Social Media Has Helped Us Stay Connected Around The World, But Its Effects Are Not All Good

Social media has had one of the most profound effects on society. It is useful to all categories of people while in some instances, it has proven to be detrimental. As long as you are grounded as a human being and use social media for the good and not the bad, you will probably not fall victim to the cons.

Pros:

1. Convenience

Going digital has made it easier for everybody to do pretty much everything. It has enabled convenience in all types of settings such as the workplace, school, home, and everywhere else. When communicating through social media, you can send and receive messages anywhere and anytime as long as you're connected to the internet via WiFi or 4G. No need for a payphone and landlines when everybody on the planet has an iPhone.

2. Information

Learning from your peers, spreading awareness on important issues and noble causes. It's important to be updated in times like these where everything is fast-paced and changing quickly. It is probably the best way to be equipped with adequate knowledge of current affairs. This information is very useful and enables people to make informed decisions based on what they just learned. If you want to know what's going on in the world, all you need to do is jump on any social media website.

3. Networking

We have access of the world at our fingertips thanks to the internet. Making new friends, finding work and other opportunities through social media have never been easier.It truly is a great place for finding the right people to align yourself with. Especially if you're having trouble initiating that in real life Sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, along with other websites have given people a chance to self-promote and find work for themselves while cutting out the middleman. It has given everyone a chance to voice their perspective through any medium they want while anyone can view it. It gives everyone an equal voice and there are no gatekeepers when it comes to you saying anything you want.

4. Communication

Perhaps one of the most important benefits of social media would have to be the process of communicating with others. Social media is great for staying connected with family and friends and to share interesting and important aspects of our lives. It keeps us connected across the world, and helps us find people we’d lost touch with. The ability to be able to communicate with others from different parts of the world is amazing. You can have live video conversations with people in multiple countries using webcams and apps such as Skype.

5. Fun

Social media is fun. Who would have thought? Using it actually triggers a dopamine high in our brains which is why it feels good to see comments and likes show up on our own posts and profiles. Sending memes and funny videos to friends gives us this rush of excitement as well It's also nice to be able to see what our friends are doing without having to directly ask them. It's a great way to kill time considering we spend a lot of our lives waiting anyway.

Cons:

1. Depression

We are more connected then we have ever been but ironically, most of us feel lonelier than we have ever been. Loneliness, anxiety, our tendency to compare ourselves to others. In fact, the more time we spend on social media leads to an increased feeling of isolation. Cyber-bullying is also an issue that has been rooted in social media. Anybody can become the target of a cyber-bullying attack. The fact that identities over the internet are often hidden make it easier for those who want to cause others harm without dealing with the consequences.

2. Wasted time

We spend a lot of time using social media we could have been using for something more productive. Social media use can encourage addictive behavior such as the neglect of personal life, responsibilities, escaping obligations. Those moments of aimlessly scrolling down the Twitter timeline hoping for something new to happen add up and all you're left with is lost time and a reminder of your boredom. There are people who spend hours to display all aspects of their life just for the instant gratification without noticing the lost time.

3. Laziness

Sitting for hours just staring at the screen encourages a sedentary lifestyle. Too much sitting down in one spot for too long may cause us to get comfy or lazy when it comes to getting up and getting out. Social media is also capable of reducing productivity levels considering how engaging it is. This behavior can obviously be problematic and can lead to serious medical issues.

4. Health

Staring at a screen for hours every day is different definitely not good for you. Staying up late staring at the light from a computer or phone screen at night can negatively affect your vision and ability to get a good night's sleep. Staring down at your phone for extended periods of time could give you "text neck syndrome." This injury is upper back and neck pain or tightness and is becoming increasingly common.

5. Divisive

As much as the internet and social media bring people together, it divides. A lot of already divisive topics such as religion, sports, music, and politics are discussed among random people. Obviously, this causes and will always cause conflict and a lot of the time these disagreements are blown out of proportion. Unfortunately, in our technologically driven world, people are misusing these advantages. People seem to feel brave while attacking others while hiding behind their screens.