As I scroll through my phone looking at Instagram or TikTok, I can’t help but wonder if social media has improved us as human beings or broken us? In these last few years social media such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok have become a big part of our day to day lives, making it a core part of our day. I would say there are many pros and cons when it comes to social media. For example, a few pros would be that social media is making it easier to communicate with friends or family. It is also easier to look for information you need on the spot and can help your business get out there if you are starting one. I would also say that social media can be a very powerful tool that can help us in many different ways, but it can also be very harmful when used in the wrong way.
Excessive use of social media has been linked to causing many mental health issues such as anxiety, depression and low self-esteem issues. The reason social media may cause this is because many people feel pressured to present a perfect image of themselves online and make it seem as though their life is perfect and exactly how they want it to be when they know it's not. It can also lead to self-esteem issues because people see other people's “perfect lives” and want their lives to be just as fullining and perfect without realizing social media is full of lies and nobody's lives are perfect. Furthermore, people tend to show the life they want on social media without showing the ugly parts, and that causes people to have self-esteem and wanting to better themselves but not without feeling horrible about themselves first.
A further reason why social media can be harmful is because of cyberbullying and distraction. There have been many people that face harassment, threats, humiliation and even stalkers online.These victims often suffer from emotional distress and this can have long lasting effects on their mental health. In many cases it doesn't just end with their mental health being affected, often the victims start self harming because they can't take the backlash and the critics and the bullies. That's when bullying becomes more dangerous and in some cases even fatal.
Not only can social media hurt you mentally/physically but it can also hurt you academically. Social media can be a huge distraction when it comes to school. Many people choose to be on their phones rather than doing their academic work and would rather fail just to not get off their phones. It truly does turn into an addiction, an addiction where you don't feel right if your phone is not right next to you and an addiction where you feel anxious without your phone and can't go 2 hours without being on your phone and checking on your phone every 10 minutes.Not only does social media cause depression, anxiety, attract cyberbullies, and stand in your way from your academic work but it's the best way for your information to get leaked. There have been many people and celebrities that have gotten their information and private photos leaked without their consent.
To sum it all up, social media can be an amazing tool to help us with our daily lives making it easier, but everything has a dark side and social media can be a very dangerous tool if not used correctly. As long as you take precautions and stay safe, social media can do wonders.