Happiness is something that can be defined as a state of showing contentment or Joy. One can feel happy by doing a variety of things. For example; hanging out with friends, eating new foods, watching new movies, shopping, traveling and many more. It’s easy to convince yourself that you’re happy when doing these activities but what about when you’re on social media? The question in hand is whether or not social media increases your happiness or in fact just makes you dissatisfied.

                    Many people assume that people are happy when  they post on social media or when they see other  types of posts. This is mainly because when people post on social media you see something completely different from what they actually are in real life.It isn’t possible for you to see every face behind a screen and know what people feel when they go online. It is understandable to think that everyone is happy on social media though. However it is important to know that this is all a part of a bigger picture.. Not everything is what it seems like on the internet.Everyone is different so you wouldn’t exactly know how people feel when they go on different social networking sites. Such as Twitter, instagram, facebook,or even snapchat. There could be different facades of different people everywhere and you wouldn’t even know.   ArgumentSocial media and Happiness does go hand in had with one another and has a positive association 

                        Chae acknowledges that social comparison has a direct relationship with social networking sites.  This then leads to a decrease of happiness. Time spent on social media leaves a lot of room for you to compare yourself to their posts or various different posts that you see. This can happen in many different ways. You might see someone on instagram or facebook and think to yourself  “I want to look like that” or “ I want my life to be like hers/his”. This overall can be deemed as something general  or a way to overlook that there are a lot of different aspects that contribute to one’s happiness. According to Chae, “Comparison with similar posts can be made with just one click, and because of the asynchronous nature of  online conversation, people have more time to present the self in more ideal ways than reality would dictate (Verduyn et al..,2017)” In other words, Chae believes that it is easy to compare yourself online. Mainly because people put up different fronts on social media.I personally have always believed that social media  reflected on how someone might act in person.After learning more and  growing up I now know that not everything is the same as what I see.People online  can live differently than what is their actual reality. This also adds on to happiness and how greatly it could be affected. Chase’s  theory of social comparison is extremely useful, because it sheds insight on the difficult problem of how the use of different social media sights can have a negative impact on one’s loneliness which then has a positive association with a person’s happiness. 

                      In recent discussions of social comparison due to social media and happiness, a controversial issue has been whether  there is actually a direct relationship between the two. On the one hand, some argue that it does have a negative association. On the other hand, however, others argue that there is not much of a relationship connecting the two factors. Veenhoven insists, “ happiness does not completely depend on social comparison. Standards of social comparison are changeable but happiness is also determined by the gratification of biological and psychological needs, which are not related to social comparison.” In making this comment, Veenhoven urges us to evaluate the other components that can also go to someone’s happiness and how it could affect them as well. He is trying to emphasize the fact there can be different reasons to why one might not be happy. Veenhoven believes that social comparison has nothing to do with it, instead how someone might think or their biological needs have more of an effect.Although I believe that he is right, it does not necessarily follow that social comparison has no association. It is possible that happiness can depend on biological and psychological needs while also including social comparison as well. Recent studies like these shed new light on happiness, which previous studies had not  addressed. Ultimately, what is at stake here is that it could go on to be more serious than what we see now. It can relate back to a larger mental health issue and can have a damaging effect on someone’s mindset or even behavioral issues. By continuing to see different things on social media continuously teenagers for example might go to drastic extremes to change themselves to fit into what they see on social media which could be self harming.

                Conventional Wisdom claims that age factors should be included when it comes to social media and the experience. There have not been many reports about how different ages and different generations could be affected.We know that social media can affect people in different ways regarding their happiness but this should come into the discussion as well. You would think that this happens to everyone the same way but this is simply not true. For example, it is knowledgeable that young people go on social media a lot  more because of the fact that we grew up on the idea of it.Older people however may not feel the same way because of the time period where they grew up and the difference in interaction that was used back then. As you can see from this it shows how the experience could be different drastically. Mogilner, Kamvar,& Aaker argue that as people grow up their perception of happiness tends to change and evolve. This means that their definitions of what it means to happiness might not be the same anymore. Or the fact that older people might experience happiness in a different way than a young person might. According to  Mogilner, Kamvar,& Aaker, “As people age and traverse through different life stages, not only does their definition of happiness itself shift but also their view of their lifespan, also known as the future perspective” and also Pinquart insists, “  Differences in the meaning of happiness stem from several types of arousal; whereas happiness for young people can result from high states of arousal such as excite-ment, older people can achieve happiness from low states of arousal such as peacefulness.” The essence of Strought’s , Mogilner, Kambar & Aaker  thought is that social media can be responded to in different ways. Someone’s perspective on what happiness means to them is bound to change over time. It is not always going to stay the same forever. As you grow up you will eventually mature and see life a different way than you used to.  When I was younger, I always believed that happiness was what I felt a certain exact point in life or me just laughing. Obviously now my  definition of that has changed. Happiness for me is being content in whatever I do. I agree with this point because it is something that needs emphasizing since so many people believe that what we believe at a time will stay the same. Yet some readers may challenge my view by insisting that our views do in fact stay the same. Although I grant that we change our perspectives as time goes on,  I still maintain that there are some people who stick with the same one. There are many different outcomes that may come from this. Depending on the person one might change their view or they might just stay with the same one that they have. An example of this is shown by Berezan, Krishen, Argwal and Kachroo, “No single definition exists for the term happiness, and every in-dividual has their own perspective of what makes them happy. When Asked to describe what makes them happy, people respond with vastly different answers, from sunshine to dancing, health to wealth, and successful children to a long-term love relationship.” In other words, this means that their experiences can vary.  But who really cares? Who besides me and a handful of recent researches has a stake in these clams? At the very least the researchers who formerly believed the differences in generations may not have a direct affect on social media should care. If we are right about this theory, then major consequences follow for this.(So what) It is possible that people will grow up thinking that they’re experience on social media might have nothing to do with their happiness. Speaking long term, people might even continue to view this as something that has no direct association with social networking sites. There will continue to be a destruction to people who go on social media regularly  and might even change the way one might act. Therefore it is very important to take this seriously because your mental health depends on it. It is key to understand the different repercussions that might occur from this. It could lead to a larger issue that might even change your psychological well being.

            Social media does in fact have an association with someone’s happiness. As discussed previously it could be because of what people see when they post, or because of the different ages that have interaction with social media as well. There are different endresults with either one.