Introduction
Anyone who wants to connect with others can use social media websites such as LinkedIn, MySpace, and Facebook. Many people use social media to connect with others and do research online. Everyone is interested in social media’s expansion, which has made it simpler for teens to communicate with adults and other teens for personal and professional reasons. As social media makes it simpler for people to talk to one another, teens’ cultural understanding and social skills are likely to grow, which is excellent for them. People are also much better equipped to meet new people today. Friends can talk immediately, anywhere, and anytime (O’Reilly, 2020). So, the world has become a global village where people can share ideas. This has led to a greater variety of people and ideas. Social media has unquestionably had an impact on today’s society. We cannot say enough about how much our digital spaces have changed our lives since more than half of the world’s people use social media and the average person spends at least two hours a day on them. Because of social media, the way we start, grow, and maintain relationships has changed dramatically. It has provided us with new ways to interact with and learn about our surroundings and avenues for self-expression.
The positive impact of social media on the society
Social media is used in many schools and classrooms to teach and learn. A student does not have to be in high school or college; anyone can be a student. There are so many free webinars, online courses, and other means to learn these days that there is no limit to how much we may learn. Through social networking, students can locate mentors and training programs, which is a terrific method to learn new skills and advance in their jobs (Abbas et al., 2019). It is also ideal for firms to show off their products, services, and software. YouTube provides free access to some top resources for learning new skills. Today, there are almost too many possibilities for online learning.
Social media is not only a terrific method to study but has also become a platform for online action on a wide range of social justice concerns. Because of social media, movements like #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter have gotten much attention. BLM activists have pushed for criminal justice reform and passed anti-sexual harassment legislation due to a simple hashtag. On many occasions, social media made it possible for people who cared about the same subject to work together for a cause (The Positive Impacts of Social Media, 2018). The impact of these movements on society as a whole is inextricably linked to the function of social media. The #MeToo movement and the “Black Lives Matter” movement have garnered much attention from individuals all around the country because of arguments on social media.
The idea of social media is to keep in touch with individuals and make those ties stronger. Social media makes meeting new people and joining groups that share your interests simple. Finding a small, close-knit community may make us feel more welcome and respected. Social media makes it easy to communicate with distant friends and relatives. Keep in touch by sending messages, images, phone calls, and participating in video chats. Social networking allows you to meet new people and get to know them (The Positive Impacts of Social Media, 2018). You can instantly communicate with and share information with anyone, regardless of where they are. Because of how well digital media operate together, they are unique.
Social networking is frequently used to offer assistance. You can use social media to support a cause that is important to you or assist others. You can receive and offer assistance for activities such as starting a new business, exhibiting your photographs, or writing poems. It would help if you went out of your way to discover people in your field so that you can speak with them and offer your knowledge. Using social media to show that you care and have empathy. People commonly discuss their concerns or troubles on social media (The Positive Impacts of Social Media, 2018). You can exhibit empathy by sending a text message or making a pleasant comment when you can relate to someone. Demonstrate to your friends and strangers that you appreciate and care about what they say. Seeing how other people deal with challenges often offers us hope and helps us see things from a new angle.
The negative impact of social media on the society
Because there are so many social media sites, we no longer have the ability to feel emotions. We learned to read people’s body language by talking to them face-to-face as we grew older. Since social media came around, we “read” other people’s comments erroneously since we cannot grasp how they feel. People who disagree believe that social media and communication can be beneficial (Kloog, 2019). Most of the time, teens get along better with their peers. Even though some people may be able to manage their difficulties with the support of these strong online interactions, cyberbullying could develop as a result.
When people post about particular issues on social media, they risk receiving derogatory comments or messages. When these indications appear, a person’s confidence may be challenged. There is no method to avoid sending messages via a screen. Since people may hide their identities online, cyberbullying is becoming more widespread. They can disclose private information about other people, send messages to anonymous users, and tag people in posts that are derogatory about them (Kloog, 2019). They may make others feel bad about themselves and less confident with only one sentence. People will always be able to find something that has been posted online.
The individual bullied online may eventually decide to harm himself or herself. They may argue that face-to-face bullying cannot be stopped since it is a problem. This, however, is what a cowardly bully would do. Setting limitations and becoming more conscious of how our words and actions influence others could change how individuals check over potentially harmful content before submitting it (Kloog, 2019). On the other hand, some people are finding it increasingly difficult to resist the want to share knowledge.
Addiction to social media is a huge problem in modern society. Even though we claim to be checking items on our phones, we frequently have lengthy phone chats. Consider the children who attend school. Procrastination. We frequently spend more time on our phones than we do studying for an exam because we are concerned about what others may say (Kloog, 2019). Because of this, the student’s grades would gradually get worse. Some teachers instruct their students to check their homework online. When students conduct internet research, they may find an article in the sidebar that piques their attention.
Conclusion
As individuals, we might talk to our kids about the hazards of social media in today’s world if we think it will strengthen our relationships. While limiting the frequency of cyberbullying, we can strengthen our interpersonal communication and social interaction skills. The most important aspect is that we can limit the amount of time people spend on social media, which could lead to addiction in the long term. We can modify how social media operates and how it affects us and others. In the end, it is up to us.
References
Abbas, J., Aman, J., Nurunnabi, M., & Bano, S. (2019). The Impact of Social Media on Learning Behavior for Sustainable Education: Evidence of Students from Selected Universities in Pakistan. Sustainability, 11(6), 1683. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11061683
Kloog, D. (2019, December 19). The Negative Impacts Social Media Has On Society. The Odyssey Online; Odyssey. https://www.theodysseyonline.com/negative-impacts-social-media-society
O’Reilly, M. (2020). Social media and adolescent mental health: The good, the bad and the ugly. Journal of Mental Health, 29(2), 200–206. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2020.1714007
The Positive Impacts of Social Media. (2018, February 26). Pivotal Counseling Center. https://pivotalcounselingcenter.com/the-positive-impacts-of-social-media/
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