FROM THE SOCIAL DILEMMA PERSPECTIVE: SOCIAL MEDIA FROM ANOTHER ANGLE

Abstract

Background: People live in social groups. Today, interaction and communication within social groups are mediated by technology. Today's individuals use social media intensively as a means of defining their lifestyles. Today, almost half of the world is on social media channels. Social media, which causes changes in communication and socialization patterns, has recently been discussed intensively with its positive and negative aspects and brings serious concerns about its negative aspects. At this point, it is important to evaluate how and in what way social media affects individuals and society as a whole. Objective: In the study, it is aimed to reveal the effect of social media, which is a dilemma in use, on the society, and to present an overview by discussing its benefits and harms. Method: Data were collected through interview and observation. The interviews were conducted in the form of face-to-face interviews with a semi-structured form prepared by the researcher. The participants of the research are 10 adults who are active social media users and participate voluntarily. Descriptive analysis was used in the analysis of the obtained data. Results: As a result of the descriptive analysis; the interviewees positioned social media in their minds within the framework of expression environment, benefit-harm dichotomy, addiction and sharing; It has been found that they interpret it as a means of communication and accessing information. Interviewers are useful in terms of accessing information from social media; they think that it is harmful because of the time spent, negative emotions, deterioration of mental health, loss of time and value. At the same time, it has been observed that the interviewees have a perception that there is no reality in social media. Conclusion: By examining the findings, it was concluded that individuals could be exposed to the violence of positivity even if they were aware of the negativities, and this could lead them to a dilemma about leaving social media or using it optimally. It is important to consider the full impact of social media environments and users' online presentations on individual lives and society. At this point, it is thought that it is essential to analyze and evaluate the individual and social effects in the long term in the best way by the relevant authorities and to implement solution proposals.