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The Happiness Effect: How Social Media is Driving a Generation to Appear Perfect at Any Cost
Sexting. Cyberbullying. Narcissism. Social media has become the dominant force in young people's lives, and each day seems to bring another shocking tale of private pictures getting into the wrong hands, or a lament that young people feel compelled to share their each and every thought with the entire world.
Have smartphones and social media created a generation of self-obsessed egomaniacs?
Absolutely not, Donna Freitas argues in this provocative book. And, she says, these alarmist fears are drawing attention away from the real issues that young adults are facing.
Drawing on a large-scale survey and interviews with students on thirteen college campuses, Freitas finds that what young people are overwhelmingly concerned with--what they really want to talk about--is happiness. They face enormous pressure to look perfect online--not just happy, but blissful, ecstatic, and fabulously successful. Unable to achieve this impossible standard, they are anxious about letting the less-than-perfect parts of themselves become public. Far from wanting to share everything, they are brutally selective when it comes to curating their personal profiles, and worry obsessively that they might unwittingly post something that could come back to haunt them later in life. Through candid conversations with young people from diverse backgrounds, Freitas reveals how even the most well-adjusted individuals can be stricken by self-doubt when they compare their experiences with the vast collective utopia that they see online. And sometimes, as on anonymous platforms like Yik Yak, what they see instead is a depressing cesspool of racism and misogyny. Yet young people are also extremely attached to their smartphones and apps, which sometimes bring them great pleasure. It is very much a love-hate relationship.
While much of the public's attention has been focused on headline-grabbing stories, the everyday struggles and joys of young people have remained under the radar. Freitas brings their feelings to the fore, in the words of young people themselves. The Happiness Effect is an eye-opening window into their first-hand experiences of social media and its impact on them.
Have smartphones and social media created a generation of self-obsessed egomaniacs?
Absolutely not, Donna Freitas argues in this provocative book. And, she says, these alarmist fears are drawing attention away from the real issues that young adults are facing.
Drawing on a large-scale survey and interviews with students on thirteen college campuses, Freitas finds that what young people are overwhelmingly concerned with--what they really want to talk about--is happiness. They face enormous pressure to look perfect online--not just happy, but blissful, ecstatic, and fabulously successful. Unable to achieve this impossible standard, they are anxious about letting the less-than-perfect parts of themselves become public. Far from wanting to share everything, they are brutally selective when it comes to curating their personal profiles, and worry obsessively that they might unwittingly post something that could come back to haunt them later in life. Through candid conversations with young people from diverse backgrounds, Freitas reveals how even the most well-adjusted individuals can be stricken by self-doubt when they compare their experiences with the vast collective utopia that they see online. And sometimes, as on anonymous platforms like Yik Yak, what they see instead is a depressing cesspool of racism and misogyny. Yet young people are also extremely attached to their smartphones and apps, which sometimes bring them great pleasure. It is very much a love-hate relationship.
While much of the public's attention has been focused on headline-grabbing stories, the everyday struggles and joys of young people have remained under the radar. Freitas brings their feelings to the fore, in the words of young people themselves. The Happiness Effect is an eye-opening window into their first-hand experiences of social media and its impact on them.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published January 31, 2017
About the author
Donna Freitas
28 books519 followersDonna Freitas is the author of The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano, Consent: A Memoir of Unwanted Attention, and many other novels and nonfiction books for adults, children, and young adults. Her latest YA novel is a rom-com that takes place in her favorite city, Barcelona: Stefi and the Spanish Prince. She has been featured on NPR and The Today Show, and her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The LA Times, among many other places. Donna currently serves on the faculty at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s MFA program. She also lives half the year in Barcelona where she loves partaking of its many bakeries and delicious restaurants galore. Learn more about Donna at www.donnafreitas.com and on Substack: https://donnafreitas.substack.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 67 reviews
May 31, 2016
In the three-year process of researching and writing my book on digital media (12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You [April 2017]) I read over 1,100 articles and somewhere around 50 books on smartphones, digital technology, and social media. The Happiness Effect (Feb. 2017 release date) was the last book I read, and it easily finishes in the top three of what I think are most helpful books in the field. It is a rare must-read in a crowding shelf of digital tech diagnostic studies.
Donna Freitas surveyed about 800 students, and met and interviewed about 200 students in person, a group spread out across the country, and she compiled it all into this well-researched and brilliantly organized collection of insightful interviews on the social media habits of college students. She reinforces some of the major concerns, brushes aside a number of false presumptions and over simplifications, raises new issues I found nowhere else (like the link between digital addictions and personal insecurity), and she illustrates all of the points from her lively anecdotal interviews.
As a Christian reader, this book is not necessarily Christian, though there are several key interviews with professing Christian college students. The overall strength of the work serves as the most thorough, balanced, illustrative, and shrewd diagnostic tool into the social media habits of college students. And who better to pull off such a thing than Freitas?
In the end, this is a brilliant work of data collection and synthesis for any student, leader, or parent wanting to awaken to the new trends and pressures and expectations in smartphone habits, but with critical thinking and with an awareness of the complex social dimensions navigated by this smartphone generation. It is highly recommended as a diagnostic study that exposes the strengths and weakness of the digital age, and begs for solid gospel solutions going forward.
Here’s one little taste from the book, on the constant love/hate schizophrenic relationship we have with our phones. Freitas writes this on page 230:
“The burden we are carrying around because of our phones would be lifted if they would only disappear off the face of this earth. These tiny, light, pretty, shiny devices have come to represent an outsized weight upon our shoulders — we look at them and see our to-do lists, our responsibilities, other people’s needs, our perpetual inability to keep up, the ways in which others constantly judge us, everyone’s successes amid all our failures, among so many other stresses — stresses that feel more like thousands of pounds than a few ounces. At the same time, we see them as our escape from boredom and loneliness, our connection to loved ones and friends, our guide when we are lost, the archive of our best hair days and most memorable moments, the diaries where we place all our most intimate feelings, hopes, and dreams.”
To make it all seem simpler would be a disservice to this generation.
Donna Freitas surveyed about 800 students, and met and interviewed about 200 students in person, a group spread out across the country, and she compiled it all into this well-researched and brilliantly organized collection of insightful interviews on the social media habits of college students. She reinforces some of the major concerns, brushes aside a number of false presumptions and over simplifications, raises new issues I found nowhere else (like the link between digital addictions and personal insecurity), and she illustrates all of the points from her lively anecdotal interviews.
As a Christian reader, this book is not necessarily Christian, though there are several key interviews with professing Christian college students. The overall strength of the work serves as the most thorough, balanced, illustrative, and shrewd diagnostic tool into the social media habits of college students. And who better to pull off such a thing than Freitas?
In the end, this is a brilliant work of data collection and synthesis for any student, leader, or parent wanting to awaken to the new trends and pressures and expectations in smartphone habits, but with critical thinking and with an awareness of the complex social dimensions navigated by this smartphone generation. It is highly recommended as a diagnostic study that exposes the strengths and weakness of the digital age, and begs for solid gospel solutions going forward.
Here’s one little taste from the book, on the constant love/hate schizophrenic relationship we have with our phones. Freitas writes this on page 230:
“The burden we are carrying around because of our phones would be lifted if they would only disappear off the face of this earth. These tiny, light, pretty, shiny devices have come to represent an outsized weight upon our shoulders — we look at them and see our to-do lists, our responsibilities, other people’s needs, our perpetual inability to keep up, the ways in which others constantly judge us, everyone’s successes amid all our failures, among so many other stresses — stresses that feel more like thousands of pounds than a few ounces. At the same time, we see them as our escape from boredom and loneliness, our connection to loved ones and friends, our guide when we are lost, the archive of our best hair days and most memorable moments, the diaries where we place all our most intimate feelings, hopes, and dreams.”
To make it all seem simpler would be a disservice to this generation.
March 10, 2017
The book gives a solid overview over the attitude of students towards social media. A bit thin on analysis, though. Still, an interesting read.
