Group Behavior Discussion Topic

Discussion: Group Behavior ● Have social media platforms helped us become more social? Or have they isolated us more? What does social psychology suggest? I believe social media platforms have made it more accessible to share and communicate. Also whether communicating by in person (face-face exchange) or interacting through social media individuals are utilizing their interpersonal communication skills effectively in most cases. I believe we as a society have become reliant on non contact communication thus making us more comfortable to isolate and not seek personal interactions as frequently. Social psychology does suggest that more social connections are possible through social media platforms because of the many different aspects, forums and subcultures that an individual would feel comfortable belonging to. ● Are echo chambers changing the way we see the world? How can we avoid being a victim of what some refer to as the social media bubble? An echo chamber can cause confirmation bias to occur in individuals because these environments contain information and aspects that only reinforce, emulate and mirror the individuals opinions and lack opposing perceptions. It is natural for individuals to subconsciously try to make sense of information using preexisting beliefs. In conclusion echo chambers are changing the way an individual sees the world by eliminating opposing perceptions and distorting them thus creating misinformation. in the fact that individuals are becoming more susceptible to influences that may They are changing the world because people are picking and choosing and being aware of what information we are making our self susceptible too ● How can social media developers encourage users to engage in a constructive, respectful dialogue with others—both within and outside of their communities? Make sure to provide concrete examples. The monetization of social media could be beneficial in regards to encouraging more respectful and appropriate interactions within the community. Overall having community guidelines in general is how monetizing shared information can be filtered. An example of social media platforms following through with utilizing these strategies to encourage a positive dialogue is through overall disabling the profile from posting content that doesn't follow these guidelines or contains certain words, hate speech and over all misinformation that could be perceived negatively. ● Should social media users be restricted to people older than 18? At what age might a person become able to begin using social media in healthy, adaptive, and socially responsible ways? Explain your response. I believe social media use should be restricted to the discretion of level of maturity and other aspects such as ensuring the level of monitoring and restricting certain content depending on age/maturity. If I had to put an age on when I believe the use of social media outlets is appropriate and healthy would be maybe ages 16-18 and on. The key to healthy, adaptive and socially responsible use correlates with monetization, emotional maturity, teachings informing of potential risks and consistently applying directive informational supervision to at-risk populations. ● How does the concept of group behavior apply to any of the following programmatic course themes: The concept of group behavior applies to the programmatic theme of emotional intelligence. This is because having a high level of emotional intelligence applies to having self awareness or yourself and others along with maintaining relationships. Having a self perception on how you can be received and how others might misconstrued intentions and communication styles. This will help the overall group behavior because having the ability to maintain and regulate your emotions appropriately this improves the group's ability to freely communicate effectively and deter conflicts and problems quickly. ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ Self-care Social justice Emotional intelligence Career connections Ethics