By Jacque Hood, Staff Writer

May 26, 2022

Social media has become extremely popular amongst people around the world, even with children as young as 5 years old. Different apps can be used to jump-start peoples careers, or just share their creativity with the world. 

But, there is much more under the surface that no one seems to mention, because as soon as you complete setting up a profile, you are putting yourself on display for the world to see.

And that in itself can become dangerous.

Cyberbullying is a subject not many speak on anymore, but it is still happening daily. 

Comments from people hiding behind aliases makes it easy to say any opinion at any time, because there are no repercussions and you don’t know the people personally. Anyways, they meant it as a joke, right?

Not everyone will take it that way.

What a light-hearted joke can be to one person, can be the final straw to another. 

According to DataProt, 95% of U.S. teens are internet users, with 45% of them saying they're constantly online. More than 59% of those U.S. teenagers have experienced bullying or harassment online. 

Nate Bronstein was a normal high school student who tragically died in early 2022 to suicide. Nate was only fifteen years old.

After his death, it was recognized that Nate was constantly harassed and bullied online and in person by his fellow peers at school.

Nate had so much to live for, and it was stripped away because of some miserable kids. How many kids have to take their lives for us to understand that cyberbullying other’s on the internet is not something to take lightly? 

Self image and confidence is also something social media can play a significant role in.

Younger teenagers with fresh and impressionable minds will open up apps like Instagram or TikTok, and see fully grown adults with full faces of makeup and multiple body procedures, and dwell on why they don’t look like that.

Of course altering your body and putting on makeup doesn’t make you at fault for other’s confidence or lack thereof, but constantly seeing people who you find attractive on your timeline can eventually make you view yourself as less than, which can spiral into something more serious such as depression or an eating disorder.

Social media “influencers” aren’t the best either.

Too many of these popular Instagram or Tiktok “influencers” have racist, homophobic, or mysoginistic pasts or ideologies to truly be influencing anyone.

People and opinions do change with the amount of exposure important social issues get, but it’s 2022; there are little to no excuses.

Impressionable people, mainly kids, will see their favorite YouTuber saying derogatory terms, or being openly homophobic, and think it’s alright to do so.

In conclusion, maybe think long and hard before getting too into social media. Is it really doing more harm than good?