3.5*
3.5*
October 8, 2017
More at NMR: In short to those who will not read this till the end, and hopefully author too, if she ever comes across this: the book was well meant, but I disagree with the message, and the accidental slander. My disagreement is best expressed by Humble the Poet quote; I love chilling with people who make me forget I have a phone.
Author interviewed a great lot of young students, and gave us, what seemed, the radical extremes. They either take facebook as one-man performance play, a stand-up show where they must become the most "liked" star, or they no longer have social media, and therefor feel superior, to the rest of us, "slaves". Which then leads me to another quote, by Marilyn Manson, where he spoke of drugs (which fits, because there was one person interviewed, who called facebook: chemical addiction; or something among those lines): there are users, and there are abusers. And, in my opinion, the preached here abstinence is not the solution, for I dearly doubt it is truly the problem.
Author goes on of how we can help young people by giving them the freedom they secretly crave: wi-fi free zones. Can't stop fidgeting with your phone in class? Hm, why don't we make a basket and put all our phones in there before class starts? Because why make class more interesting, right? And that's my damn point. Most of these people in the book admitted they went on snapchat due to boredom. And I do that too when I'm bored. Engage me, and I'm all ears. So, engage your students, and they won't have the time or will to go check what's good on twitter. You'll be what's good, and it'll be enough.
So to make it short, if you want to know how far people go for likes, favs, follows, and so on: this is the book you might want to read. And I say "might", because it's hard to read through very odd speaking manner, peppered with "like, you know", and "I don't know, it's like". But other than that, this was rough. Social media is not whole internet. We have whole world, wast libraries at our fingertips. If you really think that pulling the cable out of the back of your pc will solve your kid's need for video games, you are mistaken. We live in age where we are finally accepting the fact, that one kid has different ways of learning from the other. This book is a great example of how hard it might be to sit down and read a book. But then I have those I couldn't put down at 4am. And yet you'd have me what? Put my phone in the basket so it's easier to read dry text? Improve the content, how it is passed along, and not the room it will be presented in. 2 out of 5, mostly because author was well-meaning, and kind.
Author interviewed a great lot of young students, and gave us, what seemed, the radical extremes. They either take facebook as one-man performance play, a stand-up show where they must become the most "liked" star, or they no longer have social media, and therefor feel superior, to the rest of us, "slaves". Which then leads me to another quote, by Marilyn Manson, where he spoke of drugs (which fits, because there was one person interviewed, who called facebook: chemical addiction; or something among those lines): there are users, and there are abusers. And, in my opinion, the preached here abstinence is not the solution, for I dearly doubt it is truly the problem.
Author goes on of how we can help young people by giving them the freedom they secretly crave: wi-fi free zones. Can't stop fidgeting with your phone in class? Hm, why don't we make a basket and put all our phones in there before class starts? Because why make class more interesting, right? And that's my damn point. Most of these people in the book admitted they went on snapchat due to boredom. And I do that too when I'm bored. Engage me, and I'm all ears. So, engage your students, and they won't have the time or will to go check what's good on twitter. You'll be what's good, and it'll be enough.
So to make it short, if you want to know how far people go for likes, favs, follows, and so on: this is the book you might want to read. And I say "might", because it's hard to read through very odd speaking manner, peppered with "like, you know", and "I don't know, it's like". But other than that, this was rough. Social media is not whole internet. We have whole world, wast libraries at our fingertips. If you really think that pulling the cable out of the back of your pc will solve your kid's need for video games, you are mistaken. We live in age where we are finally accepting the fact, that one kid has different ways of learning from the other. This book is a great example of how hard it might be to sit down and read a book. But then I have those I couldn't put down at 4am. And yet you'd have me what? Put my phone in the basket so it's easier to read dry text? Improve the content, how it is passed along, and not the room it will be presented in. 2 out of 5, mostly because author was well-meaning, and kind.
July 3, 2017
In full disclosure, I won a free copy of this book from a Goodreads giveaway. As a high school teacher, the topic interested me. I am from the generation that is in the cusp of Gen Y and Millennials (recently coined Xennials). I grew up without the internet. I got my first cell phone when I was in college, and it was ONLY for emergencies. My first smartphone appeared with my first job after college. As I read this book, I reflected a lot about my own phone usage. I *do* spend a decent amount of time on my phone using a variety of apps or using waze or looking up where to eat for dinner. I use my phone mostly as a tool, but I am guilty of killing loads of time looking at instagram or facebook.
My students grew up in a world where the internet was ever-present. My 11 year old nephew even has a smart phone. All of it is pretty weird to me. Is it weird to them? Not even. I think this book does a decent job exploring the causes and effects of a social media-driven generation. I liked reading the various interviews, but I found it to be a lot of what I already knew (i.e. social media can be addicting, ruin living in the moment, cause bullying, and cause people to appear "perfect"). I did not get anything really new from this book. I also had a really hard time focusing on it as it did not engage me as much as I had hoped.
My students grew up in a world where the internet was ever-present. My 11 year old nephew even has a smart phone. All of it is pretty weird to me. Is it weird to them? Not even. I think this book does a decent job exploring the causes and effects of a social media-driven generation. I liked reading the various interviews, but I found it to be a lot of what I already knew (i.e. social media can be addicting, ruin living in the moment, cause bullying, and cause people to appear "perfect"). I did not get anything really new from this book. I also had a really hard time focusing on it as it did not engage me as much as I had hoped.
January 9, 2020
Outdated & patronising
April 16, 2018
I'm from before all this technology came about. I don;t have a Facebook, MySpace, etc... So i only know it as far as I hear or read about it. I think it's interesting to read and think maybe us grown ups, who put the stuff out there, are now worrying about how the kids use it or what it does to them. How it affects them. I am also sure the future will sort itself out. I'm not so convinced that what one can post to these sites can hurt your career. Given that many bosses are in the same age group (20-40) I am sure they have info they'd rather not have known, or no longer care. It's just change. We'll researched book many will find interesting.
I received a Kindle ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.
I received a Kindle ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.
October 29, 2016
In short, Can we become better consumers of social media so that it doesn't consume us?
Having interviewed more than 200 students conducted surveys of more than 700 and had more than 100 informal conversations with students, faculties, parents over the years, the author has got something very clear notions displayed through this book.
Lot of acquaintances on recently trending apps like Snapchat, Yik Yak and many more with which my generation is more obsessed. About 75 % of the book is all about about students' and young adults' opinions and views on social media obsession interviewed, surveyed by the author and some of which were really quite intriguing and thoughtful, and the remaining things were explained in a quite repetitive way. I felt the book targeted more to elder people in order to understand this obsession possessed by your adults these days though it's essential to find one's own weaknesses. I felt the Introduction and conclusion is more insightful as those opinions and views are familiar amongst my generation adults (not probably kids).
Worth trying the book as understanding the influence of social media on this modern era logically and philosophically where we are at the verge of becoming narcissistic pioneers oblivious of the ill effects of them.
"We may need to stop social media as a place to measure, judge, evaluate. We may simply need to acknowledge that none of us is perfect."
I'm grateful to Netgalley and Oxford University Press, USA for this advance copy in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.
Having interviewed more than 200 students conducted surveys of more than 700 and had more than 100 informal conversations with students, faculties, parents over the years, the author has got something very clear notions displayed through this book.
Lot of acquaintances on recently trending apps like Snapchat, Yik Yak and many more with which my generation is more obsessed. About 75 % of the book is all about about students' and young adults' opinions and views on social media obsession interviewed, surveyed by the author and some of which were really quite intriguing and thoughtful, and the remaining things were explained in a quite repetitive way. I felt the book targeted more to elder people in order to understand this obsession possessed by your adults these days though it's essential to find one's own weaknesses. I felt the Introduction and conclusion is more insightful as those opinions and views are familiar amongst my generation adults (not probably kids).
Worth trying the book as understanding the influence of social media on this modern era logically and philosophically where we are at the verge of becoming narcissistic pioneers oblivious of the ill effects of them.
"We may need to stop social media as a place to measure, judge, evaluate. We may simply need to acknowledge that none of us is perfect."
I'm grateful to Netgalley and Oxford University Press, USA for this advance copy in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.
