Facts and Artifacts

• Social media can strongly influence mental health and public opinion. A survey conducted in 2024 by the Pew Research Center revealed that 48% of American teenagers believe that social media has a predominantly negative effect on young people their age, particularly regarding sleep, self-esteem, and stress. (Atske, 2025)

• Approximately 84% of U.S. adults use YouTube, making it the most widely used social media platform in the United States, while 71% use Facebook. (Gibson, 2025)

 Above is an example of online interactions: this post from Tumblr (source link not found) shows two users joking about a shared interest.

 One instance of community bonding is looking at fandom culture. While there have been conversations regarding how the parasocial aspect of large fandoms has generated a certain toxicity, it has also created community, stemming from a commonality of loneliness and the desire for connection. But in actuality, there is no significant impact when it comes to parasocial relationships between fans and celebrities as they all remain within the boundaries of the online spaces created from the shared interests (Kim, Wang, & Kim, 2023).  

 From outside observations and engaging in communities that bond over shared interest in a piece of media, there is an instance in which something fairly unknown and new, something that wouldn't interest all of society, grabs the attention of a small group of people, who then discuss and share what they found to others, which then becomes something greater and impacting the once disinterested society at large, for example, Star Wars. It captured the attention of so many people because it "tapped into desires and interests that mean something to us at a very deep level...did so in a way no one else ever had." (Togerson, 2017). 

 Communal connection is based on taking what people personally experience, taking bits of their identity, and presenting it back to them in a way that makes them feel seen.