Social Media, is it actually bad for you?
Social Media... We all are guilty of using it. The fact that you are reading this is proof that you are just as guilty as us ^^. Social Media was invented to "help people connect in the digital world". For the most part we can say that it has. However, in alot of cases we can say that it has "helped" so much that we now are faced with people having full-blown addictions to it which has raised the question, "Is it bad or good for you to spend so much time on social media?" Research on this question has been ongoing for years with no real absolute answer. The reason there is no definitive answer (in our opinion) is that it is possibly a little bit of both...good and bad.
Take this platform for example... (Steemit) which provides a place that you can blog and get paid for it. That is not bad at all but rather closer to honest work. The fact that you get to write something and others view it, comment on it and possibly upvote you is amazing but at the same time even this platform can have a negative affect. When you really dig into a subject and invest your time into researching the said topic as make a post for everyone to view, you get a "high" (Dopamine) so to speak from seeing your hard work pay off. You wait for people to view and/or comment. When comments are made that "high" increases. When no comments are made that "high" can turn into a low (depression-like-state for some). All Social Media has this ability.
There are risks that we take when using all platforms. One risk is that they will experiment on you. Lets look at Facebook for this. Back in 2014 Facebook admitted to experimenting on its users, you can view more on this here. Another risk is addiction. Addiction has become such an issue that Dr. Cecilie Andraessen (University of Bergen, Norway) and colleagues came up with a measure called the BFAS, short for the Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale to test and see if someone is addicted to Facebook.
Take a moment and (for those old enough and able) think back to before the internet. Remember when you would have to pick up the phone, or go to see someone to talk to them. Relationships seemed to have more meaning back in those days as well. You had to work hard to keep relationships. (Be it friendships or more) Whereas now you just simply get on your phone and view what people are up to. There's a list of people that are your "friends"... but are they really??? Take a moment to look at these lists and ask yourself, "Have I ever sat down and had a meal with this person?"... Have you ever really connected with them (offline)? The word friend has changed in this digital age. A friend used to mean someone that knew you well, nowadays it just means someone that is on a list and you can see each others post.
Check out this YouTube video with a message from Sean Parker, Facebook's 1st President and Napster Co-Founder. This video is curtsity for YouTuber Eman31
What are your thoughts on it? Is it good? Is it bad? Our thoughts are that it can be a good thing and a bad thing but like most innovative platforms... it depends on it's usage. Do you use it to connect with that hard to reach family member? Do you hide/turtle shell behind your screen whereas it has become your entire way or life. We have a saying... "A social networking and a social life are not the same thing!"
Thank you for reading our article...we hope you enjoyed! Please come see us on our steemit blog @truthbeyondlies or directly at our site T.B.L.
Really nice work on this post I must say.
Back to the question, do I believe that social media can be bad for me?
Yes I strongly believe that social media can be highly addictive and be bad for me. I can feel the thing you wrote here in the post about the dopamine high when you get rewarded with upvotes or comments. It's actually even greater here then on Facebook or Twitter.
So you have to be really careful with this "tools", because if it's used in the right way it can be amazing.
As you said in the post, " Remember when you would have to pick up the phone, or go to see someone to talk to them". This could mean that you would lose a friend just because they moved away because it's hard to sty in touch. Today I can honestly say that I have contact with a lot of my old friends which I maybe would't have had otherwise if it wasn't for social media.
Forgot to mention that I just followed you also. You seem to have good quality and that should be rewarded :)
@Originalworks
Thank you for your comment! I have to agree that you bring up a few of the key advantages of social media. You can stay in touch and that in itself is a Gem. Yes Steemit can have the same effect as the others if you are not careful... Sometimes we have to remind ourselves of what this is for when we check comments/replies. We appreciate your comment about liking our articles and we plan to bring many more in the future that we hope wont disappoint.
The challenges with social media impact people of all different ages. When 11 year olds start high school it usally coincides with them getting their first mobile phone. They are all at risk of being overwhelmed by the challenge of being perceived as popular by their classmates. They can suffer real anxiety if they dont't get enough 'likes' on their posts. It's a real issue that can lead to people of this young age suffering severe anxiety
Social media has brought family and friends together without the need to see people face to face. Im not sure this is a good thing, but it does allow family to interact with each other on a daily basis even if they live in different cities or even countries. So I think social media is a great tool that can be used to develop your relationships with your friends and your family
Very good point! It can be used for good in situations like the ones that you mentioned. We think it can be very good except in cases where it is used as a coping mechanism or it builds a psychological profile against individuals. One example being "How much personal information do you give out on platforms like facebook that you would not tell me face to face if I came up to you (random stranger) and asked? Don't take this the wrong way but "Do you have kids?" "What school do they go to?" "What time do you have to go pick them up? When are their birthdays? Do you drive? Have a picture of your car? How about family photos? Picture of your house in the background?" (All stuff that could normally be found on any facebook profile listed as public posts) We are not trying to slam social media (we use it ourselves)but rather bring some of the hidden dangers to light. I personally do agree with you on the bright side of it though. I myself have gotten intouch with some long lost friends of mine.
nice article!!
Thank you.
Social engineering of the worst kind. Facebook is poison for the mind.
Hey man I enjoyed your content I hope you check out my profile aswell that would make my day!!keep up.
Thank you.
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