July 12, 2017
Even though people know that social media profiles mostly show the positive and exciting things people do, people still are impacted in a negative way- they feel their lives are not as exciting, they are being left out, greater depression, etc. parents- read this book and talk to your kids BEFORE they get a phone that can text or access internet/ social media sites.
March 4, 2017
Huge thanks to Oxford University Press for provding an e-ARC via NetGalley.
Another version of this review can be found here.
I knew I had to read this book as soon as I set my eyes on it for two reasons. One, I've always been fascinated by social media and how it affects us for better or for worse, and two, at the time this book went up on NetGalley I had already started thinking of my research for my final year at uni and this seemed to be a good starting point to dig deeper into something I've always been interested in. In fact, I even did a project in high school loosely based on how technology affects kids of this generation where I explored the effects of social media too. So once I set my eyes on this there was no way I'd have let this pass, and when I got approved to read and review this book on NetGalley, I was over the moon.
However, due to TBR problems and what not, I couldn't get to this as soon as I would have liked, and I've been quite caught up with lots of things these days and me picking this book up got delayed and delayed until early this week when I realized it was high time I read it. Even though my research topic for uni ultimately changed to something else, I still was incredibly excited to delve into this.
In The Happiness Effect, Donna Freitas draws attention to what's most important when it comes to social media- the real issues faced by those using them. Not the attention-grabbing, clickbait-worthy headlines propagated on a daily basis. The author sheds light on all sorts of issues faced by young adults in this book, backing everything with research done on students of college campuses. While this research is based on the US, it's largely relevant to anyone and everyone who finds their time consumed by social media. This book provides enough food for thought that you'd find yourself questioning everything you do on social media and thinking about how you're unwittingly letting it all affect you in ways you never imagined.
This research has brought forth something very interesting indeed: the importance of appearing happy on social media. The "happiness effect" that's mentioned in the title is what the author describes as the tendency of people, especially students in this case, to become masters of appearing happy, at significant cost. Social media has produced a world where everyone feels pressurized to present the best virtual presentations of themselves, oft obsessively, in a quest to be "Liked." The author has presented various point of views of students and how they feel social media has made them behave online, and it's quite very surprising to note that many actually do feel they have been made to put up facades to convince their "audiences" that all is always well. In the words of one of the students,
"People share the best version of themselves, and we compare that to the worst version of ourselves."
How true this is! This is something I've noticed on a personal level, and however aware I am of it, I still haven't been able to resist comparing myself to what I see online at times. It was incredibly fascinating to read about various students and their individual struggles dealing with this on a daily basis. The author notes a significant common theme in most social media users: the need for one to carefully craft, cultivate, and curate public profiles at all times. The author has also done a great job at explaining how the pressure to appear happy all the time can even warp how students see themselves, as successes or failures.
Various other topics are explored, including but not limited to, the professionalization of Facebook, "the Selfie Generation", expressing religious and political views online and the effect of religiousness on social media usage, racism and misogyny on social media, sexting and the hookup culture, anonymity, bullying, and smartphones. The author also talks to students on how and why they take timeouts from social media and how this helps them, and ultimately provides tips and suggestions on how we can step back and rethink about the effect social media has on our capacity to be vulnerable. In this gem of a book, Donna Freitas manages to present to us an unbiased look at how social media has changed all our lives to a great extent in such a small span of time, and it's definitely a must-read for all of us who spend a significant amount of our time online.
Final rating: 5/5
Another version of this review can be found here.
I knew I had to read this book as soon as I set my eyes on it for two reasons. One, I've always been fascinated by social media and how it affects us for better or for worse, and two, at the time this book went up on NetGalley I had already started thinking of my research for my final year at uni and this seemed to be a good starting point to dig deeper into something I've always been interested in. In fact, I even did a project in high school loosely based on how technology affects kids of this generation where I explored the effects of social media too. So once I set my eyes on this there was no way I'd have let this pass, and when I got approved to read and review this book on NetGalley, I was over the moon.
However, due to TBR problems and what not, I couldn't get to this as soon as I would have liked, and I've been quite caught up with lots of things these days and me picking this book up got delayed and delayed until early this week when I realized it was high time I read it. Even though my research topic for uni ultimately changed to something else, I still was incredibly excited to delve into this.
In The Happiness Effect, Donna Freitas draws attention to what's most important when it comes to social media- the real issues faced by those using them. Not the attention-grabbing, clickbait-worthy headlines propagated on a daily basis. The author sheds light on all sorts of issues faced by young adults in this book, backing everything with research done on students of college campuses. While this research is based on the US, it's largely relevant to anyone and everyone who finds their time consumed by social media. This book provides enough food for thought that you'd find yourself questioning everything you do on social media and thinking about how you're unwittingly letting it all affect you in ways you never imagined.
This research has brought forth something very interesting indeed: the importance of appearing happy on social media. The "happiness effect" that's mentioned in the title is what the author describes as the tendency of people, especially students in this case, to become masters of appearing happy, at significant cost. Social media has produced a world where everyone feels pressurized to present the best virtual presentations of themselves, oft obsessively, in a quest to be "Liked." The author has presented various point of views of students and how they feel social media has made them behave online, and it's quite very surprising to note that many actually do feel they have been made to put up facades to convince their "audiences" that all is always well. In the words of one of the students,
"People share the best version of themselves, and we compare that to the worst version of ourselves."
How true this is! This is something I've noticed on a personal level, and however aware I am of it, I still haven't been able to resist comparing myself to what I see online at times. It was incredibly fascinating to read about various students and their individual struggles dealing with this on a daily basis. The author notes a significant common theme in most social media users: the need for one to carefully craft, cultivate, and curate public profiles at all times. The author has also done a great job at explaining how the pressure to appear happy all the time can even warp how students see themselves, as successes or failures.
Various other topics are explored, including but not limited to, the professionalization of Facebook, "the Selfie Generation", expressing religious and political views online and the effect of religiousness on social media usage, racism and misogyny on social media, sexting and the hookup culture, anonymity, bullying, and smartphones. The author also talks to students on how and why they take timeouts from social media and how this helps them, and ultimately provides tips and suggestions on how we can step back and rethink about the effect social media has on our capacity to be vulnerable. In this gem of a book, Donna Freitas manages to present to us an unbiased look at how social media has changed all our lives to a great extent in such a small span of time, and it's definitely a must-read for all of us who spend a significant amount of our time online.
Final rating: 5/5
January 25, 2017
I think this book covers a lot of interesting topics and it carries an important message too, it makes you wonder for what purposes do you use social media. Are we trying to appear perfect on social media at any cost? Also, it was interesting to read about how Muslim girls and Orthodox Jews use social media.
However, I only rated this book as 3 stars because I didn't feel like I was in the target group of this book. I felt like this was written for parents whose children spend a lot of time on social media and by someone who is clearly older and sees this topic as an outsider to social media, not an insider. And that made it a bit annoying. It made teens and young people in general seem like we are anxious and insecure (like that's anything new) and I think even if it somehow explained how it's all necessary, it did it in a negative tone.
However, I only rated this book as 3 stars because I didn't feel like I was in the target group of this book. I felt like this was written for parents whose children spend a lot of time on social media and by someone who is clearly older and sees this topic as an outsider to social media, not an insider. And that made it a bit annoying. It made teens and young people in general seem like we are anxious and insecure (like that's anything new) and I think even if it somehow explained how it's all necessary, it did it in a negative tone.
August 9, 2016
Do you have a smartphone? Are you a social media participant, whether it be on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook? Ever feel like social media is taking over your life and happiness and how you look at yourself? And even if not, are you a parent concerned with how social media is—or will be—affecting how your children’s lives and self-image are being shaped? In The Happiness Effect, Donna Freitas addresses so many issues that are so prevalent today as we continue living in the digital age. There is no denying that much of our daily lives today, especially young adults, are ruled by the use of social media—and it will be like this for quite a long time. But perhaps it doesn’t have to be.
