Five Problems With Social Media
The power to connect with a long lost friend, the ability to connect with a blast from the past, the opportunity to meet and interact with family that’s never been met…easily accessible with a simple keystroke is incredible. Social media provides a virtual space for people near and far to celebrate life’s magnificent highs and mourn its devastating blows “together” in an artificial world. It provides a space to share in a morning laugh, get (or give) inspiration, media affords the ability to escape reality…if only for a few fleeting moments…
Yet…there’s the flip side to social media. The damaging side. The side that has forever changed communication and quite possibly handicapped social interactions and development of interpersonal skills. I was asked to identify five “problems” with social media. My list FAR surpassed that maximum, in no particular order, they are listed below:
- The quest for likes has quashed compassion, sympathy, the ability to filter and limitations. Literally, NOTHING is off limits in the social media realm. Gaining likes and potentially “going viral” have trumped basic concern for fellow man. A major portion of society would prefer to capture and upload a brutal beating over using the same device to reach out for help.
- Impersonal socialationships…yes, I completely made that word up. But, let’s be real. That’s EXACTLY what they are. Social media has caused a serious breach in the sanctity of relationships, both intimate and platonic. Genuine friendships outside of social media interaction are about as rare to find as a fossil. When’s the last time you went to dinner and NO ONE pulled out their phone!?! I’ll wait…
- One of the MAJOR hindrances that results from social media is the consumption of time. There are many of us (you see, I included myself) who roll over and check Facebook, Instagram, text messages and everything in between before even getting out of bed. Tasked to complete an assignment and find yourself wandering to a social media site. One glance at a video turns into hours of mindless, frivolous surfing. Quite frankly, social media productivity and can potentially stagnate growth
- Just like a movie trailer working overtime to entice consumers, social media acts as everyone’s LIFE trailer. The edited reel of life has replaced reality. Social media can paint a false picture to the outside world. There are those who do things like take pictures of themselves crying (for dramatic effect…please step on a lego) and those who will post endless shots of their every waking move (you step on a lego too), but won’t post the truth that is hidden behind the quest for likes…remember point one?!?!
- Self esteem is tied to validation from others…comparison really is the root of all evil. As a young mom to a teenager, this is probably the most frightening and devastating “evil” of social media. It’s already hard enough trying to navigate the teen years. Figure out friends. And if you really REALLY like that boy. The hormonal changes. Body parts sprouting out of nowhere. Add in peer pressure and the desire “to be cool” and you already have a recipe for disaster. Mix in a sprinkle of social media and BAM, you’ve got a toxic potion for self-hate. It’s almost impossible to convince someone of their worth and beauty when every bit of social media screams otherwise.
Social media can be both a blessing and a curse…which side of the scale do you most often find yourself?!
