Abstract 

Imagine 50 years people would think how great life is and how much technology is advancing and where it would be in the future. At least, for the most part, that is what people from the past might think, but in today’s world, we can see it is not all sunshine and rainbows especially when it comes to social media. If life has not evolved the way it has and we did not have the technology and such platforms today, it is obvious that life would be drastically different. Pros and cons were mainly discussed in the article to allow the reader to inform themselves while taking a step back to decide how social media influences them, either in a good or bad way. There are plenty of things to be thankful for in our lives that social media has helped us with but it is important to not rely too heavily on all the platforms. We must remember that it is important to stay connected to our reality and with others in person, getting too sucked into social media can be a bad thing at times and it can affect someone mentally. The goal was not to bash social media or praise it but to raise awareness on how it can influence us and affect the things we do as well as the decisions we make. Do not let social media decide your life, live in the moment, and enjoy everything without taking things for granted.

Introduction To Social Medias’ Influence

No matter where we are in the world, we can see cellphones and technology being used all the time by people of all ages. Who would’ve thought 50 years ago that we would have such technology that enables us to do so many things and give us so much joy and excitement? At least that is what people from the past might think, but in today’s world, it isn’t all sunshine and rainbows especially when it comes to social media. Being born in the “Gen Z” era, I have grown up with all types of new technology releasing consistently, and with that comes various social media platforms to connect with people. I would say that I am an experienced user of social media having been on all sorts of platforms for many years, so I have witnessed how society has changed its standards and social norms have evolved, as well as how they treat individuals. It can be an upbringing or dark place for some people and it’s always talked about on the news with these stories that can end up in long lost family members meeting each other or a teenager taking their own life because of online bullies. Social media has its pros and cons, but how does it influence and/or affect our everyday lives?

How Is Social Media Positive?

Social media certainly has several positive outcomes. The article called “Social Media and Mental Health”, published by Help Guide provided examples of some positives that social media use has. Such examples include: people being able to stay in touch and informed with family and friends all across the world, make new acquaintances and join new communities; connect with those who have similar interests or goals and have a way to express themselves and their creativity (Robinson, 2021). If life hasn’t evolved the way it has and we didn’t have the technology and such platforms today, it is obvious that life would be drastically different. So many things wouldn’t be possible without social media; connections that can lead to great friendships or relationships, job opportunities, and sometimes we can receive positive messages/daily affirmations. I know that some positives for me as well as many others are being able to stay up to date with current world events and issues such as Covid-19, the war happening in Europe between Ukraine and Russia, and any issues happening in other countries like our own. Other positives include being able to talk to other people with the same interests as I mentioned earlier, it was really useful especially during peak covid of each variant because it was almost like something to look forward to which I know many others around the world also had an online community to communicate with. Social Media brings so many positives and can truly be a great place to learn and grow. It should always be a place for people to feel safe and comfortable, ease stress, depression, and anxiety, prevent loneliness, boost your self-worth with affirmations and positivity, and most of all, it should bring you joy, and otherwise would not be acceptable. Robinson states that no matter how much we may enjoy social media it is also very important to keep our in-person interactions going, “In today’s world, many of us rely on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube, and Instagram to find and connect with each other. While each has its benefits, it’s important to remember that social media can never be a replacement for real-world human connection.” (Robinson, 2021). The reason why Robinson says it is important to stay in touch with reality is that we can get very attached to being on social media all the time and create an unhealthy habit mentally that would be difficult to overcome depending on how far in you fall. There are plenty of things to be thankful for in our lives that social media has helped us with especially mentally for some people but it is important to not rely too heavily on all the platforms. We must remember that it is important to stay connected to our reality and with others in person, getting too sucked into social media can be a bad thing and it can damage people mentally by living two different lives on and off-screen.

(Figure 1. Choudhary, 2017). This infographic image shows the number of users spread across different platforms from 2004-to 2014, proving that the number of social media users increases constantly with a large age range. The outrageous fact about these numbers is that they will continue to increase significantly each year, for years to come. Do you use any of these social media platforms?

