Negative effects of social media
Alexander Pope said: “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” It goes perfectly with the amateur use of social networks, especially in the 21st century. We take social media for granted and do what we want, which bites us back later.
Social networks have generated new opportunities and avenues for the world to connect in general. With social media, the world has become a smaller place. On the one hand, it is a great invention and a lot can be done to improve our lifestyle. But looking at it with thousands of immature users, it’s becoming a bit of a scary place to live.
There is a reason why most parents or older siblings try to keep youngsters away from social media these days. From being a platform to connect or share worldviews, it has been scaled down to provide a platform to push and troll. That’s sad given that we can do so much with social media, it’s sad to see how low we can stoop.
Today, 10-year-olds have access and accounts on social identifiers; it can become an addiction and an escape into a fantasy world. This fantasy world we create behind the 15-inch laptop screen can be a terrifying affair. Fit models with perfect bodies, exotic travel locations, and picture-perfect moments often don’t match the lives we lead on a daily basis. This disconnect can cause us to aspire to more, which is not really possible and can affect our mental health.
The drive for more followers or likes has a dangerous effect on our mental health. You start to feel anxious, lack of identity, less sleep causing insomnia, negative body image can be some of the major issues that a social media addict may face. You become as desirable as the models you see around you, you keep adding filters and editing your images to make them look “perfect”, and your sense of identity is lost. You want to become someone you are not. You start to hate yourself for not having the ideal body, the perfect shape, etc.
Researchers around the world have found that the “fear of missing out” created on all popular social networks can substantially lower self-esteem and lead to problems like anxiety and depression among people.
Cyberbullying is also strongly related to the constant need to prove that oneself is better than others on social networks.
On a large scale, not only teenagers but also today’s people take the social platform too literally and believe a lot of fake news that circulates only for advertising purposes. People today are falling for dangerous trends they see on social media or think it’s cool to be a part of. The tendency to be part of a social group is what is causing more harm than good.
You have to understand that being social has nothing to do with the number of friends or followers you have on social media. Everything can be a farce, just by seeing another partner having many followers you cannot be jealous and want that life. Don’t let social media be such an addictive drug that you can’t live without it.
All this leads to identifying the threats that occur due to the unnecessary sharing of too much personal information on the network. You may also see an increase in hate speech and social dislike on social media accounts, which is completely unnecessary. The most disgusting thing that is coming up a lot in the 21st century is cyber bullying. It can be too dangerous and is even taking lives. The immature use of the social platform has to stop and stop now.
After using social media handles, many people decide to stay away from them as there is little or no privacy with extensive use of social platforms. If not handled sensibly, your life becomes a window to the world. A topic of discussion.
We as a world lack smart users. Either we take everything for granted, or we take things too literally. Having said all this, it does not mean that social networks are so bad with only negative aspects. Of course not, there are many benefits of social networks. It keeps us connected across great distances, allows us to find our long-lost schoolmates and colleagues. If your motivation is to stay connected or share an opinion about life and other things, but if the social site is your source for news or emotional uplift, it’s definitely a bad idea.