Do you ever find yourself scrolling through social media for hours, losing track of time and forgetting what you were doing? Many people don’t realize the various negative effects that social media can have. Here are 10 reasons why social media can be bad for us, both mentally and physically.
Social media comes in handy when it comes to gaining information, keeping up with family and friends, and keeping up with the world around you, but with every pro, there is a con. Social media may be the reason why today's kids grow up so disrespectful towards one another, and the reason why the world is going downhill.
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1. Beauty
Social media puts out an image of what a "beautiful" person is. Social media puts idea in people's heads that in order to be beautiful, you have to be a certain size, height, hair color, eye color, and race. This is not true, beauty is on the inside and in the eyes of the beholder. Social Media does not define beauty.
2. Made Up Words
Since the increase in use of social media, more and more fake words have been made up and used on a daily basis, such as BAE. These words are being used more and more in daily lives, and the true English language has been pushed aside for these made up words.
3. Lack of Socialization
The more social media is used, the less human interaction actually occurs. People today are interacting less and less with other people unless it is through a cell phone or other technological device. With the decrease in social contact, there is a lack of ability to communicate in the world, and therefore people today are not respecting one another.
4. Cyber-Bullying
Social media makes bullying easier for those who are afraid to actually bully in person. It makes it easy to bully another person with the use of social media, because rather than having to look someone in the face, a bully can now intrude on other's lives by hiding behind their electronic device.
5. Lack of productivity
With social media comes addiction, much like a drug, social media has you spending countless hours sitting in front of a screen scrolling through other people's lives. With this addiction, there is a lack of time spent doing productive things such as exercise, school work, cleaning etc.
6. Expectations
Social media puts forth an expectation of how things in the world should be. Women should be skinny, tall, have a thigh gap, and act proper; wearing dresses, nails painted, and hair done nicely. Men are expected to be tall, muscular and have a 6-pack. When in reality people are all different and beautiful in their own way and the expectations that social media puts on them is beyond awful. When out in public, people who spend the majority of their time on social media will analyze and judge any person they see walking down the sidewalk based on the expectations that social media puts out there.
7. Idolizes Alcohol and Drugs
The upkeep with social media is how many likes you have on your latest photo or status. In order to obtain these likes, people post things that are controversial and viewed as "cool" in the minds of their fellow bloggers. Not only is today's generation is drinking and doing drugs more than any other generation, but they are posting their adventures more. Every drink consumed is photographed and posted for the most "likes" on their social media platform.
8. Loss of Privacy
With everything posted, there is a location shared. Although most social media sites have the opportunity to "private" your account, nothing is really private. With everything you post, you are giving away all of your personal information which makes it easy for predators and other creeps online to find you.
9. Lower Grades
With the addiction to social media, less time is spent studying and doing homework, and more time is spent scrolling through the latest meme or GIF. With the lack of studying and homework being done, grades of social media addicts are dropping.
10. Psychological/Mental Disorders
The increase in social media use has has lead to the increase in children and teens diagnosed with mental disorders such as ADHA, depression, and anxiety. Social media has left teens and children feeling alone and lack in knowing how to deal with social issues such as harassment from people. Social media also causes malfunctions in brain activity due to constantly looking at a screen.
What are some of the most serious risks of using social media?
A lack of productivity and the potential to develop physiological or mental disorders are some of the top risks for those who engage in social media.
How does social media impact the view of one's self?
Social media has issues like cyberbullying, projections of an ideal image that leads to unfair comparisons, and peer pressure. It can be isolating instead of bringing people together, and the lack of privacy can go in a negative direction.
What are some positives of social media?
Gaining information, keeping up with family and friends, and keeping up with the world around you are positives of engaging with social media.
