I am, admittedly, a bit of a social media addict. Although I'm not an avid poster on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, or Instagram, I spend a lot of time on various social media sites when I'm bored, and it's usually one of the first things I check on my phone when I wake up every morning.

But I don't really like how addicted I am to social media, so I try to avoid spending too much time on it. I've considered deleting some of my many social media accounts, but I know that even if I did delete them, I'd still find myself browsing the website to see what recent updates are trending or what people are up to.

Unfortunately, social media is often a necessity in today's world. If you're looking for a job, it's beneficial to have a LinkedIn to network with potential employers. And if you want to promote anything that you've been doing, it's a good idea to have a Facebook or Twitter account. As a whole, social media is often a beneficial tool that can be used to create new opportunities, learn about new things, and connect with others. But not all of its influences are positive.

Here are some of the negative impacts of social media:

1. Dependence: Social media addiction is a real, detrimental thing. But it's hard to tell where the line crosses from enjoyment to excessive and obsessive. Researchers have found that social media can be harder to resist than cigarettes or alcohol, according to The Guardian. Those who are addicted to social media may go through damaging withdrawal symptoms similar to those addicted to substances. It's important to unplug yourself once in a while and spend time away from social networking.
2. Cyber-bullying: Cyber-bullying has been an issue for a very long time, but social media often makes it easier to carry out and inflict on others. Sites such as "Formspring", Ask.fm, and Tumblr allow users to be truly anonymous when sending messages to someone. In addition, social media makes it easier to contact anyone, including strangers halfway across the world. Anyone can easily find themselves the target of unprecedented cyber-bullying.
3. Social pressure: The increasing use of social media has often exhorted huge social pressure on younger generations, especially high school and college students. The creative control over social media allows teens to selectively choose what they want to show to the world. Many find themselves creating a public, perceived image of themselves on social media that may differ from reality. Why do they do this? Simple. There is a lot pressure, specifically on teens and young adults, to make it seem as if their lives are put together. People want to show others that they're happy, healthy, and doing well in school or work, even if they are actually unhappy or dissatisfied.
4. Self-awareness: With social media comes heightened social awareness. You're seeing what other people are doing, and you become conscious about how you're letting other people see what you do. Although this can often be a good thing, sometimes heightened self-awareness can create negative feelings. Seeing other people be pretty, popular, or successful can lead you to create unfair comparisons between yourself and others.
5. Cyber-crime: Social media creates a gateway from online predators to target victims, harass strangers, steal identities, and find personal information. In addition, the attachment of payment info to certain sites such as Paypal, Venmo, or Facebook makes your financial information vulnerable. Although your information is usually securely protected by high-tech software, there's always a fraud risk when you choose to buy something online.
6. Distraction: Believe me, I wish I had more self control. But sometimes, when I'm up at 2 a.m. working on a research paper, I can't resist the urge to open a new browser tab and see what people are up to on social media. Although sometimes social media can be a welcome distraction, it's more often than not preventing you from doing something more important. Especially if you spend more time than you'd like on social networking sites.
7. Privacy: Although there are options to hide information from the public on your Facebook profile, many people don't know that almost everything you put online is accessible from thereon after, even if is deleted. There are also ways around privacy settings. No wonder identity theft and fraud are some of the fastest-growing crimes.
8. Fear of missing out: FOMO is real. Before social media, you often didn't know what anyone was up to unless you saw them in person. Now, your former neighbor's adventures in Europe are only a click away, and your friend's party from last weekend is on the front page of your Instagram feed. It's harder than ever to ignore other people, and even if you're perfectly happy with your social life as is, it's hard not to feel left out when things happen that you aren't involved in.

Believe me, I love social media. In general, social media has far more positives than negatives. It helps us connect with friends, loved ones, or strangers, and it adds a new, omnipresent dynamic to modern day relationships. But with this extra dimension of socialization comes complication. At times, I wish I could go back to the simpler times before Facebook existed!