As a twenty something year old myself living in the digital age, I knew before going into this book that it will be not only relatable, but also highly educational. The Happiness Effect promises to dig into ‘how social media is driving a generation to appear perfect at any cost,’ and it did just that—and more. Donna Freitas conducted almost 200 in-depth interviews amongst (diverse) students at multiple different college campuses (some religious, some nonreligious) to put this book together, and the result was nothing short of stunning and eye-opening.
I noticed in the beginning of this book how slightly repetitive it became. And fast. This, however, just goes to show how alike most of us young adults are when it comes to what we have to say about social media and how it is affecting us as a user and as well as a human being in general. Although educational, hearing what these interviewed students had to say about what the internet has done to their self-esteem and self-image was also heartbreaking and concerning, to say the least. I’m not going to sit here and act as though social media has never and does not affect me in the way that it has affected more than half of the students in this book. As a matter of fact, this book initially interested me for that very reason. I’m a very active social media user and the changes that it has brought onto my life is undoubtedly immense.
With how many different students Freitas interviewed in this book, you—as a reader—are bound to find at least one person that you can relate to. In a way, this book became personal for me. It opened up some of my long forgotten “wounds,” like having to deal with bullying, racism and sexism online and even losing self-esteem because of the ill side of social media. These are only a portion of what you will learn and get a first-hand look of in The Happiness Effect. As I read on, I started to realize that a lot of the things that I had to deal with when it came to social media (that I thought I was alone in going through) are/were also happening to a lot of other young adults. I must admit that it became a little difficult at times to keep reading as the truth that spilled from the pages of this book was just so disheartening. At the same time, however, I knew that it was exactly why I had to keep reading—no matter how difficult. We need not only be aware but also educated on something that is so prominent in our lives today: social media and all that comes with it, both good and bad.
Social media was initially invented and used so that we could better “connect” with people. But you’d be surprised (or maybe not) just how “detached” and “disconnected” we actually have become because of the use of social media. Now, this book does not only address the issues that come up when we talk about Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tinder, and even Yik Yak and etc., it also provides us a closer look on how we could possibly utilize social media a lot better without hurting others and most importantly ourselves and our own self-esteem and image. Just one example that Freitas suggests to take control back from our devices: perhaps have a certain time at home dedicated to not having any phones out, like having a basket readily available where each family members can surrender their devices in. Another example from the many that Freitas provides would be for faculty to ban all devices in classrooms if this can help everyone better focus and learn. There are multiple ways we can take back our control from being so manipulated and affected by the negatives that come from living in the digital age today. We just need to be willing and consistent.
This book did more than just open my eyes for me. It made me reflect. I have, time and time again, thought about laying off social media (if not permanently then at least temporarily) but just never had the heart or courage to do so. The Happiness Effect, however, convinced me that perhaps the healthiest thing for me to do right now after all is to focus on my real self and not who I would like to be on social media. I cannot stress enough how liberating it feels to not have to constantly feel ruled by my accounts online (with the exception of the bookish community I am a part of, like this blog and “bookstagram” of course, because they really are an extension of my true self). I encourage all people of ages—whether you are a young adult or a parent of one, or even a grandparent of one—to add The Happiness Effect on to your “to-be-read” pile. You may think social media is frivolous, but it is affecting so many young adults’ lives not only for the better anymore, but also for the worse. It is something that we all need to be more mindful of and educated about. It is the reality that we live in today. We are living in the digital age and we need tools to help remind us that we are the users of social media and not the other way around. We are not meant to be the one feeling used by social media.
*ARC provided by Oxford University Press in exchange for an honest review*
As a twenty something year old myself living in the digital age, I knew before going into this book that it will be not only relatable, but also highly educational. The Happiness Effect promises to dig into ‘how social media is driving a generation to appear perfect at any cost,’ and it did just that—and more. Donna Freitas conducted almost 200 in-depth interviews amongst (diverse) students at multiple different college campuses (some religious, some nonreligious) to put this book together, and the result was nothing short of stunning and eye-opening.
I noticed in the beginning of this book how slightly repetitive it became. And fast. This, however, just goes to show how alike most of us young adults are when it comes to what we have to say about social media and how it is affecting us as a user and as well as a human being in general. Although educational, hearing what these interviewed students had to say about what the internet has done to their self-esteem and self-image was also heartbreaking and concerning, to say the least. I’m not going to sit here and act as though social media has never and does not affect me in the way that it has affected more than half of the students in this book. As a matter of fact, this book initially interested me for that very reason. I’m a very active social media user and the changes that it has brought onto my life is undoubtedly immense.
With how many different students Freitas interviewed in this book, you—as a reader—are bound to find at least one person that you can relate to. In a way, this book became personal for me. It opened up some of my long forgotten “wounds,” like having to deal with bullying, racism and sexism online and even losing self-esteem because of the ill side of social media. These are only a portion of what you will learn and get a first-hand look of in The Happiness Effect. As I read on, I started to realize that a lot of the things that I had to deal with when it came to social media (that I thought I was alone in going through) are/were also happening to a lot of other young adults. I must admit that it became a little difficult at times to keep reading as the truth that spilled from the pages of this book was just so disheartening. At the same time, however, I knew that it was exactly why I had to keep reading—no matter how difficult. We need not only be aware but also educated on something that is so prominent in our lives today: social media and all that comes with it, both good and bad.
Social media was initially invented and used so that we could better “connect” with people. But you’d be surprised (or maybe not) just how “detached” and “disconnected” we actually have become because of the use of social media. Now, this book does not only address the issues that come up when we talk about Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tinder, and even Yik Yak and etc., it also provides us a closer look on how we could possibly utilize social media a lot better without hurting others and most importantly ourselves and our own self-esteem and image. Just one example that Freitas suggests to take control back from our devices: perhaps have a certain time at home dedicated to not having any phones out, like having a basket readily available where each family members can surrender their devices in. Another example from the many that Freitas provides would be for faculty to ban all devices in classrooms if this can help everyone better focus and learn. There are multiple ways we can take back our control from being so manipulated and affected by the negatives that come from living in the digital age today. We just need to be willing and consistent.
This book did more than just open my eyes for me. It made me reflect. I have, time and time again, thought about laying off social media (if not permanently then at least temporarily) but just never had the heart or courage to do so. The Happiness Effect, however, convinced me that perhaps the healthiest thing for me to do right now after all is to focus on my real self and not who I would like to be on social media. I cannot stress enough how liberating it feels to not have to constantly feel ruled by my accounts online (with the exception of the bookish community I am a part of, like this blog and “bookstagram” of course, because they really are an extension of my true self). I encourage all people of ages—whether you are a young adult or a parent of one, or even a grandparent of one—to add The Happiness Effect on to your “to-be-read” pile. You may think social media is frivolous, but it is affecting so many young adults’ lives not only for the better anymore, but also for the worse. It is something that we all need to be more mindful of and educated about. It is the reality that we live in today. We are living in the digital age and we need tools to help remind us that we are the users of social media and not the other way around. We are not meant to be the one feeling used by social media.
*ARC provided by Oxford University Press in exchange for an honest review*
March 9, 2022
I started this book before the pandemic. Wow! Has technology and social media changed quickly in the 5 years since this book was written. Much of her work around the impact of being constantly tethered to our phones and social media on our mental health is still quite accurate, if even more so, some of the realities of the past couple of years make untethering from technology even more difficult, especially in the classroom. I still agree with her encouragement to be unplugged regularly and to take social media breaks. I do not envy the role of parents in this day and age in traversing this with children and teens.
April 26, 2017
I won this book in a goodreads drawing.
This is a book about how social media is changing everyone's lives, and making everybody unhappy, because they are comparing themselves to images of people they don't even really know.
O course, there's a lot of verbiage about cyber-bullying and sexting, because these are currently fashionable subjects, but also talks about more subtle disadvantages of smart phones.
Informative and timely.
This is a book about how social media is changing everyone's lives, and making everybody unhappy, because they are comparing themselves to images of people they don't even really know.
O course, there's a lot of verbiage about cyber-bullying and sexting, because these are currently fashionable subjects, but also talks about more subtle disadvantages of smart phones.
Informative and timely.
