Culture of Entitlement in Social Media

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Professor
Subject
Date
The Culture of Entitlement in Social Media
Introduction
Entitlement refers to a right to a particular benefit or privilege that is usually granted by custom or law. The culture of entitlement describes a social trend characterized by individuals asserting that they deserve anything they want. People who feel that they are entitled to something feel that they should have and can have it now and that they do not have to give up anything for it. Although the culture of entitlement has been in existence for generations, it has become more profound during the information era. Social media has opened up unprecedented possibilities for information sharing, making it possible for users to develop a heightened sense of entitlement. This essay discusses how the culture of entitlement has contributed to the problems associated with social media.
The Culture of Entitlement in Social Media
Social media refers to web-based services that allow users to establish connections and interact with one another. In recent years, the use of social media has grown exponentially, especially among young people. For a majority of young across the world, social media is an integral aspect of their daily lives and provides a platform for sharing opinions, views, feelings and attitudes towards anything. The invention of handheld digital devices such as smartphones and tablets has allowed internet users to have access to social media services regardless of location. Undoubtedly, social media has changed the way people share information, exchange life experiences, lend approval and make compliments.

According to Kathryn, Fornasier and White, one of the greatest attributes of social media is that it facilitates channeling of unfiltered and often unfettered communications, which has changed the way people talk to each other (174). Consequently, cultural values are changing rapidly in favor of increased connectedness, openness, accountability and good sharing. Social media has lowered traditional barriers to social circles, and as a result, individuals and communities are becoming more participatory. The web-mediated media allows people to come together regardless of their social status to participate in different conversations. In effect, social media has enabled people to feel that they are entitled to some social privileges such as joining conversations, giving opinions or even criticizing others.
Jan, Hermkens, McCarthy and Silvestre posit that by lowering social and geographic barriers, social media has weakened the loyalty and ties that individuals feel towards each other, which has, in turn, strengthened the sense of entitlement (244). For example, coming together for a chat on a common media platform such as Twitter is an enjoyable experience for most people. Through these conversations, people can nurture fruitful and long-lasting relationships, which can extend to other social forums such as workplace and family relationships. Because relationships are an integral aspect of meaningful social participation, people feel that they are entitled to use social media to cultivate the relationships and to be part of the society.
Studies have shown that social media has fundamentally changed the culture of entitlement through its effects on self-esteem. Erin, Rose, Roberts and Eckles argue that social media satisfies users’ needs to belong to a common setup and provides the most convenient way for users to fit in with others (208). Belonging to a social group not only leads to the development of high self-esteem but similarly, makes the users feel entitled to the privileges of the group. These means that entitlement derives from social media users’ knowledge of belonging to a group, as well as the emotional significance and values attached to group membership.
Jan, Hermkens, McCarthy and Silvestre reckon that by influencing people’s perceptions of entitlement, social media can negatively affect self-esteem by causing increased narcissism (242). According to this researcher, increased social media use is positively correlated with certain personality traits such as unconscientiousness and extraversion. These two characteristics are commonly associated with narcissistic behaviors. Thus, narcissism remains a strong predictor of the apparent shift in the culture of entitlement among social media users. In fact, individuals with high levels of narcissism are more likely to be active users of social media, and therefore, they will have a greater sense of entitlement. Such people tend to prefer stronger social networks and social media provides a convenient avenue for stretching the limits of social relationships. Moreover, social media allow users to create grandiose, inflated and inflated self-images that align positively with the entitlement expectations of their peers in the social networks.
Besides self-image, another important issue related to entitlement is the inherent need to compare oneself with others. According to Erin, Rose, Roberts and Eckles, social media has made it easier for people to perform self-comparisons with regard to anything (207). Through their interactions on social media, individuals can compare themselves against others whom they perceive to be inferior or superior. In either case, the person making the comparison develops a feeling of being entitled to a particular level of social status. Unlike other avenues of interactions, social media is capable of widening the scope of self-comparisons. Instead of individuals comparing themselves to those physically near them, they can make comparisons with people from far way places. These means that social media can cause people to feel entitled to things that are not within their reach, at least physically. Moreover, social media promotes exaggerated self-images, which make the self-comparison (and thus the need for entitlement) more troubling.
Reflection on the English 101 Class
I feel that the English 101 class offered the most informative lessons. Although the experience was very long, I learned a lot about social media and its effects on people’s behaviors and actions. Most importantly, I have learned that despites its positive impact on individuals and the society as a whole; social media can have adverse psychological and emotional effects on people. After lengthy interactions with my classmates and friends deliberating on the issue of social media, I am now confident that I am in a position to make a strong case regarding the effects of technology in general on people’s lives. Just from the English 101 class alone, my cyber literacy has increased at an incredibly higher rate than I expected. Not only am I able to use social media tools more responsibly and ethically, but I can likewise engage in more meaningful conversations and discourses online. I have made huge strides in striking the right balance between my three worlds: school life; personal life and social media life. Although I feel uncomfortable merging the three worlds, I firmly believe that they are inseparable and that together, they create a heightened sense of identity.
The professor who taught us English 101 was quite funny and I enjoyed being part of his class. He was very knowledgeable in the subject and even went out of the course outline to explain concepts from real world examples. His sense of humor coupled with fatherly advice made feel at home. I loved the manner in which he handled the topic of social media. Although social media is commonly associated with young people, the professor (in spite of his advanced) knows more about technology than most young people know. After all, he is a social researcher, and therefore, it is expected that he stays ahead of the pack. After our first test, it dawned on me that the professor’s assignments are not only meant to test students understanding of key concepts but to make them connect lessons taught in class to real life. In a way, the experience gained in class served as an important stepping stone to the life outside of college.
Conclusion
Social media has become a crucial aspect of people’s social lives and has created a new culture of entitlement. An important lesson I have learned from attending this class is that social media is capable of expanding people’s thoughts and ideas and connecting them to others through social networks. It is an important consideration because, for society to develop, people must get access to ideas that lie outside their immediate neighborhoods. Social media has reduced physical barriers thereby allowing people to engage with others in far way places in real time. With these significant developments in social interactions, the use of social media has created self-centered individuals who feel that they are entitled to anything they desire. Clearly, this is a weak point as far as the use of social media is concerned.

Works Cited
Erin, Vogel, Jason Rose, Lindsay Roberts, and Katheryn Eckles. Social Comparison, Social Media, And Self-Esteem. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, vol. 3, no. 4, 2004, pp. 206-222. Print.
Jan, Kietzmann, Kristopher Hermkens, Ian McCarthy, and Bruno Silvestre. Social Media? Get Serious! Understanding The Functional Building Blocks Of Social Media. Business Horizons, vol. 54, 2011, pp. 241-251. Print.
Kathryn, Wilson, Stephanie Fornasier, and Katherine White. Psychological Predictors Of Young Adults’ Use Of Social Networking Sites. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, vol. 13, no. 2, 2010, pp. 173-177. Print.