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 part