February 27, 2017
It was OK. I think my allocation of two stars is fairly generous given how bored I was a lot of the time and how often I scrolled down past the endless monotony of repetitive comments. I also found it sensationalist, despite the claim in the Foreword to the contrary, which incidentally was written by Christian Smith who apparently co-wrote the research and subsequently played a large part in helping her draw up and manage it.
This is an interesting point to note, because throughout the book I kept wondering why there was so much reference to religion and religious schools. At first I assumed that religious colleges must be more prevalent and commonplace in the US and that my confusion about its relevance in the research and also in the commentary was because I am a UK reader. But Christian Smith is an academic at a religiously affiliated American university. When I read that (in the notes at the back of the book) I felt cheated somewhat. It left me with the impression that there was a duplicitous agenda in the research that had to do with religion. Why, for example, were students asked about their religious affiliation in the interviews, before anything to do with social media was raised? And why were they also asked about faith and religion, and not also other potentially contentious topics such as politics, in relation to social media? It also seems that they managed to only interview two gay students, one male, one female. I don't know how representative this is of the student body in America but it is not representative of my friendships, or even my Facebook contacts list. To me, I feel these issues discredit her work as academic in any way.
In his foreword, Christian Smith claims of Freitas's work: 'Unlike a lot of writing in this area, this book is neither speculation nor sensationalist. It is serious, focused on a hugely important issue, and based on rock-solid empirical evidence.' I do not share his view. Although we are told at the end of the book, in the notes, how she selected interviewees etc., throughout the book I was continually asking myself what were the questions she asked students, partly because I was finding it hard to take her seriously the more monotonous she became. She does outline a summary of what they were asked, in 'abbreviated form' but she admits that those interviewed latterly were asked an adjusted, additional set of questions that the former had not been asked, because of issues that came up throughout the questioning. Is this empirical?
It was also (and this is me being really picky, but it was so prevalent I simply have to mention it) poorly written in places. Yes, it was very readable. But there were so many grammatical and punctuation mistakes throughout it that it needs to be mentioned here, as it was a piece of academic research apparently. The last chapter was the worst, but throughout it there were so many incidences of the wrong word inserted (e.g. image instead of imagine) or no full stop ending a sentence, or the ridiculous absence of commas where they most definitely should have been inserted. In the final chapter there were so many incidences of what I assume were capitalised headings in the middle of a paragraph and rolling right out onto the next sentence without any punctuation to make sense of them. I had to assume they were headings. I like well-written work, so this irritated me. I think though, that her editor ought to take some of the flack for this.
There were a lot of interesting points raised in the book, most of which I have unfortunately forgotten now because of the prevailing boredom, and I think the book could have been written in an essay or report and been a lot more interesting. I mistrust her interpretation of the results because the statistics were never fully disclosed or explained. That said, there were a few nuggets in it, and I felt enlightened in the first third more than the remaining two. She does raise some important questions, including whether it is ethical to check the social media accounts of student and job applicants. However it avoided one obvious answer to the issue raised by students in the survey around their avoiding vulnerability or negativity on their public profiles, which is that social media is a broad social platform reaching many people we would not reveal our vulnerability to, and that our closer, more intimate loved ones, those in our inner circle, are the ones most likely to hear and want to know our private difficulties, not the 50+ people you went to school with but haven't spoken to in person in the years since. Is it just me, or is that rather obvious?
This is an interesting point to note, because throughout the book I kept wondering why there was so much reference to religion and religious schools. At first I assumed that religious colleges must be more prevalent and commonplace in the US and that my confusion about its relevance in the research and also in the commentary was because I am a UK reader. But Christian Smith is an academic at a religiously affiliated American university. When I read that (in the notes at the back of the book) I felt cheated somewhat. It left me with the impression that there was a duplicitous agenda in the research that had to do with religion. Why, for example, were students asked about their religious affiliation in the interviews, before anything to do with social media was raised? And why were they also asked about faith and religion, and not also other potentially contentious topics such as politics, in relation to social media? It also seems that they managed to only interview two gay students, one male, one female. I don't know how representative this is of the student body in America but it is not representative of my friendships, or even my Facebook contacts list. To me, I feel these issues discredit her work as academic in any way.
In his foreword, Christian Smith claims of Freitas's work: 'Unlike a lot of writing in this area, this book is neither speculation nor sensationalist. It is serious, focused on a hugely important issue, and based on rock-solid empirical evidence.' I do not share his view. Although we are told at the end of the book, in the notes, how she selected interviewees etc., throughout the book I was continually asking myself what were the questions she asked students, partly because I was finding it hard to take her seriously the more monotonous she became. She does outline a summary of what they were asked, in 'abbreviated form' but she admits that those interviewed latterly were asked an adjusted, additional set of questions that the former had not been asked, because of issues that came up throughout the questioning. Is this empirical?
It was also (and this is me being really picky, but it was so prevalent I simply have to mention it) poorly written in places. Yes, it was very readable. But there were so many grammatical and punctuation mistakes throughout it that it needs to be mentioned here, as it was a piece of academic research apparently. The last chapter was the worst, but throughout it there were so many incidences of the wrong word inserted (e.g. image instead of imagine) or no full stop ending a sentence, or the ridiculous absence of commas where they most definitely should have been inserted. In the final chapter there were so many incidences of what I assume were capitalised headings in the middle of a paragraph and rolling right out onto the next sentence without any punctuation to make sense of them. I had to assume they were headings. I like well-written work, so this irritated me. I think though, that her editor ought to take some of the flack for this.
There were a lot of interesting points raised in the book, most of which I have unfortunately forgotten now because of the prevailing boredom, and I think the book could have been written in an essay or report and been a lot more interesting. I mistrust her interpretation of the results because the statistics were never fully disclosed or explained. That said, there were a few nuggets in it, and I felt enlightened in the first third more than the remaining two. She does raise some important questions, including whether it is ethical to check the social media accounts of student and job applicants. However it avoided one obvious answer to the issue raised by students in the survey around their avoiding vulnerability or negativity on their public profiles, which is that social media is a broad social platform reaching many people we would not reveal our vulnerability to, and that our closer, more intimate loved ones, those in our inner circle, are the ones most likely to hear and want to know our private difficulties, not the 50+ people you went to school with but haven't spoken to in person in the years since. Is it just me, or is that rather obvious?
June 26, 2016
Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Yik Yak, and ChatRoulette... (The last two I have never heard of until this book).... There are so many social media tools out there and it can be overwhelming. And it is overwhelming for Millennials and younger.
Donna Freitas interviews various college students all over the country to get their opinions on social media. Reading what they thought in their own words was something! I learned so much while reading The Happiness Effect: How Social Media Is Driving a Generation to Appear Perfect at Any Cost. I realized how much I didn’t know was out there. That was a wake up call for me. I told my husband if we have children one day that he will have to stay up to date on all the social media tools that are out there. (He knew about the social media tools that I did not know about. He is much more familiar with all of that than I).
I found it hard to comprehend how much Millennials think about social media: What to post, who can see what they post (They make groups so they can decide what that group will or won’t see!), how many friends do I have and does so and so have more?. The number of friends is apparently very important too. And most importantly: Never post anything that could be considered bad or negative; that looks bad on your “online image”. You MUST appear happy. That was hard to believe how they feel everything has to be happy even if you aren’t. It was hard to comprehend what how much some think before they post. “If it won’t get a like then I won’t post it!”, Or if they post it and don’t get likes, they remove it! Some spend hours thinking about what they will post!! And they won’t post controversial as they could be looked upon as negative and they can’t have that.
I also found it interesting that college students in fraternities/sororites are monitored and if a post is/ or appears possibly negative for that fraternity/sorority, they will be forced to remove it.
Even before they are in college they think about what they post in case a college admissions person looks at their social media, which could affect their future enrollment. And college students are careful to what they post so they aren’t affected by future employment. (I do this myself- I also do not list where I work on my social media).
Also interesting was how often Millennials think about getting rid of social media- for a short amount of time or longer. Some can’t even put their phones down for two minutes, they have to constantly check their social media for that ever important post. It was interesting to learn how they feel that they must be available 24-7.
Granted, not every Millennial is like this. There are some Millennials that do not use social media at all. They are the minority.
