Social media was invented to retrieve data, connect people and share information. In recent times, majority of people have a minimum of at least one social media account either on Facebook or Twitter. Even those that have little to no interest to see the pre meditations and impressions of thousands of “friends,” find themselves signing up for these accounts. Reason being, people would not like to feel left out in this fast paced world where technology is advancing at a tremendous rate. More likely than not, when one’s friends and acquaintances are on a social media platform, they are bound to create one as well. Proponents of social media dibs that it enhances the social connections among people. Social media lets you connect with your populace regardless of your location. Through social media, new friendships and connections are made. Unfortunately, these fellowships are often not up to par with real life connections. Virtual communication through is much less genuine in comparison with face to face conversations. There is a high risk when communicating with strangers online and this may lead to users having a lack of social skills. Facebook and Twitter can be an amazing platform when they are being used for the right purpose and not when people exploit and abuse it. Not only is social media being abused and misused, but it also has gained a mass following from people who blindly jump on bandwagons wanting to fit in with the crowd.
In this era, it is common that we are comparing ourselves with other individuals. The comparison ranges from physical appearances to personal details about one’s self. This paired with social media addiction could push many people over the edge and into depression especially amongst younger users who are more impressionable. When they see people living what they might naively think is the ideal lifestyle, they start lusting over it and would feel inferior about their current situation. With nowhere to turn or no good outlets to speak about their feelings, these young minds often fall prey to stress and depression. These mental problems are extremely harmful. If it isn’t nipped in the bud, it could lead to serious self-harm or even suicide. From Text A, the studies show that Facebook affects the mental health of the user. The text states “the use of Facebook was negatively associated with overall well-being. These results were particularly strong for mental health; most measures of Facebook use in one year predicted a decrease in mental health in a later year.”((Harvard Business Review, 2019). This shows how much of a negative impact Facebook has caused to their users with regards to their mental health. Too much exposure to social media such as staying up late and scrolling through a myriad of content or chatting with friends could result in dire health issues. Staying up late is really harmful for one’s health, especially the brain. It could even result in an unhealthy case of weight loss and/or lethargy.
Social media is, and will persist to be, adverse, unless the user exercises control. The control it has over individuals is unsafe and frequently goes unnoticed. Everyone should take note of the harmful effects. In the event that it is not tended to, or taken care of, social media could potentially cause issues around the world. Web-based social networking hinders relational development and expands narcissism in clients. Regardless of whether the client isn't mentally influenced, they are still in peril. No one is safe to the hurtful symptoms online networking has, for example, data fraud, stalkers, or programmers. Interpersonal interaction permits lies and false data to cause an across the board of confusion. In the event that there are no guidelines or impediments via web-based networking media, the repercussions will aggregate and in the long run explode. The quick, simple access to data that should be advantageous to society is really adverse. We should not have to stop it totally, however constraining our time via web-based networking media extensively, and reconnecting with loved ones, all things considered, is unquestionably the best approach.
