The Double-Edged Sword of Social Media: Benefits Against the Detriments

The Pervasiveness of Social Media in Modern Life

Social media is convenient to use in everyday life, but not if it takes over years of your life. According to a study by influencer marketing agency Mediakix, “The average person will spend more than five years of their lives on social media. Sure social media is convenient to use, but do we want the younger generation wasting this much of their lives on social media when it could go towards something more important like their education? While the use of social media has helped people by making communication easy, its overall impact is negative and is causing people more harm than good. Social media can be addictive, cause self-esteem issues, and can leave people exposed to bullying and manipulation by others.

The Mental Health Toll of Media Consumption

Spending hours on end on social media can cause a variety of problems or issues. Using social media networks comes with its toll on your mind. In J.H.Lewis’ article, he says: “The more social networks we use, the more likely we are to report depression, so it’s important we are wise in our selection.” I personally know many people who face depression because of social media, and I understand why Lewis thinks that social networks cause depression. Social media has a lot of risk factors that aren’t usually thought of, such as taking away from family time, work, education and even destroying friendships.

According to the Journal of adolescent health, “22% of teens lost their friendship with someone due to actions on social media sites.” Instead of playing outside, kids are scrolling through other people’s posted lives. The reason there are a reported 210 million people who suffer from social media addictions is because of how easily accessible it is to anyone. With a click of a button, one can connect to anyone in the world. Although social media gives you instant communication with others, it can pose a danger to people by being so addictive. I think the stress that comes with using social media doesn’t outweigh the harm it causes millions of people worldwide.

Social Media and Self-Esteem: A Double-Edged Sword

Social media can cause self-esteem issues by giving people the mentality that they need to obtain a certain standard of beauty that is unrealistic. Surfing the web for hours on end and seeing people post unachievable body figures makes people feel bad for themselves. Young children are looking at models on social media and are obtaining a mentality that if they don’t look like them, then their “ugly.” Most of the time, the models themselves can not even achieve these standards seeing as most photos posted are altered in some way to have an unrealistic body image.

The fact that as of 2017, “daily social media usage of global internet users amounted to 116 minutes per day” shows you how much time people spend envying other people’s lives and hating their lives even more. “Comparison is the thief of joy,” a quote from Theodore Roosevelt, argues that comparing yourself to other people’s work or lives will only make you miserable. When you compare yourself to others, you only see the positive side of them; they might face depression like a lot of other people, and just because they have something that’s seen as admirable doesn’t mean their lives are perfect.

The problem with social media is that everyone’s lives look more desirable online, and people change those goals. In an in-depth interview performed by Clarissa Silva, a Behavioral Scientist, it was found that “60% of people using social media reported that it has impacted their self-esteem in a negative way.” She went on to say, “Emotionally secure people do not struggle as much with these issues. However, a large portion of our population has emotional insecurities.”

The Dangers and Opportunities in Social Media Usage

People face all kinds of problems when using social media, including cyberbullying, fraud, and manipulation. Social media has been linked to teen depression, and since social media use is common among teenagers, there are a lot of possible targets surfing social media. The dangers of identity theft, cyberbullying, hacking accounts, and so many other factors are why social media isn’t worth the risk it brings. Anyone can make up a persona and hide behind profiles they create, and people say nasty things online because they have a sense of security that they will get away with it. In an article from the New York Times, “Searching Social Media for Clues About Violent Crimes.” Kevin, Roose states that “Some trainees shared stories of being exposed to online abuse and intimidation from colleagues.”

As you can see, there are many reasons why social media is harmful, and despite all the benefits that come with using social media, it causes more harm than good and is very dangerous. Anonymity. Many people find it easier to share problems and feelings openly when there’s minimal risk of identification or “real-life” consequences. Anonymity allows for cyberbullying. This is especially problematic for teens, as bullies can target and prey on vulnerable high school peers without taking personal responsibility. Stalking can also be an issue, as social media users sometimes post their whereabouts, and their habits can be easily monitored.

Despite all the negative things that come with social media, Karim believes that the impact social media has on mass movements is huge and is a deciding factor of whether the movement will reach a wide variety of people across the globe and thinks it’s a big beneficial factor we must consider. In his article ‘Energising the political movements in developing countries: the role of social media.’ Karim, an associate accounting professor, says, “Social media can potentially play an important role in organizing large-scale socio-political events.” Social media may help with movements gaining momentum and reaching a large scale of people, but the facts may not always be clear, and it isn’t the only option we have. Frequently searched results online show that people search for support and services on potential suicide.

In her article “Using the Internet for suicide-related purposes: Contrasting findings from young people in the community and self-harm patients admitted to Hospital’ Biddle says, “Counterbalancing this, there has been considerable discussion about the internet’s potential to deliver suicide prevention through support sites and forums, links to help services and online mental health interventions and apps.”

Although it may be true that there are a few suicide prevention sites online, many reasons why people face depression because people make accounts online that are made primarily to mess with other people and say cruel things online because they have a sense of protection that they won’t get caught which they don’t in many cases. Being able to have instant communication helps people in everyday life and makes things a lot easier. In Agrawal’s article, he says, “News outlets can share breaking stories, alerts, and other important bits of news instantly with their followers.” Despite the convenience social media brings, being able to share information so easily puts everyone’s personal information at risk of getting hacked.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the stress that comes with using social media doesn’t outweigh the harm it causes millions of people worldwide. Its overall impact is negative and is causing people more harm than good. The easily accessible social media is easy to get hooked, and although I don’t think people should quit social media altogether, I do think people should limit the time they spend on social media. Social media can be addictive, cause self-esteem issues, and can leave people exposed to bullying and manipulation by others.

References:

1. Mediakix. (n.d.). The average person will spend more than five years of their lives on social media. Retrieved from https://mediakix.com/blog/social-media-average-time-spent-on-social-media-infographic/
2. Lewis, J. H. (2018). The more social networks we use, the more likely we are to report depression, so it’s important we are wise in our selection. Retrieved from https://www.dailynews.com/2018/03/29/social-media-use-associated-with-depression-among-young-adults-study-finds/
3. Business Insider. (2017). Daily time spent on social networks by internet users worldwide from 2012 to 2017 (in minutes). Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/433871/daily-social-media-usage-worldwide/
4. Silva, C. (2017). 60% of people using social media reported that it has impacted their self-esteem in a negative way. Retrieved from https://www.yourtango.com/2017300757/are-you-always-comparing-yourself-others-why-stopping-will-help-your-self-esteem
5. Roose, K. (2015). Searching Social Media for Clues About Violent Crimes. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/08/technology/personaltech/searching-social-media-for-clues-about-violent-crimes.html
6. Karim, A. (2014). Energising the political movements in developing countries: the role of social media. Retrieved from https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=3653&context=businesspapers
7. Biddle, L. (2008). Using the internet for suicide-related purposes: Contrasting findings from young people in the community and self-harm patients admitted to hospital. PLoS ONE, 3(3), e1412. Retrieved from https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0001412