As I read this book, it got me thinking about how I use social media, specifically Facebook. I hope to not use it as much in the future.
This was a good read and again, I learned so much. I recommend everyone to read The Happiness Effect: How Social Media Is Driving a Generation to Appear Perfect at Any Cost. It could be an eye opening read.
I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Donna Freitas interviews various college students all over the country to get their opinions on social media. Reading what they thought in their own words was something! I learned so much while reading The Happiness Effect: How Social Media Is Driving a Generation to Appear Perfect at Any Cost. I realized how much I didn’t know was out there. That was a wake up call for me. I told my husband if we have children one day that he will have to stay up to date on all the social media tools that are out there. (He knew about the social media tools that I did not know about. He is much more familiar with all of that than I).
I found it hard to comprehend how much Millennials think about social media: What to post, who can see what they post (They make groups so they can decide what that group will or won’t see!), how many friends do I have and does so and so have more?. The number of friends is apparently very important too. And most importantly: Never post anything that could be considered bad or negative; that looks bad on your “online image”. You MUST appear happy. That was hard to believe how they feel everything has to be happy even if you aren’t. It was hard to comprehend what how much some think before they post. “If it won’t get a like then I won’t post it!”, Or if they post it and don’t get likes, they remove it! Some spend hours thinking about what they will post!! And they won’t post controversial as they could be looked upon as negative and they can’t have that.
I also found it interesting that college students in fraternities/sororites are monitored and if a post is/ or appears possibly negative for that fraternity/sorority, they will be forced to remove it.
Even before they are in college they think about what they post in case a college admissions person looks at their social media, which could affect their future enrollment. And college students are careful to what they post so they aren’t affected by future employment. (I do this myself- I also do not list where I work on my social media).
Also interesting was how often Millennials think about getting rid of social media- for a short amount of time or longer. Some can’t even put their phones down for two minutes, they have to constantly check their social media for that ever important post. It was interesting to learn how they feel that they must be available 24-7.
Granted, not every Millennial is like this. There are some Millennials that do not use social media at all. They are the minority.
As I read this book, it got me thinking about how I use social media, specifically Facebook. I hope to not use it as much in the future.
This was a good read and again, I learned so much. I recommend everyone to read The Happiness Effect: How Social Media Is Driving a Generation to Appear Perfect at Any Cost. It could be an eye opening read.
I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 16, 2017
With a subtitle like "How Social Media is Driving a Generation To Appear Perfect At Any Cost", how could I not request this book from NetGalley?
Based on interviews with many students across campuses in America, The Happiness Effect looks at social media and topics like:
- The importance of being 'Liked'
- The Professionalisation of Facebook
- Selfies
- Religion on (and Off) social media
- Anonymity (like Yik Yak)
- Bullying
- Facebook official
- Smartphones
- Taking a Timeout
and so on. It's mostly a collection of interviews, so the voices of the students really shine through.
For me, I really loved this book. A lot of what it says rings true. It is, however, very country-specific. For example, most of my Singaporean friends on 'Facebook' don't seem to do the 'Professionalism' thing, while it's the total opposite in Japan. In Japan, Facebook is like LinkedIn. It seems to be the same in America, where Facebook and Twitter are considered 'Professional'. On the other hand, it seems like Twitter is to Japan what Snapchat is to America.
So the book may not be very relevant once you're out of America. Still, it is fairly relevant, because we are getting more and more dependent on smartphones. And the chapter of anonymity and how people start refraining from giving the unpopular opinion reminded me why some people use apps Dayre - because it provides a greater level of anonymity than Facebook (though of course, it is not totally anonymous. But that is probably related to a discussion of Networked Privacy).
"Our devices and our compulsive posting and checking are helping us flee ourselves."
I actually agree a lot with this quote. I've been very restless lately, and I realise that I pick up my smartphone whenever my brain doesn't want to engage. While I don't post much, I do lurk a lot, and that's not a good thing. It is time for me to add a bit more of intentional stillness into my life.
Ok, this is a rather disjointed review, but I wanted to end with this quote:
"What I have called the happiness effect throughout his book - the requirement to appear happy on social media regardless of what a person actually feels - is an effect of our own making. We are the ones who have created this problem. Young adults have internalised the lesson that if you want say anything happy, you shouldn't say anything at all, even if you feel despair, dismay, anger, or any number of other emotions common to human experience, from us."
This book isn't out yet, but I think that if you're at all interested in thinking about social media, you should definitely get it once it's published.
Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.
This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
Based on interviews with many students across campuses in America, The Happiness Effect looks at social media and topics like:
- The importance of being 'Liked'
- The Professionalisation of Facebook
- Selfies
- Religion on (and Off) social media
- Anonymity (like Yik Yak)
- Bullying
- Facebook official
- Smartphones
- Taking a Timeout
and so on. It's mostly a collection of interviews, so the voices of the students really shine through.
For me, I really loved this book. A lot of what it says rings true. It is, however, very country-specific. For example, most of my Singaporean friends on 'Facebook' don't seem to do the 'Professionalism' thing, while it's the total opposite in Japan. In Japan, Facebook is like LinkedIn. It seems to be the same in America, where Facebook and Twitter are considered 'Professional'. On the other hand, it seems like Twitter is to Japan what Snapchat is to America.
So the book may not be very relevant once you're out of America. Still, it is fairly relevant, because we are getting more and more dependent on smartphones. And the chapter of anonymity and how people start refraining from giving the unpopular opinion reminded me why some people use apps Dayre - because it provides a greater level of anonymity than Facebook (though of course, it is not totally anonymous. But that is probably related to a discussion of Networked Privacy).
"Our devices and our compulsive posting and checking are helping us flee ourselves."
I actually agree a lot with this quote. I've been very restless lately, and I realise that I pick up my smartphone whenever my brain doesn't want to engage. While I don't post much, I do lurk a lot, and that's not a good thing. It is time for me to add a bit more of intentional stillness into my life.
Ok, this is a rather disjointed review, but I wanted to end with this quote:
"What I have called the happiness effect throughout his book - the requirement to appear happy on social media regardless of what a person actually feels - is an effect of our own making. We are the ones who have created this problem. Young adults have internalised the lesson that if you want say anything happy, you shouldn't say anything at all, even if you feel despair, dismay, anger, or any number of other emotions common to human experience, from us."
This book isn't out yet, but I think that if you're at all interested in thinking about social media, you should definitely get it once it's published.
Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.
This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
June 10, 2021
While searching for various books on New Media, this one I found quite realistic from its title. In reality, social media is actually driving the generation to show its perfect side.
The Happiness Effect is an interesting book to read. The chapters are basically narrative transcripts of authors’ interviews that she conducted on college students all over the country. Interviews mainly talk about the social media habits among college students.
The thing that I liked about the book is the straightforward language of communication. The words used by the author were quite simple to understand, compared to the other books that I have read relating to the same topic like Digital Minimalism.
The one thing I disliked was that it had various interviews. At one point it became quite boring to read interviews every time. Also, most of the topics the book covered (like social media can be addicting, ruin living in the moment, cause bullying, have various side effects) are known to the audience now. To my expectation there can be some deep or new information too, to attract more people to read.
The Happiness Effect is an interesting book to read. The chapters are basically narrative transcripts of authors’ interviews that she conducted on college students all over the country. Interviews mainly talk about the social media habits among college students.
The thing that I liked about the book is the straightforward language of communication. The words used by the author were quite simple to understand, compared to the other books that I have read relating to the same topic like Digital Minimalism.
The one thing I disliked was that it had various interviews. At one point it became quite boring to read interviews every time. Also, most of the topics the book covered (like social media can be addicting, ruin living in the moment, cause bullying, have various side effects) are known to the audience now. To my expectation there can be some deep or new information too, to attract more people to read.
October 11, 2016
I work with teens and am often astonished at how much of their life, and their self-esteem, is tied to their electronic identities. I have a "no electronics" policy in my classroom (except for use as reading devices for the books we use IN CLASS), and every year I have at least one kid who is positively traumatized by not having constant access to social media. I find this disturbing.
