The rate of adoption of popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat and WhatsApp made social media the fastest growing media channel since the television. To put things in perspective, while it took television 13 years to get to 50 million users it took Facebook 2 years, and it took Twitter a mere 9 months. The fast rate of adoption goes to show how useful these platforms are to the mass market. So while they are many advantages for the end users of these products such as easier connectivity and quick access to important information, there are downsides too. It is fair to say that these downsides are caused by the way we use these apps, not necessarily a fault of the companies building them. And true responsibility lies in our ability make use of these apps to our advantage while minimising the downsides.
Below are the top 5 ills of social media.
1. The lack of privacy: The right response to Facebook’s question “What is on your mind” could be appropriate or not depending on who is viewing your response. If the answer to that question is directed to your significant other, close friends or family it will be an appropriate answer but having your answer viewed by mutual friends and friends of friends that are largely unknown can be a little bit disturbing.
2. A major time waster: In 2017, the average user spent 135 minutes on social media. What started out as harmless fun and as a relaxation tool has metamorphosed into an addiction. Most people start their day checking their social media notifications and keep going back throughout the day, leaving little or no time for other meaningful activities. This is a clear case of an addiction boosted by the nature of our psyche to seek social proof which these social media apps offer. The same chemical: dopamine released when gamblers gamble or when alcoholics drink, is released spend time on social media. In fact, social media applications are littered with dopamine release triggers.
3. The ease in spreading fake news: After the US elections in 2016, social media platforms could not be dismissed as just another facet of pop culture, there was undeniable data that due to the proliferation of fake news on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, the result of the elections were influenced. Due to the sheer number of individuals on different platforms, about 3 billion in number, it is much easier to influence a large number of people at the same time. And with the desire to be in the know, people are persuaded to share and discuss whatever seems like news, this, in turn, gives credibility to such fake news.
4. The disturbing issue of cyberbullying: With the rise of social media also came the rise of ‘faceless’ people on these platforms who shame and try to intimidate other people based on race, gender, body size, religion or by simply having a differing opinion on an issue.
5. A major culprit of depression: The research is clear; cases of depression have been on the rise right alongside the growth of social media, and the more social media an individual engages with, the higher their chance of having mood disorders. What the data doesn’t yet show us is whether increased social media use causes depression, or whether depressed people tend to use social media excessively. Due to the filtered nature people adopt on these platforms they show only sunny sides of their lives leading an uninformed observer in a state of comparison between what is shown and his personal life, and once he falls short from what he sees on social media he is bound to think he has it worse. This can lead to depression.
Conclusion
While social media is an evolution of technology that we can’t ignore or stop using. And like most things that has advantages it also has its disadvantages. Knowing about them should help us make informed decisions while using these platforms. Stay safe
http://blog.interactiveschools.com/blog/50-million-users-how-long-does-it-take-tech-to-reach-this-milestone
https://www.statista.com/statistics/433871/daily-social-media-usage-worldwide/
https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/social-media-still-has-a-fake-news-problem-and-digital-literacy-is-largel/538930/
https://psychcentral.com/blog/does-social-media-cause-depression/
