It’s not a secret that social media runs most of our lives. With most of us so readily available to technology, joining things like Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and more is almost inevitable. I'm on all the platforms used above, and I'm not afraid to admit these are my top three most used apps on my phone.
These apps all have a purpose: A way for people to connect with each other when they aren’t right next to them. Although that may be a positive, it seems that social media is becoming more and more negative every day.
On Twitter this week, I’ve seen a video posted by Logan Paul that showed a man hanging in the forest he explored in his vlog, then on top of that, another vlog he posted where he did some very questionable things during his time in Japan that could be seen as disrespectful towards Japanese culture.
Not only that, but I’ve also seen an H&M ad for children’s clothes, using a very young African American child to model a shirt saying, “Coolest monkey in the jungle.”
These are just a few things I’ve seen in the past week. I’ve been witness to cyberbullying, cyber fights, and even livestream videos of people committing suicide.
As a person who struggles with anxiety, seeing things like that on my feed stressed me out. I know that it has nothing to do with me, but I personally don’t like having this shoved down my throat. It makes me feel like the world is a place full of hate and mistakes. I know I can’t live in my own little bubble forever, but still, it’s not a good feeling to know something is wrong with the world. The Logan Paul incident happened a week ago, and although it's important and I feel YouTube should do something about it, the same old story keeps reappearing over and over again.
It has come to the point where I frequently delete all my social media apps and shut down for a while. Being overwhelmed is too much for me, so in a way, I cut myself off from everyone I know.
It’s a bit of a bother how much social media has an impact on my mental health. In a way, I wish there was a way to filter out all of the things that are negative so I could just enjoy my social media experience.
Don’t get me wrong, social media isn’t 100 percent bad. There is the occasional cute puppy video (or something else wholesome that fills my heart with joy), and I think that’s the reason I will never completely delete all my social media. I have a small beacon of hope for social media, and perhaps one day it will change.
