From high school to college, it is nearly impossible to meet people who don't use social media of any sort, whether it is Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Snapchat (you name it). If you are an avid social media user, much like I am, you are probably aware of how often it's used for your peers to capture memorable moments like frat parties, shopping trips, family gatherings, girls' night out, etc. It's fun to share memories with others online while expressing the joys of life of rattling away from the stress of exams, papers, and the future of being adult and having bills being the main priority to surviving.
But when does social media get you in trouble? That's a major inconvenience that comes to many people who use social media to spew negative remarks about others they have problems. As social media has become more and more integrated in the lives of everyday online usage, many social network sites have become platforms of engaging in toxic behavior, the kind in the form of making hateful posts about one another in as a way to exercising emotions. This often leads to full fledged drama in which social networks turns into anger-fueled warzones, and it needs to stop.
The reason people choose to act in this manner is because they feel more comfortable as they sitting behind a screen and without fear getting in a physical altercation that has very potential of landing them in a hospital -- sometimes with tragic consequences. Unfortunately, incidents like this has happen at the start of drama on social media.
To matter worse, many kids today have gotten a kick out of watching conflicts like this happen and treating it as entertainment. In this day in time, whenever a fight breaks out between people, kids are quick to pull out their phones and record it for them to post on Snapchat. In one recent incident, 16-year old boy got in a brawl with an older kid and was fatally stabbed to death with an enormous crowd of his classmates while recording the fight on their phones instead of breaking it up and very possibly saving this boy's life.
This shows how people today have grown so obsessed with getting likes and views on social media that they are willing take extreme measures to get it regardless of the cost. While getting likes is good, it should be for memories to cherish rather than pure negativity for the sake of getting reactions out of people.
I'm sure many of you have heard the saying "If you wouldn't say in person, you might as well not say it on social media" but sadly, less and less people are taking this word to heart and it has lead to an increasingly toxic culture that has reeked what made social media popular in the first place. Social media is not the place for communicating drama, and the quicker people realize the consequences that come, the sooner they learn how social sites can be a friendly place for interactions with others.
