The 21st century has seen the world transform into a tech-savvy world. Every single person across all nations has an account on a social media site, be it Facebook, Twitter or Snapchat. But, do we look to live beyond these social networking sites?
People find these sites to be very pleasing, often posting pictures of themselves while visiting exotic vacations or even at live events, constantly on the look out for likes from family and friends. At this stage, a person believes that posting pictures on Facebook or Snapchat will give him pride.
However, can these sites affect a person’s mental well-being? The ‘like’ button has more to it than just a click. For many people it also grades their standing in our society. Also, the state of a person’s mind can change when his or her friend has more likes on a particular picture, leading to depression.
That’s not all, though. The world has also seen a successful invasion by WhatsApp. The last couple of years have seen the app hypnotise several motorcar drivers on the roads, leading to fatal accidents. The app distracts people’s minds, diverting their attention from the action on the roads to the most important information on the phone. Hence, several reports published in Gulf News claim that being on your mobile while driving has been responsible for the increased risk of accidents. In spite of these warnings, many people still follow this practice and put their lives at risk. The urge to read a message from a loved one on WhatsApp in the middle of the road could be the last message read by the driver.
Today, we can say that WhatsApp and Facebook are the world’s most famous social media platforms. We can send positive vibes, connect with friends from different parts of the world and bring back memories of the past. But these networks can also send negative vibes if operated in the wrong manner or even if used in excess. Now, do we have a better example for the quote: “Everything in excess is poison?”
- The reader is a student based in Dubai.
