What is so interesting about social media? Is it because it is a way to communicate with other people? Is it because it is a way to escape reality? Is it because people can see what others are doing? Is it because people can share what they're doing? Social media includes websites and applications that are designed to allow people to share content and engage with the public.(Hudson) Social media allows people to form relationships, share their experiences, learn new things and people can use it to connect anytime. Although it has its own disadvantages too. What will happen if people fail to escape social media? This article will be discussing the toxic side of social media.

Cyberbullying is known as harassment or bullying on the internet. It comes in different forms such as spreading false information, hacking someone's profile, posting negative comments etc. This is not a light matter and it needs to be taken more seriously because it can ruin someone's reputation and this can affect anyone poorly. This can result to self-doubt and depression. This causes the victim to change her perspective for themselves. We can prevent this by never sharing personal information to people online and to stop the sharing of explicit content or private content. People must learn to put boundaries with the relationships they are making online.

The increase of usage in social media happens because we use social media as a way to escape our tasks and reality without realizing the time passing by. People enjoy the content they see online and lose self-control. They start getting obsessed with the information they want to spread on the internet and lose track of what they have to do which ruins their motivation. This can cause harm in the mental health of people, peer pressure, anxiety and fatigue. If people are going through this, they must start small by turning off notifications, keeping track of their screen time or taking time to do their hobbies.

Self image is the way you perceive yourself whether it's positively or negatively. Social media causes self image issues. It is when you set negative expectations for yourself and it results to self-doubt and lowers your self esteem. With the people they see on their feed and the life they're living they start comparing themselves and pressure themselves to change. This changes your mindset, you start questioning yourself more. Am I not good enough? Why is this not getting a lot of likes? Should I lose /gain weight? Should I delete this photo? Should I retake it? This causes eating disorders, anxiety, depression etc. We can slowly improve this by surrounding ourselves with the things we love, taking a break from social media, saying positive affirmations and taking care of yourself.

When using social media, make sure to always have a positive mindset, know how to take criticism and always remember to take care of your mental health.

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