It has become second nature for us to pick up our phones and log on to our social media profiles immediately after waking up. We mindlessly scroll through hundreds of posts. We comment, we react, we like and we share. Many of us prefer not to think of the disadvantages of social media, because of how dependent we are on it as a form of entertainment — a way to kill boredom. It is an unknown addiction.
In an offline world, social communities tend to follow and practise the norms of privacy. But when you’re online, if you want to join a social networking site, you have to disclose your personal information. They find out about your habits, browsing history, where you like to go and who you interact with the most. You get unsolicited messages from strangers and pokes from long lost acquaintances.
Children use social media now more than ever before. They give away information without thinking or knowing the consequences. They get sucked into a world of online games and dangerous online trends. There have even been cases where suicide games were trending online, that children all encouraged each other to participate in.
Social media was meant as a positive outlet — a platform for people to express themselves. It has now become an avenue of negativity. If any celebrity, athlete or political party sends out a tweet that the public doesn’t agree with, they can be taken down with vicious cyberbullying. It can easily change who you are and what you portray on social media, for fear of being criticised by the followers.
However, we don’t want to give up on social media, for fear of missing out. We just need to realise, that it isn’t real.
