The Duality of Social Media

Regardless of what websites you use or how you use them, social media is undoubtedly a huge part of our culture today. Today’s generation of teenagers and young adults have grown up in an age of social media and technology expansion like we’ve never seen before. Because social media is such a new concept, there are many things about it that the older generation does not seem to understand.

The way I personally view social media is kind of a love-hate relationship. Because social media has become so central to communication, especially in our generation, it’s almost more of an inconvenience not to have it. It’s like a necessary evil. Now, I don’t REALLY believe that social media is actually evil, but I’ve certainly seen the constant connection and communication have negative effects on people.

With smartphones constantly in our pockets and social media platforms just a click away, it’s nearly impossible not to be connected all the time. Because of this, people often tend to experience a sort of information overload. While staying informed, up to date, and connected is an important part of our world today, being overwhelmed by constant updates can have some pretty nasty side effects.

Increasingly more often I see people taking a break from social media, or even deleting certain platforms entirely, for mental health reasons. Bullying can be a huge problem on social media and words can have such a strong impact on people. Social media can present us with an overwhelming amount of negativity at times, which can be very stressful and mentally draining.

Constantly having to read and see what other people are doing can be very hard as well. What a lot of people don’t realize is that people only post on social media in the way they want to be viewed by the world. Posts online are never truly reflective of what’s really going on in a person’s life. It’s so easy to get lost in a newsfeed full of people on tropical vacations, out partying with friends, and achieving great successes. It’s easy to think that others have a better, more perfect life based on social media posts. It’s easy to think that your life is not as great by comparison. This is simply not true. People tend to forget that others live a life outside of social media that we cannot see. You never know what is really going on behind closed doors.

On the other hand; however, social media can also have an extremely positive influence on people. I have seen people connect on social media who would have never met otherwise. I’ve seen friendships and relationships formed online with bonds strong enough to bring people together from miles apart. I have seen people find a safe space where they can express who they are and find a community when they cannot in real life. I have seen people build entire careers and businesses from the ground up, made possible entirely by the breadth of social media’s reach.

Social media has the ability to change lives for better or for worse. It’s important that social media is used as a tool for growth and connection rather than tearing-down and isolation. Let social media be a tool to connect the world and spread information, but don’t let it take over your life. Breaks and time away from the Internet can be crucial for mental health, and it is most important to keep YOURSELF in mind as you scroll through others’ posts.