Negative Side of Social Media

It’s easy to become addicted to social media. It’s a technology that’s used widely and religiously by individuals from all walks of life — various cultures, lifestyles, and upbringings — and we’re all exposed to postings, feeds, and videos from other people’s lives. All around the globe the majority of individuals varying of all ages (a little less when it comes to older generations of course) use at least one form of major social media network available, yet many are unaware of the impact that everyday social media usage can have (Chafer, 2020). Some pretty big topics regarding the negative effects of social media include body dysmorphia, developing social anxiety, FOMO, depression, cyber-bullying, and rude/toxic people just killing a good time. This list can go on really and it is sad to see that people have nothing else better to do than be immature and disrespect others. Every negative aspect of social media can be damaging and can lead people to uncontrollable thoughts and hurt themselves or worse. Body dysmorphia and FOMO are two of the biggest outcomes of social media that are affecting a lot of people right now in the newer generations. The standards that society puts out as to what the perfect body looks like can often be so unrealistic and unhealthy to achieve for someone because every body is different and requires different needs which is what a lot of people fail to understand when comparing themselves to some of the fittest people in the world. They think their body is filled is trash and shame themselves for not looking like a sculpted Greek god(ess) but it is simply not the case, obtaining such a body can take years and years of hard work and sometimes even unhealthy habits. There have been moments where yeah you can look in the mirror and feel bad as you know that your dream body might be far but nothing in life is easy and it requires hard work like most things to achieve success in whatever aspect of life. Love yourself no matter what because you have only one body for the rest of your life so we have to learn to respect it and take care of it. In the case of FOMO, which stands for “fear of missing out”, it happens to a lot of us, including myself, and can be more severe for others. It can be upsetting seeing people live their best life and go out to amazing places posting it on their socials but it is important to remember that they had to work hard to obtain their success and it probably didn’t come easy. That can be one scenario with influencers but another can be even worse because it can happen with our very own friends going out and it can be more sentimental because you could have been there. The sad reality is that maybe they simply didn’t want us to be there for a certain reason, either to protect us or hurt us. That is the point where I have had to question if they are truly my friends and if they deserve my time, to begin with. It can be difficult to see people living their best life but why can’t we do the same? It is a mental block holding us from reaching our potential to succeed and obtain anything we want in life, our mindset is everything, especially towards social media because it can be a cruel and toxic place. It can either put you down and kick you while you’re on the ground or it can fuel the beast we have inside us and give us the motivation we need to be the best version of ourselves. Take a moment and think about some negative aspects of social media that are affecting your life, what might they be… and how do you deal with them? Live your happy dream life and don’t let minor inconveniences on social media bring you down.

How To Take A Step Back From Social Media

IEEE Computer Societies publication’, “Social Media Affects Your Life More Than You Realize”, made me acknowledge that it’s fun to skim through memes, images, and life updates from individuals you’ve met along the road, but we frequently overlook how social media affects how we act and think, not to mention the possibilities that are accessible to us through these platforms. It is such a powerful thing in today’s world and it’s everywhere really. So there is bound to be an endless amount of people seeing all types of things all over the world absorbing what they see (Alton, n.d.). Additionally, The article, “Social Media is Warping Our Perception of Reality”, helped me realize that, as useful as social media is, it can also be exploitative. We must not succumb to this temptation. But how? Reduce daily usage on particular apps, put your phone aside, go for a stroll with friends or family – whatever it takes to reconnect with our reality, the life you’re experiencing day after day, rather than being brainwashed by what Instagram says your life should be more like (Chafer, 2020). Once again, Robinson says it better than any way I ever could when he states, “A 2018 University of Pennsylvania study found that reducing social media use to 30 minutes a day resulted in a significant reduction in levels of anxiety, depression, loneliness, sleep problems, and FOMO. But you don’t need to cut back on your social media use that drastically to improve your mental health. The same study concluded that just being more mindful of your social media use can have beneficial results on your mood and focus.” (Robinson, 2021). The little things matter when trying to break out of habits because some progress is better than no progress which is what the author hinted at when he said you don’t need to take drastic measures to see mental health improvement. It can be hard to let go of social media if you’re on it all the time but when you think about all the negative energy and toxic things on the internet you get a sudden shock of “wow, this is what my mind ingests every day”. There’s no need to eradicate all social media from your life but certainly, acknowledge that it would be very beneficial to ease down on your consumption. It’s time to take control of our reality and make the best of it without allowing social media to heavily influence our decisions because it is what society thinks is normal. We can’t please everyone in this world or even around us, so why not just keep yourself happy and not worry about what others think which can be hard, but keeping yourself happy and in a positive mental state should be the number one priority always because it’s not their life, it’s yours.