I had high hopes for this books, hoping it would propose answers to concerns. I didn't find that.
the book does address the pressing issue of "the happiness effect"....and addresses it....and addresses it....and addresses it. I found the book maddeningly repetitive. Not that the student stories are important, but there's only so many ways you can prove your thesis before you have to propose solutions to the issue. And that is where the book fell flat for me.
I had high hopes for this books, hoping it would propose answers to concerns. I didn't find that.
the book does address the pressing issue of "the happiness effect"....and addresses it....and addresses it....and addresses it. I found the book maddeningly repetitive. Not that the student stories are important, but there's only so many ways you can prove your thesis before you have to propose solutions to the issue. And that is where the book fell flat for me.
December 3, 2022
With the meteoric advances of social media, the internet, and smartphones, today's young adults' mental and physical well-being has captured the attention of various professionals and parents worldwide.
Donna Freitas addresses these concerns by sitting down and personally interviewing 200 college students and collecting 800 online surveys. In her book, The Happiness Effect, published in 2017, the readers meet these students firsthand. Freitas gives her reader a detailed description of the student she is interviewing. “Margaret has soft, dark curls, glasses, and a nervous demeanor from the moment she walks into the room. One of the first things I learned about Margaret is that, though she is only a junior, she is already engaged. She proudly shows me her ring. Both Margaret and her fiancé are on the ballroom dance team at their Midwestern Christian college” (Freitas, 2012, p. 17). Freitas makes her readers feel like they are sitting next to her while questioning the students--a clever tactic because Freitas’s readers can now hear their responses and see their body language.
Freitas’s interviews unfold several concerns regarding social media, including an obsession with smartphones, sexting, cyberbullying, and what is appropriate information to post on social media. The students share their thoughts regarding these and other areas of concern related to social media. Freitas then sums up what she feels most students are trying to express in the interviews.
Freitas provides her readers with research that addresses the concerns we all have regarding social media; therefore, the data she shares is accurate and informative at that time (2017). It is now 2022, and as fast as social media is changing, so are the effects it has on young adults. This read was interesting to read but not current. It’s been five years since the book was written, and young adults have learned how to navigate social media so that it can work to their advantage.
While reading the book, the many interviews became repetitive, and I began to lose interest in the middle and end of each chapter until moving on to the next chapter and area of concern before again drifting off in the middle and end of the chapter.
I would recommend this book to readers who are curious about how far young adults have come in navigating social media platforms; however, if the reader is trying to get the current facts regarding social media’s effects on young college students, I feel the reader would gain a better understanding by conducting their interviews now or reading a more recent study When I look back to 2017, I can relate to several of these students; however, today, I feel like I know how to navigate social media and don’t feel the pressures many students expressed in the book.
I would assign this read three stars out of five because Freitas has a clever way of bringing her readers into the interviews with her; however, because of the rapidly changing effects social media has on its users, the information is not necessarily current since it was published in 2017. Freitas interviewed several students, and although this is important in conducting the study and gathering information, many of the interviews could have been more varied; therefore, I lost interest until moving into a new chapter and area of concern.
Alexa Rossman (NSU Elementary Education Major)
Donna Freitas addresses these concerns by sitting down and personally interviewing 200 college students and collecting 800 online surveys. In her book, The Happiness Effect, published in 2017, the readers meet these students firsthand. Freitas gives her reader a detailed description of the student she is interviewing. “Margaret has soft, dark curls, glasses, and a nervous demeanor from the moment she walks into the room. One of the first things I learned about Margaret is that, though she is only a junior, she is already engaged. She proudly shows me her ring. Both Margaret and her fiancé are on the ballroom dance team at their Midwestern Christian college” (Freitas, 2012, p. 17). Freitas makes her readers feel like they are sitting next to her while questioning the students--a clever tactic because Freitas’s readers can now hear their responses and see their body language.
Freitas’s interviews unfold several concerns regarding social media, including an obsession with smartphones, sexting, cyberbullying, and what is appropriate information to post on social media. The students share their thoughts regarding these and other areas of concern related to social media. Freitas then sums up what she feels most students are trying to express in the interviews.
Freitas provides her readers with research that addresses the concerns we all have regarding social media; therefore, the data she shares is accurate and informative at that time (2017). It is now 2022, and as fast as social media is changing, so are the effects it has on young adults. This read was interesting to read but not current. It’s been five years since the book was written, and young adults have learned how to navigate social media so that it can work to their advantage.
While reading the book, the many interviews became repetitive, and I began to lose interest in the middle and end of each chapter until moving on to the next chapter and area of concern before again drifting off in the middle and end of the chapter.
I would recommend this book to readers who are curious about how far young adults have come in navigating social media platforms; however, if the reader is trying to get the current facts regarding social media’s effects on young college students, I feel the reader would gain a better understanding by conducting their interviews now or reading a more recent study When I look back to 2017, I can relate to several of these students; however, today, I feel like I know how to navigate social media and don’t feel the pressures many students expressed in the book.
I would assign this read three stars out of five because Freitas has a clever way of bringing her readers into the interviews with her; however, because of the rapidly changing effects social media has on its users, the information is not necessarily current since it was published in 2017. Freitas interviewed several students, and although this is important in conducting the study and gathering information, many of the interviews could have been more varied; therefore, I lost interest until moving into a new chapter and area of concern.
Alexa Rossman (NSU Elementary Education Major)
December 8, 2016
Freitas's book, The Happiness Effect, is a decent synthesis of the millennial generation's relationship with social media, smartphones, and other related online apps. It describes the effects of social media on individuals' self-esteem, mental health statuses, and a wide variety of topics through personal testimonies. Covering many topics from "Facebook Official" to Yik Yak, the book is a good introduction/survey of these topics to individuals not familiar with these methods.
However, for individuals who view themselves as familiar with social media, this book doesn't really describe anything new. And in relation to the more analytical aspect of the book, it seems to fall short in terms of addressing nuances within each issue. It reads much like it actually is, a member of an older generation's perception and forays into a younger generation's relationship with social media without fully being able to comprehend it. Most of the testimonials reflect the more extreme opinions related to social media, and despite the author's many interviews, she fails to include more moderate, nuanced opinions of using social media. While it is understandable that she uses these cases to best support her concluding solutions in terms of wi-fi free zones in colleges and incentives for students to go wi-fi free, by failing to address and consider more moderate perspectives, her solutions seem extreme and not particularly practical or effective in terms of grappling with the core issues of social media. Her general solution of going cold turkey doesn't address how to deal with issues of cyberbullying, of self-esteem issues and mental health, of modern relationships among people.
Overall, a good introduction to the topic, particularly for readers who are not familiar with social media, but needing further exploration and analysis.
Thanks to the publisher for an advanced digital copy!
However, for individuals who view themselves as familiar with social media, this book doesn't really describe anything new. And in relation to the more analytical aspect of the book, it seems to fall short in terms of addressing nuances within each issue. It reads much like it actually is, a member of an older generation's perception and forays into a younger generation's relationship with social media without fully being able to comprehend it. Most of the testimonials reflect the more extreme opinions related to social media, and despite the author's many interviews, she fails to include more moderate, nuanced opinions of using social media. While it is understandable that she uses these cases to best support her concluding solutions in terms of wi-fi free zones in colleges and incentives for students to go wi-fi free, by failing to address and consider more moderate perspectives, her solutions seem extreme and not particularly practical or effective in terms of grappling with the core issues of social media. Her general solution of going cold turkey doesn't address how to deal with issues of cyberbullying, of self-esteem issues and mental health, of modern relationships among people.
Overall, a good introduction to the topic, particularly for readers who are not familiar with social media, but needing further exploration and analysis.
Thanks to the publisher for an advanced digital copy!
August 29, 2017
When I was offered the chance to read this book I jumped at it! This, I thought is right up my alley! I’m studying Psychology at University at the moment and topics like this really interest me.
So perhaps this book could never live up to my expectation but I was really disappointed. It is a solid start to what seems to be an unfinished piece of research; I wanted so much more than page after page of interviews with college students and a little commentary.
