Social media is a popular topic nowadays, especially with the newer generation of teenagers and children being particularly active on it in a way we haven’t seen before. Many debates have been held on whether or not this medium for social interaction and communication is actually causing more harm than good. With reports coming out that social media is rapidly increasing the rate of anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses, especially in younger people, is social media something we should still be using?

I think that social media, as a topic, has many different layers to it and we cannot just look at the surface level data to come to conclusions. Apart from all the negative side effects of social media usage, there are also a lot of positives. Social media provides a way for people to communicate with peers, friends and family in a way that hasn’t been done before. We can communicate efficiently with those on those on the other side of the world and also get an insight into their lives, creating a personal connection that a phone call could never replicate. Social media can also help build confidence, the decision to post something and the happiness you receive from it can definitely boost your mood. All of this, naturally, also has their downfalls. The hate comments posted on social media are a huge issue, with people using these platforms to express their negative thought as they feel it is easier to do it behind a screen, and not face to face. It can also cause a lot of confidence issues, the struggle of whether your post has gotten enough likes, whether your friend got even more than you. This is a huge issue, especially for younger children and teenagers who have not yet got a sense of how to deal with negativity online and how to ignore hateful comments.

Saying this, I think that social media, as a platform in itself, is not inherently bad. We simply use the platform in a way it was never intended to be used. Before posting something negative, people should take time out to think about the consequences of their words and their impact. They should think about if someone left that comment for them, how would they feel? Addressing the issues of mental health, people should be educated from a young age how to appropriately navigate social media and what to do if they are beginning to feel unhappy while using the sites. They should also understand that if someone that you follow online is making you feel insecure, is it actually worth following them?

In conclusion, I believe that the interpretation of social media is what has given it such a bad name. The websites itself were created as a way to communicate and connect with others, but our interpretation of social media could completely change it’s meaning and, create a new dark side to social media.