Social Media Effects (Positive and negative effects)

 During the worldwide pandemic COVID-19, social media has become a significant tool for people to overcome their boredom. And not only this, but it has also been of chief use when businesses are choosing an online path for growth. But wait! Other than its positive side, did it put any negative effect on society or what are its positive and negative impacts on youth?

Social media effects

Social media no doubt has deep effects on human beings. Today when every other person is bustling about with a lot of responsibilities, social media is playing a key role to give some relief to their minds. But as everything has its advantages and disadvantages, the same is the case with social media. Where it has remarkable effects on people’s lives, it also has some negative effects on society.

Positive effects of social media

Social media is a very functional platform if used with wisdom and in a constructive way. Some of its remarkable positive impacts on society and individuals are listed below:

• Easy Communication with Friends and Family

There was a time when people would write letters to their loved ones living in far countries or cities. And then they would wait to receive their reply. This whole process was too much time-consuming. But today, technology has so grown that we can shrink the distance of miles to just a few minutes. We can talk to or even see our farsighted loved ones in minutes, using social media. Isn’t it amazing?

• More Opportunities for Jobs

Several job opportunities come to our knowledge through social media platforms. And also people are earning through social media tools such as YouTube channels, Google websites, Facebook pages, blogs, etc.

According to some statistics, the global social penetration rate in 2020 has reached 49 %, with the highest penetration rates coming from East Asia and North America.

• Businesses’ growth

A very famous term that relates business growth and marketing is named as “social media marketing”. Its name is giving a vivid idea about its nature. It is a digital version of physical marketing. Now businesses and companies- be it small businesses or large- use social media channels as their marketing tools. They run advertisement campaigns on these platforms to reach as many customers as possible.

• New chances of learning vast knowledge

It has also become a vital source of learning and getting versatile knowledge. Students can learn whatever they want through social media channels i.e. YouTube, Google, etc.

On every topic of studies, there is more than enough material shared on learning websites. Furthermore, teaching has become easier than before as now students have easy access to distant learning and online crash courses.

• Awareness

We cannot ignore the power of social media through which it is becoming successful in spreading social awareness among people. Now, people know about their rights, political and social issues, and even those issues that are often considered taboo in most societies. They stay updated with the latest news. Use of Twitter has played another role in creating awareness.

Negative effects of social media on society (people)

Along with the positive effects of social media, it also has negative effects on society. A few of them are as under

• The negative impact of social media on health

We, human beings, neither can stay social forever nor alone. We need both our social lives as well as “me time”. But where social media helps us to enjoy our social life with friends, family, etc. at the same time its unrestricted use can cause mental health issues such as:

1. Depression
2. Stress
3. Mood swings
4. Anxiety
5. Loneliness

Does the question arise how it causes such serious health issues? The answer is you see people enjoying, posting good pictures, putting statuses about their success and you think everyone is happy except you. But the reality is not what you think. These kinds of thoughts let you get bogged in depression.

• False information

Sometimes people share unauthentic news or information on their news feed that results in misleading people. For instance, mostly we see people sharing fake information about the cure of any disease. We saw an example of this during COVID-19 when a lot of misinformation was being shared on social media about how to cure it. Similarly, people also share fake news that sometimes creates anxiety and confusion among masses.

• Low productivity

If you are spending too much time on the internet, it’s an alarming situation. Immoderate use of social media can cause you a huge loss, the loss of your precious time. You know that time and tide wait for none.

Resultantly, you waste time; become less productive and good for nothing.

• The negative impact of social media on youth

We cannot overlook how our youth is more prone to the harms of social media. They are considered future builders, which is why negative effects on youth must be of more worry than others. They use Facebook, Instagram; post their updates and thus become addictive to this habit. They lose their focus on their education or future and rather waste time on social media activities.

Conclusion

As social media has numerous advantages, we can say it a blessing under the guise. But when it comes to its negative effects on people, users and society, we see it as a curse. It has its merits and demerits as well.

Excessive use of anything results in worse. Now, the ball is in your court that haw you want to use it, as an advantageous technology or some detrimental tool!