In the past few years, the rise of social media has become a pandemic that has hit the world since 2004, with the creation of Facebook. As time has passed, more and more outlets of media have been created which, in turn, has made more platforms for more specific groups and created a new form of mass communication that has transcended those of the past, such as newspaper, letters etc. Although the social platform has made information, ideas, and beliefs much more reachable and attainable in our interconnected world, there have been some consequences that have been brought along. As more and more individuals have gotten onto the social platform, there has been a rising crisis of how the media has paradoxically made us less social on a local scale and psychologically harmed us. In my paper, I will analyze the negatives of social media by exploring the psychological effect it carries, the societal effects of polarization, and the effects it holds on socializing.
Being the large platform that it is, social media has been one of the most effective tools in delivering messages to anyone who has access. According to InternetWorldStats.com, over 58.8% of the world has access to the internet. The large amount of individuals who are interconnected form a new way of communicating which is instantaneous and effective for those who live in different states, countries, continents etc. Due to this, there has been a positive growth in understanding because of the limitless amount of information that is continuously spread.
Although social media has brought benefits around the world, there has been a rising threat to people’s psychological state because of the different media outlets. Many individuals have begun showing signs of anxiety, stress, and agitation due to the constant use of social media. The most at risk group of developing these symptoms range from young adults to children. Teenagers especially have developed serious distortions of their mental health due to the constant exposure and pressure that social media has created. Such pressures include the anxietal fear of missing out, FOMO, which is developed due to the want of staying in the realm of digital interaction as they do not want to miss a single event or occurrence that may happen without their presence. In addition, the prevalence of social media in their daily life causes an added pressure to acquiesce to the lifestyle being displayed such as embodying what other teenagers or adults they may uphold and trying to reach the same level of popularity through any means. Moreover, because the age range of social media exposure has decreased, there has been a set up of dependency from young children who use the outlet as a source of self confidence. Platforms such as Instagram and Twitter use the process of likes from other individuals who enjoy their content. Since adolescents are perceptible to such systematic rouses, they begin relying on social media to boost their self esteem with how many likes, comments, retweets they can receive. Studies show that the process of receiving a like or receiving notifications offers pleasure due to the release of dopamine, a chemical in the brain that is produced in the acts of sex and eating delicious food and motivates us to repeat behaviors that are found beneficial. In addition, it has been found that those who do not rely on social media tend to have higher levels of happiness and self esteem as it does not rely on easily interchanged variables that may shift at any given second. The continuous dependence on social media to maintain happiness has caused a surge of mental pressures on those who constantly depend on the reinforcement of the short-lives thrill that is offered.
The amount of information that is displayed from different people has given an opportunity of variation of information to come out. However, many people tend to stick to what is known or what they have grown with. This is exemplified on the platforms they may adhere themselves to and support. Although it is seen as a positive, many groups start becoming polarized as they fail to look outside of their own beliefs or are misinformed of those outside of their own groups. The specificity of all conglomerations has begun singling out agendas that, although do bring incredible detail to their own ideas, fail to understand the different views of other groups outside of their own. This tends to be because of misinformation by using non credible sources or the altering of information to benefit their side. In America,for example, there has been a great divide in ideas, mainly political, where sides are taken but tend to not educate themselves about each opposing side and understand what they are fighting for themselves. The effect of polarization tends to be resentment or misunderstanding that follows the act of trolling, the process of creating discord in a certain area to spark an argument that, in turn, makes others more polarized. Although efforts are being made to understand and tolerate ideas that may not align with one’s belief, there are still strides that have to be taken that can make social media a more neutral platform to promote ideas that are credible and inform everyone to make a more tolerant digital community.
Social media, the great outlet of communication, has made people, tending to be millennials or younger generations, on a personal level less outgoing and become more introverted. It has become a community of socialization without physical communication. If we look around at our own societies, it is seen that the majority of all people live in their own headspace and forget to interact with those around them. With the loss of digital devices, many tend to feel lost or awkward and regress into solitude because of the uncomfortability of face to face interaction. Furthermore, social media has been used as a wall of safety from the surrounding community. The wall placed tends to be because of fear of looking lonely, as social media is perceived as a currency of popularity, the fear of being approached by other individuals, and the fear of approaching others due to the dread of rejection. It is seen, even in close groups of friends, that communication is always interconnected with social media to make their groups whole. The range of communication that has been instilled in our digital society has made it harder because of the lessened normalcy of face-to-face interaction. As a community, a surge of communication outside of our devices would greatly benefit rising generations and improve conversations held not only in person, but those in digital spaces too.
In conclusion, social media is an amazing tool to help us reach those that cannot be physically reached, help us spread ideas, and find out common interests that we may hold with other people. With that, however, there has been a rise of consequences that continue to grow concurrently with the growing interconnected world that we have become. The growing psychological issues in our communities and the polarizing effects of social media has caused a strife in our daily communication and a rise in concern of our mental health and the continued effect it will continue to have. On a local level, our society has decreased the level of physical communication between people. As our world becomes more technologized, it will bring different issues that attest to the amount of social interaction that occurs. As a growing community, we should try to formulate ideas that can help us become more civil and tolerant to ideas that are new and that we disagree with, that affect our health in a more positive manner, and increases our physical communication to be more widely accepted.
Works cited
“Internet usage statistics”. Internet World Stats. 30 Jun. 2019https://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm Accessed 13 February 2020
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