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[temporaryskoolacct]

Effects of Social Media (the good, the bad, and the ugly)

To start, I know that everyone who sees this post is using a type of Social Media (that is, Tumblr) but I just want you all to be aware of the very real effects Social Media can have on your psyche. This ranges from low self esteem due to online harassment and cyber bullying, not sleeping enough because of the addiction most of us have to our phones, to helping english language learners to become more fluent in the language and establishing long lasting relationships over long distances. Due to this, I believe that Social Media should be regulated (either by the user or externally). This does not mean censorship but it does mean that people should be more aware of how social media addiction can affect you.

The reason why I believe this is because:

Your Digital Footprint - The fact that everything you post will there forever. Which can haunt you for the rest of your life and lead to opportunities being lost (i.e college applications can be denied because of a post you made 10 years ago)

Excessive social media use can lead to issues with personal identity, low self esteem, and even narcissism or depression in the worst cases - these issues can be gained from online harassment and cyber bullying (they are not the same thing but I'll get to that later)

Sleep Deprivation - I know too many people who doom-scroll before bed and end up losing valuable sleep because of it and it is a real issue that is mentioned in an article (where it can affect how you feel in the morning and the quality of your sleep)

Inappropriate messages towards minors - Grooming, Sexually explicit content, Gore, and more can be readily available to be sent to minors or even searched up online. Sometimes it can even be recommended to you or stumbled upon while surfing the web.

But wait! Aren't there good things that can be gained from Social Media as well? You even mentioned it yourself in the introduction!

Why yes, audience-member-that-I-definitely-did-not-imagine-on-the-spot, I did and I'm getting to that.

There are redeeming qualities to social media:

It allows everyone to be able to stay in touch with almost everyone everywhere in the world - especially useful for keeping in contact with family members, friends, and lovers who are very far away from where you are. It includes how you are able to meet people that share the same interests with you no matter how far away they are.

Social media can increase literacy skills for those learning english - It helps people to learn english faster by letting them use their english skills out on the internet (where english is prominent outside of going to another country)

Abbreviations can positively affect your spelling - It has been proven that using abbreviations such as: lol, jk, and idk can help your spelling. This is because you have to think about how the actual word is spelt before you make the abbreviation that both preserves the message and make it as short as possible

It can be used for academic purposes - This includes: setting up a group chat with your classmates to find out what they did when you were absent, researching for that paper you need to submit by Friday, getting tutored online, and more!

In Conclusion

While there are definitely ups and downs that comes with Social media, there are definitely risks that everyone should avoid and that means regulation. It could be self-regulation or it could be externally, whether it be from a parent, guardian, website, or the government. Willingly disconnecting from the internet periodically can be good for you in the long run but it is without a doubt a useful tool. It isn't really a bad or good thing. It just depends on how you use it. All you need is a internet connection and a device.