings about in “Digital Girl” is an example of catfishing.
Based on the song “Digital Girl” by Jamie Foxx, it is visible how relationships can begin through the use of social media which can be good for people. However, not everyone on social media can be trusted like others. This represents a social zeitgeist of today’s society which is a part of cyber bullying called catfishing. During the song, Jamie Foxx describes how this internet persona of a woman is in a so-called relationship with him over social media, however not enough detail is in the song to understand if she is doing this for malicious reasons but it sets an example about the dangers of meeting people on the internet. Jamie Foxx shows in the song how he really didn’t know much about the girl, but he was still attached because she was showing affection back. Many people can be lured in the same way but with different consequences, which portrays the negatives that social media may present such as its addictiveness.
Social media is proven to be addictive. When people post on different social media outlets, they receive likes and comments which gives positive feedback for the poster. Actions on social media that are being consistently reinforced are likely to be repeated by the posters. Once a person has got the feel of getting positive feedback after a post, it becomes hard to stop. According to an article on MedicalNewsDaily by Honor Whiteman, a survey conducted by AnxietyUK concluded that 51% of the participants claimed that social media affected them negatively. Some people are living it up and posting their great experiences on social media, whilst others are having a nice relaxing day at home looking at their posts. It is rare to see someone post a terrible experience on social media and because people post themselves at their best, viewers may be disappointed with their lives. This is demonstrated by the following quote from the article. ‘“This problem has definitely gained recent attention,” says Dr. Rauch. “We know that many people on social media sites often present idealized versions of their lives, leading others to make upward social comparisons, which can lead to negative emotions.”’(Whiteman, Honor. “Social Media: How Does It Affect Our Mental Health and Well-Being?” Medical News Today)
Also, based on the information given in the previous text, it’s statistically proven that social media use causes anxiety, insomnia, and uncomfort when not connected. Another adverse effect of social media use is the negative impact on real-life encounters for individuals suffering from stress before getting involved with social media. This is evident in the following quote. “Furthermore, the survey revealed that two-thirds of participants reported difficulty relaxing and sleeping after they used the sites, while 55% said they felt “worried or uncomfortable” when they were unable to log onto their social media accounts.”(Whiteman, Honor. “Social Media: How Does It Affect Our Mental Health and Well-Being?” Medical News Today)
Although it doesn’t seem like a drastic issue but many kids on social media can experience cyberbullying. Based on the movie: “Cyberbully”, mentioned earlier it is evident that cyberbullying can cause major mental health issues including anxiety, and quite possibly suicidal thoughts and tendencies. The movie may not be a true life story but many events that occurred in the film actually occur in the real world. Suicide as a result of bullying is not unheard of and social media allows bullying to follow people even when they are alone with only their cell phone. Jamie Foxx’s song “Digital Girl” is a form of catfishing. Catfishing can also be very dangerous because in severe cases, a person is impersonating another person on social media and their intentions are unknown, This is what makes social media so dangerous. It has become too easy in this modern technological era to harass people because it can be done with a simple click of a button.
People use social media as a means to connect with people, and socialize and keep up with friends. However, they do not realize the devastating effects that social media inflicts on one’s mental health. Many people jump onto their social networking program to pass the time during times of boredom without taking into account how it affects themselves or other people. Social media impact can have many unfortunate effects on people such as depression or anxiety due to viewing other people’s posts that center a picture with only the positives of one’s life never the negatives, which creates the image that they have a perfect life which is most definitely untrue. Due to this, social media can lower people’s confidence and cause depression. Besides the negative health aspects of the use of social media, there is also the social media harassment that comes into play. Cyberbullying, which includes sending threatening messages over social media, spreading rumors online, hacking into an account to post hurtful messages, pretending to be someone you’re not on social media or posting provocative,or unpleasant pictures of someone else, is also a major impact on social media being a negative health issue. It is proven to lower self-esteem and make people act out of order in ways such as suicide, demonstrating aggression and acting out, and slipping of grades. In the end, social media seems to cause more problems than it fixes. Okay, it cures boredom, but as a chain effect also creates insomnia and anxiety, therefore social media influence is mostly negative.