The Good and the Bad of Social Media

 Social media is a topic that has been on my mind a lot lately. Just a few days ago, my mom and I were having a conversation about social media and the impact we think it’s had on the world. In today’s blog post, I want to discuss my own thoughts on social media, both the good and the bad that has come from it.

Let’s start with the good.

I can honestly barely remember the time before Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or even Myspace existed. Social media makes up such a big part of my life now that I’m not sure what I did before I got my first phone that could access the internet.

Social media has been a big game changer for the world, even. It allows us easier communication with people we wouldn’t normally get to see, or with people we’ve never even met. People turn to social media for the news nowadays more than they turn to TV or newspapers. I, myself, am guilty of this. I wake up, and the first thing I do is check my phone to see what’s the latest.

Social media has also created so many jobs out there. Companies are using social media to promote themselves and their products, and someone has to be the one who’s running those accounts. There are also social media “influencers” who make money from doing collaborations and sponsored posts on Instagram. None of this would be possible without social media.

Social media gets information to people so much faster than TV or newspapers ever could.

Although a lot of good has come from social media, there’s been a number of bad things that have come from or escalated due to social media.

With everyone posting on social media comes a lot of negativity. People like to complain, and what better way to do it than to make a Facebook post about it, right? Instead of complaining to your parents, then your friends, and maybe your coworkers, you can save so much time by telling everyone all at once on social media.

Social media has made us lazy. It has made us sensitive. It brings out the bad in a lot of people.

I can’t even count the number of times I’ve seen someone say they’re going to “delete everyone” on their friends list who expresses an opposing belief than their own. What happened to being able to have civil conversations with people who have opposing opinions? I know this isn’t the case for everyone, but it’s more common than it needs to be.

Social media also causes us to constantly see what everyone else is up to. We compare our lives to everyone around us. We get jealous, we get mad, we feel insecure because of someone else’s post. We’re constantly shown what other people are doing, what they’re buying or where they’re going. If we compare our lives to the lives of others we see on social media, we often bring ourselves down and feel like our lives aren’t good enough. When in reality, we typically only see the highlights of someone’s life and rarely do we see the hardships they face.

I’m also seeing more and more kids being bullied online than ever before. I didn’t know that kids were getting so depressed at such a young age because of something that was said to them online. It’s heartbreaking.

It honestly seems like there’s been more bad than good in the social media realm lately. I think we’ve just let it get out of control.

However, we’re the ones who can fix it. Instead of starting arguments with friends on Facebook, we can politely offer a new standpoint on a topic, and then let the other person do what they want from there. We can build each other up and support each other instead of posting negative comments on someone’s Instagram picture.

We live in a world where we’re all living in fear of missing out (FOMO), so we turn to social media to stay up to date on what everyone else is doing. We waste countless hours each day watching stories and reading updates, when we could be doing something that we actually enjoy. Social media is the biggest productivity killer, am I right?

I so badly want to take a day or maybe even a week without checking social media, but I also struggle with FOMO. I told my mom that if the world went off social media for the day, I would be able to do the same. But unfortunately, we’ll probably never see a day where absolutely NO ONE posts something somewhere. So for now, I’m stuck aimlessly scrolling through various feeds (at least until I’ve reached my “limit” for the day).

It is nice to take a break once in a while though, even if it’s just for a few hours. If you’re struggling with the negative effects of social media, it’s okay to take a break. Social media is a powerful tool, and it can take us great places, we just need to learn how to use it more effectively.

What are some of your thoughts on social media?