(Figure 2. Gordon, 2021). I believe it is important to realize when social media is impacting your health in any way, either mentally or physically. Here are a few signs that you can self-evaluate and take your next steps to prevent these from happening, or recognize that maybe being on social media is not such a good thing for you at the moment.

Beating Social Media

Once you have gotten rid of old habits regarding social media use, coming back to it can be very strange, and sometimes it’s not for everyone to come back to it because they realize their life is much better without it. A lot of people just end up using socials for news, especially during peak Covid-19. The pandemic has put a high amount of stress and mental issues on many people around the world and social media was an outlet for millions. The four authors of the article, “The Role of Social Media in the Advent of COVID-19 Pandemic: Crisis Management, Mental Health Challenges, and Implications”, mentioned how social media was used to inform people but also had misinformation being put out as well which caused high stress for consumers not knowing what to believe. They state, “The pandemic has posed a global mental health crisis, and correct information is indispensable to dispel uncertainty, fear, and mental stress to unify global communities in collective combat against COVID-19 disease worldwide. Social media provided positive and negative data, and the COVID-19 has resulted in a worldwide infodemic. It has eroded public trust and impeded virus restraint, which outlived the coronavirus pandemic itself.” (Abbas et al., 2021). I used various examples to show a few positives and negatives, but I believe that social media isn’t the best place for some people like children and pre-teens because, in my opinion, the cons outweigh the pros for a young individual whose mind is still developing. For someone older, we understand how society and social media work together, it’s all a mental game. Knowing it’s a mental game, I encourage you to reach out to someone you haven’t spoken to in a while or someone you think might just need someone to talk to because I promise you it will go a long way and mean a lot to them. We need to lift each other up and not be so toxic online, we should spread kindness and positivity. Remember, you’re not alone and will get through any hardships you’re enduring, you got this.

(Figure 3. Lee, 2016). This image speaks volumes. It is so simple, but the words truly mean a lot, especially if applied to the world, society, and social media. I include this because as the last paragraph was about beating social media, the way to do it is with positivity and good vibes. Be the change you want to see in the world, it doesn’t matter if you’re the first or the last to do it but spread that good energy and be great.

Conclusion on Social Medias Influence

In this article, I discussed how social media influences and/or affects our everyday lives. The goal was not to bash social media or praise it but to raise awareness on how it can influence us and affect the things we do as well as the decisions we make. I want to ask you to think about how you are using social media, is it for good or for bad? Are you allowing it to take control of your life in ways you don’t realize? Don’t let social media decide your life, we have to snap out of it and take back our reality, live life in the moment, and enjoy everything without taking things for granted. Social media is entirely made up and flows through the consumers and influencers who use the platforms positively or others who like to hurt people and are stuck in their own digital world. We can’t keep allowing norms and society to decide how we do things, be different, be unique, be you. 

References

Alton, L. (n.d.). Social Media Affects Your Life More Than You Realize. IEEE Computer Society Social Media Affects Your Life More Than You Realize. Social Media Affects Your Life More Than You Realize

Abbas, J., Wang, D., Su, Z., & Ziapour, A. (2021, May 12). The role of social media in the advent of covid-19 pandemic: Crisis Management, mental health challenges and implications. US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. The Role of Social Media in the Advent of COVID-19 Pandemic: Crisis Management, Mental Health Challenges and Implications

Robinson, L. (2021, October). Social Media and Mental Health. HelpGuide.org. 

Social Media and Mental Health – HelpGuide.org

Chafer, H. (2020, June 12). Social media is warping our perception of reality. Medium. 

Social Media is Warping Our Perception of Reality | by Harry Chafer | Mind Cafe | Medium

The evolution of Social Media 2004 – 2014: The good, the bad and the ugly of it (Image 1) The Evolution of Social Media 2004 – 2014: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly 

The Link Between Social Media and Mental Health. Verywell Mind. (Image 2) 

https://www.verywellmind.com/link-between-social-media-and-mental-health-5089347 

3 reasons to be more positive on social media. Medium. (Image 3)

 3 reasons to be more positive on social media | by Stephanie Lee | Buffer Stories