Oversharing Online

 Social Media: Friend or Foe?

I often find myself wondering how different the world would be if social media was never invented. I haven't lived in a world where social media has not influenced some part of the culture we live in. In fact, MySpace, one of the first successful social media platforms, was invented in 2003- the same year I was born. I grew up with my baby pictures being posted on Facebook, rather than placed in photo albums. This brings up an interesting questions regarding the influence of social media platforms on sensitive topics such as mental health and self image.

Nowadays, there are so many different social media platforms it is hard to keep count. We can consider the benefits and drawbacks of each, but first it is important to recognize the general audiences for these platforms. According to a survey taken in 2020 (chart below), the top three social media platforms used by teens are Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok. Why just consider teens? Teens are the most susceptible to being "influenced" by the content of these platforms. Their minds are still developing and they have yet to completely understand their identity. Typically, the influence of this media is circumstantial to the user, but there are some general benefits and drawbacks of each.

Benefits

• Access to global news at the touch of a button.
• Daily updates on the lives of friends and family.
• The ability to maintain long-distance friendships and relations.
• A platform to advocate for important political and social issues.

Drawbacks

• The spread of false news and information.
• Idolizing social media "influencers" who promote unattainable body standards and lifestyles.
• Cyberbullying
• Loss of productiveness and attention span.

Social media, when used irresponsibly and too frequently, can corrupt the mental health of its users. While some apps try to censor their content, it is impossible to remove everything that might be harmful to young users. This brings up an important question, do social networking sites have any responsibility in promoting mental health in their users? To an extent, possibly. I believe social media companies should continue censoring content that is discriminative or is classified as bullying. However, I do think the user also has some responsibility. If a person became unhealthy for eating McDonalds everyday, we would not blame McDonalds, but rather the person who made ill dietary decisions. The same goes for social media. Users are responsible for the way they interpret and interact with social media. If I see a picture of a high fitness model on Instagram, I know not to compare my features to theirs because they have access to expensive trainers, dieticians, and cosmetic doctors. I also know to fact check news I see on twitter, and to put my social media away when it is time to be productive. Maturity and realism are crucial characteristics to have as a user of social media, and if someone does not acquire those traits then they need to take a step back and reflect on how social media might be influencing their lives, mental health, and ideals.