Essay on Social Media: For the Better or the Worse?

You’re about to relax on your device after a long day. You click on your social media, ready to unwind and see what the latest trends are. But while scrolling are trends the only thing you see? Is relaxation the only thing you’re feeling? Most likely not. Social media sites are harmful to you and society. They negatively affect your mental health, lead to cyberbullying, cyberstalking, and give out misleading information. 

Mental health and well-being are always important, but it isn’t always the case with social media. Many studies and researches have proven that social media decreases a person’s well-being and causes many serious mental illnesses. According to HelpGuide, “multiple studies have found a strong link between heavy social media and an increased risk for depression, anxiety, loneliness, self-harm, and even suicidal thoughts” (Robinson and Smith, para. 5). An article from MakeUseOf mentions similar ideas, “chronic users are more likely to report poor mental health, including symptoms of anxiety and depression.” Clearly, social media can be a major contributor to the growth of mental health issues. Not only does it cause more mental illnesses than help them, but it also causes problems like feeling excluded and low self-esteem. There’s no doubt that social media and mental health don’t mix well. 

Cyberbullying and cyberstalking are serious issues that no one should face. Unfortunately, social media doesn’t help with that at all; instead, it increases its user’s risk of dealing with one of the situations or making the wrong connections. Statistics Canada has reported that approximately 17% of the population aged 15 to 29 have expressed that they have experienced cyberbullying or cyberstalking on social networking platforms between 2009 and 2014. Out of the 17%, 36% experienced cyberbullying but not cyberstalking, 33% experienced cyberstalking but not cyberbullying, and 31% have experienced both (Hango, para. 2 and 3). Although 17% is not a large amount, it’s still too much. This means that social media allows people to negatively talk and harm other users. What’s even worse about this is that social media allows people to get away with cyberbullying and cyberstalking anonymously. Social media sites can and will help raise this percentage if it’s not taken seriously.

Social media platforms are also known to give out unreliable and sometimes unrealistic information. An article from Miappi states that, “Most people who shared what was happening on social media never stopped to check the facts” (Askew, para. 5). With this being said, many situations and stories that are shared through social media can be changed, wrong, or even completely fake. This could mean that as you scroll down your homepage’s feed, you can see something shocking or life-changing and it could all be fake. Before social media gives you information, check to see if the facts are there.

On the other hand, social media do give out some experiences and allow you to try out new things. Like new job opportunities and new chances to learn. However, real-life interactions provide better experiences and they don’t make you lose track of reality. For instance, with social media opportunities, nothing is actually interactive. As the Tech Edvocate says, “You’ll spend most of your time listening to podcasts, watching videos, and looking at slide presentations. There’s no hand-on experience like conducting experiments” (Lynch, para. 12). In real life, you get to be active; you get to try new things but physically. You can go out and get job experiences and learn new things daily. Also, in an article written by Marilyn Price-Mitchell Ph.D., she mentions that social media is a distraction. She uses a quote to explain how social media have distracted people from real life. “I begin to talk less and end up relying on text for a conversation. Ever since I got a smartphone I have been distracted from everything” (para. 19). Without social media being there to affect your daily life situations, you could do so much more. You could meet someone new, make a friend, or even just take a moment to appreciate life. Certainly, this shows just how real-life experiences are much better.  

As you can see, social media aren’t the best tools to use for you or society. These sites affect your mental health, cause cyberbullying and cyberstalking, and give out unreliable information. If we let social media continue to do its worst, who knows what the consequences will be next?