Do you think social media has a good or bad impact on you? The real answer to this question is up to you. Social media has been around for 40 years, before the devices we have nowadays were here. People originally shared communication on paper and later through a variety of other media as technology developed. Many people believe that social media is a bad thing because children and teenagers often use social media in negative ways. They either bully someone or make someone feel hurt, or they manipulate people on social media they were once friends with. All their answers were different from each other, or they used to be. And many adults even gossip or share secrets with other adults on social media.
What are good and bad things about social media?
In an interview with Crownpoint High School student Trynell Chiquito, she noted that “You can contact a family or friend [through social media].” She continues by saying, “If I am at practice or in a school activity, I call my mom or sister to see if they can come and pick me up. Sometimes when I don’t have a ride, I call one of my friends to see if they can take me home.” This is one of the few reasons a teenager or child can use social media in a positive way. They can call their family members or friends for emergencies or for other personal needs. Trynell also gave me her opinion about social media and other ways it can be used in positive ways. She believes that social media is not a bad thing in someone’s life. It can be used for personal purposes and positive forms of communication.
Another high school student I interviewed is Zoe Garcia. Zoe is against social media because, “You have eyes to see the beauty of the world,” she says, “Social media is negative because it makes people have technology addictions.” Zoe explains to me that technology addiction is when someone is too focused on their personal devices, instead of important things. This is bad, because most of the youth in the new generation is already going down that path.
It is true that social media is a benefit when it is used in positive ways like contacting your family or friends for emergencies. It can be used for personal reasons or when you are stuck somewhere like school or home. Children and teens use social media for personal reasons every year because they might be going through something that is unexpected to happen in the future. Social media sometimes has negative aspects as well, but in the case of emergencies or personal contacts, It can certainly have positive impacts.
While using social media, you can educate yourself and others about social media. The internet is the main source of social media. ARPENET developed TCP/IP on January 1st of 1983, when researchers began to assemble the network into the modern network we have now. Social media has posted tips about Earth and other things that you may not know for about 40 years in total. Social media can benefit adults by allowing positive networking opportunities for careers or other personal interests. People can even find job opportunities on apps that are fitting to their unique skills.
Negative aspects of social media
There are some bad ways social media can be used as well. One example is scams. Scams are very common on social media, especially on Facebook. Someone might say they need an employee, or that you can purchase merchandise for a certain price, when in fact, they are false advertisements. There are also scam pop ups that will pop up onto your screen for no reason. There are even scam callers that try and ask for personal information that you do not want to make public.
Another issue is cyberbullying, which is when a person bullies someone based off their pictures or their personal information. Someone in school may get bullied online because of the people or students that might dislike the student. There is also texting someone for a wrong or inappropriate purpose. This is mostly targeted at children and teens because the youth are the ones that use social media a lot. Sometimes, it’s best if you get off your phone and look around to see how beautiful or amazing the world can be.
It is important not to falsify information about yourself on a job application or college application. Sometimes students or potential employees think it is good to lie about something such as experience or skills, in order to sound good on an application. Many people lie about academics, or they lie about something that could possibly be important for that application. With digital technology, it is easier than ever to present an image of a person that we want others to perceive, but is not actually the truth. This can have negative future ramifications because the truth will always be revealed because we cannot hide behind social media forever. In this way, people can create challenges for themselves and others by living in a false reality.
Does it really matter?
This all really depends on how you see it. Social media can have both positive and negative impacts on children, teens and adults. Social media can be positive because you can learn so many things from it. But there are bad parts of social media that can cause social, mental, and emotional problems.
At the end of the day, is social media good or bad? Much of the answer to this question lies in how an individual uses it.
