In just a few years, the use of social media has increased rapidly. More than 4.5 billion people use social media in 2020, and that is more than half of the world’s population. Over 72% of Americans now use social media sites, while in 2008, the percentage was 26%.
Many people are running their successful businesses and promoting their brands on social media. On the other hand, it is also used for educational purposes. Diving into social media networks has become a part of our daily lives. It is easily accessible on our smartphones, tablets, laptops, and computers. The new generation spends a considerable amount of time on the internet and is fully dependent on it.
We all have conflicting feelings about social media. With the advent of social media networking sites, we have faster communication and multiple other benefits. But at the same time, it also has somenegative impacts on our life and health.
In this article, we’re going to discuss the pros and cons of social media use. Along with that, we will talk about how it affects our life and health.
Prosof Social Media
1. Easier to connect
Social media has made it easier to connect with your friends and family anywhere in the world. Connecting with your friends and family is just a click away with all the advanced social apps. Whether they live near or far away, you can easily talk to them without any worries.
2. Education and information
One of the great advantages of social media is that it can be used for educational purposes. Students and teachers can benefit from it a lot. Besides that, it provides us with many sources from where you can research any topic or issue. No need to go to huge libraries and spend a lot of time collecting information on a particular topic.
3. News and updates
Nowadays, television and the media is biased, and they usually don’t convey authentic news. Social media allows you to easily find out about the latest updates, facts, true information, and happenings around the world. Also, Social media is the fastest way of spreading any news and updates.
4. Promotions
If you are a brand or business owner, you can promote your products or services through social media marketing. When used wisely, social media can do wonders to your business. You can also do self-promotions or become a famous influencer.
5. Awareness
Raising awareness on several topics is another great thing that most people do on social media. People are taking the great initiative by teaching others on topics that are mostly not spoken about. Those topics may include health awareness, women empowerment, and many more.
6. Helps government and agencies
With so many advanced apps and sites, it is easier for government and agencies to fight crimes. Through social media, they can spy on criminals, track their location, and find out any information about them.
7. Helps in showcasing your talent
People with different types of talents can now prove their worth through social media. You can use different social media sites for personal growth, and to showcase your unique talent. Audiences from all around the world will be able to see your work, which will help you to gain visibility.
8. Helps people to earn money
Indeed, social media is a great way to earn money. You can use social media to start your own businessand to market your products or services.Otherwise, it also gives many job opportunities to people out there.
9. Helps in promoting change
We see a lot of people doing good things on social media, and they become our inspiration. This is another positive thing about social media. People now realize the power of social media for bringing a good change.
For example, you see a person on your Instagram, living a healthy lifestyle or being kind to others. And you also try to bring a change in your life like that person.
10. Social media is fun
Out of all the other advantages of social media, the biggest one is that it allows you to have fun. Chat with your friends, upload exciting content, scroll through memes, follow new trends, and have fun.
Cons of Social Media
1. Physical health problems
Due to the excessive use of social media, people get lazy, and it leads to major health problems. They don’t think about doing any physical activities, and it can cause weight issues. Most people stay up late and spend most of their time on the internet. It leads to further health problems like brain damage, weak eyesight, skin issues, and many more.
2. Cyber-bullying
A lot of cybercriminals are running rampant on social media. They harass people, do offensive comments, give threats, spread rumours, and hurt people.Over the past few years, the number of suicide cases has increased because of cyber-bullying.
3. Hacking
It is quite scary to think about getting your social media accounts hacked. Just like cybercriminals, there are many hackers out there. They try to hack your data and misuse your personal information. One should watch out for hackers. It will help if you take necessary precautions to make your social media accounts secure.
4. Scams and Frauds
Like we mentioned earlier, social media is great for business. But some business owners on social media are doing frauds and scams. For example, you order something online, and those scammers take the money but send you a low-quality product. Some of them even try to misuse your personal information like address or credit card info. Social media may be beneficial, but sometimes it is unsafe.
5. Low self-esteem
When you see pretty pictures of rich social media influencers who’re living their best lives, it triggers your insecurities. You will start comparing your lives with other people’s lives, which is unhealthy. The truth is that most people fake their lives for social media.
6. Leads to laziness and procrastination
We all love taking a break from work and scrolling through our feeds. But overdoing it can lead to procrastination and delaying your work.
Social media has also made us lazy and less productive. In our free time, we don’t think of doing something productive. But we think of wasting our time on social media networking sites, which is bad.
7. Mental health problems
Social media have many cons, like low self-esteem, laziness, cyber-bullying, and hacking. These result in mental health problems among people that may includeanxiety, depression, panic attacks, and so on. Along with all the other disadvantages, social media also harm your mental health.
8. Less time spent with family
While people are busy maintaining their Instagram and scrolling through their feeds, they don’t give much time to their family. A person can post good things about their family on social media, but sometimes, they don’t even spend time together.
9. Inappropriate things
Allthe social media networking sites contain inappropriate content. They promote violence, sexism, and the use of abusive words. Some sites also contain pornographic material, which is entirely unacceptable. Some peopleshare their pictures or videos in which they glamorize smoking, alcohol, and drugs. People think it’s cool and it encourages them to do the same inappropriate things.
10. Less face-to-face interactions
There are so many social apps to contact a person easily. That is why people don’t prefer face-to-face interactions. People go for the easy option, and it has replaced healthy human interactions.
Final word
These are some of the eye-opening advantages and disadvantages of social media. We have mentioned them to remind people to use it correctly. Wisely manage your time, avoid excessive social media use, maintain your health, spend time with your family, and balance everything perfectly. Make sure to get the most benefit from social media, and also avoid all the negative implications.