To me this book seems to be missing it’s why! There was a lack of in depth discussion into why social media has it’s members gripped in a constant battle for perfection. It would give me a glimpse of reason and debate and then swiftly move onto the next interview. It feel more like a journal piece about a wider piece of research and it just feels like the author could’ve gone so much deeper than she has.
What I did love was the first hand conversation style of the book as it made the conversations feel more true to life rather than just summing up the interviews, which the author could’ve done but it’s so much better that she hasn’t.
I think if you have a passing interest in peoples behaviour and want to get straight into the nitty gritty of why we behave the way we do then I suggest this book isn’t for you. However, if you are looking for a great lecture hall tool to illustrate your points then this would be perfect!
http://thepursuitofbookiness.co.uk/20...
Disclosure: The Pursuit Of Bookiness received a copy of this book free of charge in return for an honest review. All opinions are our own
So perhaps this book could never live up to my expectation but I was really disappointed. It is a solid start to what seems to be an unfinished piece of research; I wanted so much more than page after page of interviews with college students and a little commentary.
To me this book seems to be missing it’s why! There was a lack of in depth discussion into why social media has it’s members gripped in a constant battle for perfection. It would give me a glimpse of reason and debate and then swiftly move onto the next interview. It feel more like a journal piece about a wider piece of research and it just feels like the author could’ve gone so much deeper than she has.
What I did love was the first hand conversation style of the book as it made the conversations feel more true to life rather than just summing up the interviews, which the author could’ve done but it’s so much better that she hasn’t.
I think if you have a passing interest in peoples behaviour and want to get straight into the nitty gritty of why we behave the way we do then I suggest this book isn’t for you. However, if you are looking for a great lecture hall tool to illustrate your points then this would be perfect!
http://thepursuitofbookiness.co.uk/20...
Disclosure: The Pursuit Of Bookiness received a copy of this book free of charge in return for an honest review. All opinions are our own
June 19, 2017
Being slightly removed (almost 10 years out of college) from the interview subjects may give me a different view on social media, but I don't agree with many of the statements made. My biggest issue was the claim that college students can't express themselves as much as before because social media is being used in a professional and therefore censored way. I think students are free to express themselves and explore however they wish. They just should post it all over social media. What's so wrong with that? It doesn't take away the exploration, just the way they share it with others. I could go on...
Another irritating thing about this book is that there are errors everywhere. Sometimes they even make it hard to understand what is being said. I almost pulled out my red pen several times, but I restrained myself since this was a library copy.
I did get a few ideas for programs and conversations to have with my students, so it wasn't a complete loss.
Another irritating thing about this book is that there are errors everywhere. Sometimes they even make it hard to understand what is being said. I almost pulled out my red pen several times, but I restrained myself since this was a library copy.
I did get a few ideas for programs and conversations to have with my students, so it wasn't a complete loss.
September 4, 2017
Reading The Happiness Effect, I am reminded of a particular line from Vonnegut's Mother Night, "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be."
This line resonates with me as I read about the hoops that countless people put themselves through to give the appearance of their best self to the rest of the world.
Overall judgment of this book? It's okay. I feel like the author is well-meaning but largely just takes from the two extreme groups on the social media spectrum to make the case here. Also the sample group seemed odd that was weighed from in terms of which kind of colleges were used.
Furthermore, I feel like a great deal of the things being said here are not limited to simply my generation but rather some of the overarching issues with a technology that has exploded into our lives and is here to stay perhaps permanently.
Some interesting tidbits here but definitely didn't need to be so long to make them.
This line resonates with me as I read about the hoops that countless people put themselves through to give the appearance of their best self to the rest of the world.
Overall judgment of this book? It's okay. I feel like the author is well-meaning but largely just takes from the two extreme groups on the social media spectrum to make the case here. Also the sample group seemed odd that was weighed from in terms of which kind of colleges were used.
Furthermore, I feel like a great deal of the things being said here are not limited to simply my generation but rather some of the overarching issues with a technology that has exploded into our lives and is here to stay perhaps permanently.
Some interesting tidbits here but definitely didn't need to be so long to make them.
February 12, 2018
Demographic researchers all agree that the internet, smart devices and social media exercise a distinctive influence on Generation Z, the first generation to be truly digitally native. Donna Freitas’ The Happiness Effect examines what social media use is doing to this generation of users. “Simply put,” Freitas writes, “because young people feel so pressured to post happy things on social media, most of what everyone sees on social media from their peers are happy things; as a result, they often feel inferior because they aren’t actually happy all the time.” Though written from a secular, academic perspective--I'm writing from the perspective of a Christian minister, The Happiness Effect is a must-read if you want to understand “how social media is driving a generation to appear perfect at any cost,” in the words of the book’s subtitle.
May 19, 2018
Although the book discussed both positive and negative aspects of social media, I cant help but see the bias leaning more to the negatives. I dont deny that the situations and experiences mentioned happen in real life but I also think the conclusion is quite exxagerated. I'm not a researcher but based from my observation, not everyone are concerned about the 'happy' image. I couldnt relate to what the author is telling because I think a lot of people use social media to express their drama in life which is not limited to appearing happy as the book claims most people (or College students) do. There are many other things mentioned that I disagree but I'll summarize it by saying that social media is not as bad as what it seems.
PS And this book is very very redundant which makes it very very boring.
PS And this book is very very redundant which makes it very very boring.
February 24, 2020
I am giving this book a 4/5 stars. Let me explain why. This book is about social media and how it affects us. More specifically, teens and college students. It is composed of interviews and stats about platforms. Through out the interviews I noticed a common theme.
I noticed that everyone had at least one complaint about social media. It made me change my view of social media and I even did a social media “clean up.” I really enjoyed this book, but I am giving it 4/5 because it got repetitive in the message that social media has bad affects. I did learn about how I can change my out look of social platforms and limit my usage.
I would recommend this book for everyone, but more specifically teens and college students. It is a quick read and makes you realize how social media may be affecting you too.
enjoy :))
I noticed that everyone had at least one complaint about social media. It made me change my view of social media and I even did a social media “clean up.” I really enjoyed this book, but I am giving it 4/5 because it got repetitive in the message that social media has bad affects. I did learn about how I can change my out look of social platforms and limit my usage.
I would recommend this book for everyone, but more specifically teens and college students. It is a quick read and makes you realize how social media may be affecting you too.
enjoy :))
May 7, 2017
I received this book through LibraryThing. I like this book because most of my students are part of this generation she is describing. They might be in middle school but social media seems to be the center of their lives. Most of the students interviewed sound like they are closer my age and I was kind of surprised by the results. I am not sure that ALL kids/young adults are quite so concerned with their future employers seeing their Facebook, however, I do think they care about things like getting likes. I know lots of kids spend time crafting their posts and making sure their pictures are pretty or funny. This books highlights the sad truth that the social media that is meant to help us feel connected is actually driving us farther apart.
June 27, 2017
I'm appalled by the writing errors and the typos in a book that is supposedly an "academic research." It certainly didn't read like a social science analysis, or even a popular social science book. Rather, it felt like reading undergrad short answer responses to the same question, one after another, endlessly—something you would normally be expected to be paid for doing.
In sum: repetitive, has nothing new to say, and on top of it, poorly done.
In sum: repetitive, has nothing new to say, and on top of it, poorly done.
November 12, 2018
Freitas's work is direct, thorough, and compelling. Her extensive effort to bring the quantitative/qualitative effects of social media on younger Millennial and GenZ to faculty (and mainstream readers) is successful. She offers a comprehensive picture of the problem at hand--but gives the reader room to engage their own critical thinking regarding the future of a cultural anchor that is here to stay, in whatever form.
April 27, 2020
I’m 27 years old. I think this is a book who tells you what is currently happening with social media within young people (like me). So very useful for adult people who deal with young people, to know how to deal with them in this important aspect.
I would prefer something not so descriptive and informative about this subject, but a view of how to deal with it (advices, points of view, things to put in practice) instead.
After all I like it.
I would prefer something not so descriptive and informative about this subject, but a view of how to deal with it (advices, points of view, things to put in practice) instead.
After all I like it.
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