Power of Social Media can be Dangerous
Introduction on social media
In modern society, with abundant usage of the internet, social media has drastically uplifted the living standard of people. Communication means such as exchanging photos, and videos, sharing news, and stories, participating in online discussions, and sharing thoughts virtually have been effortless.
It has become reliable access and direct means to interact with individuals, companies, organizations, government offices, etc. With online activity increasing, there is concern about privacy and security that are shared on social media by users which may be collected and analyzed.
Why is social media dangerous?
Despite having lots of merits, it has also become one of the most harmful elements of society. Improper monitoring of social media can lead to a global crisis.
Some major harmful aspects of social media are as follows.
Lack of Privacy and Security:
Social media invades your privacy. . It leads to cyberbullying and fraud which affect any person’s privacy and security. The attacker uses social media to obtain personal or sensitive information from a victim due to security issues and misuses it to act in the victim’s name for doing fraud or deception.
Social Interaction and Fantasy:
Social media influence leads people to fantasize about high fame despite their status acting differently on weird, crazy, and dangerous stuff leading to casualties (physically and financially). It plays a significant role in decreasing face-to-face interaction, its usage results in reduced quality of social interaction.
Consequences of Social Media
Effect on Mental Health:
People who are using social networks continuously have been affected by different mental health issues such as depression, loneliness, social anxiety, etc. It also leads to fear of missing out (FOMO) causing the fear of missing the information. The more interest in other people’s life has also caused the increase in fear of missing out which causes mental health issues in people.
Leads to Addiction:
Using social networks compulsively and excessively can influence the brain in a harmful way which becomes an addiction to people. The excessive use of social networks can be addictive and its consequences are the same as those of addiction such as anxiety, dependence, irritability, lack of self-control, etc. Feeling bad when not getting likes, retweets or views, etc.
False and Unreliable Information:
Social network influence plays an important role in increasing the reach of these types of information. People around the globe get news from social sites and networks that are often difficult to tell whether stories are credible or not.
How to avoid the dangers of social media?
There are a few reasons that you can do to avoid the dangers of social networks and media:
Minimize the use of social media:
There are various techniques to achieve this, such as implementing software-based solutions to limit your access, reducing the visibility of social media on your digital devices, and finding alternative activities to engage in.
Using social media in a positive way:
We can take advantage of using media to actively communicate with people that we are close with, rather than using it only for consuming information in a passive way.
Why do people keep using social media?
It is important to keep using social networks to stay up to date even though it has demerits. The reasons may vary according to individuals and circumstances but one reason why people continue to use social media. Even though it affects them negatively is that they are simply unaware of its harmful influence. Although people are aware of the harmful influence that social media can cause on them. They are carefree about these dangers.
Many people continue to use social media even though they know it’s bad for them. People are psychologically predisposed to keep using it and couldn’t stop it. Altogether, there are numerous reasons why people continue to use social media its effects cannot be neglected. The reasons might include lack of awareness, psychological issues. Such as the fear of missing out, and situational factors such as the high accessibility of social media.
Conclusion
In conclusion, social media has its own pros and cons. It will continue to be harmful unless it is kept in control. The power of social media is still dangerous to people and often goes unnoticed. If not careful and taken care, of by social media, it could cause national and international problems. It stops interpersonal growth and increases narcissism in many social media users.
People are psychologically affected and potentially in danger by social media. Almost nobody is immune to the harmful side effects including identity theft, stalkers, or hackers. However, ultimately, using social media is actually dependent on the people as they know how to use social media and learn how to balance it and use it wisely. Therefore, we must start to live a joyful living in the right way.
