Negative implications of social media upon society

It can be easily confirmed that heavy social media usage can lead to addiction, especially in teens and young adults. However, social media should not be categorized to the millennial, whereas adults from older generations can easily become hooked as well in terms of staying connected with friends and family. Heavy social media usage can easily distract someone from a simple task or assignment. For instance, I used to have major issues back in middle school where I would spend all night staring at a screen and hindered some of my grades that year.

Alongside the issue to remain attentive, many people today whose main form of communication is social media are revealing symptoms from mental health disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, and depression. Individuals like this are constantly worried about their posts on Facebook or Instagram and communicating with others, which can trigger these issues. In addition, many teens today unwillingly compare themselves to others on the platform and resent a life that is unachievable, considering many people on social media only share a small percentage of their life online. It is important to remember that genuine face to face communication skills is far more important than the profile of your social media.

Another one of the most common known negative implication social media has brought upon society today is cyberbullying. Nearly 43% of online teens have been bullied online, and one in four has had it happen more than once. Any negative content posted online ultimately creates a life-long public record of your views, morals, and behavior. For example, when applying for most jobs, most companies perform a background check on the Internet before hiring an employee There is a simple way to put an end to it which everyone knows about, but the hardest part is putting past the idea of going along with the crowd and helping someone in need.

While I for one have not experienced emotional well-being issues over the number of likes on one of my posts, I do have a tendency to “ fixate” over it. For example, when I don’t get the desirable number of likes on a photo I have posted on Instagram, I’ll simply take it down. This is something I have been attempting to work on, since the number of likes or followers I have shouldn’t influence how I feel. Many teens in our society today compare their self-worth with the amount of attention they get on a post and overlook that a post on social media does not characterize who you are as a person.

Since I began school, I have broadly analyzed the impacts that heavy social media usage has on an individual. In particular, I have investigated how a social media based life influences my own particular age group. It is dependent upon us to choose how we use social media and how we let online communication profit or damage our lives. It is imperative to remember that the genuine human experience of being able to communicate in person, connect in person, and form relationships with others outweighs social media.

In short, social media’s negative implications have led me to strongly disliking the platform in general.