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So far, we’ve talked about the benefits of different social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and how we can use them in our daily lives. But we haven’t really discussed much about its negative impact.
Like anything and everything in this world, there is always a consequence when we misuse something. Not just in material things but also in dealing with people’s emotions.
In this digital age, technology has created a tremendous impact in everyone’s lives. Social media has taken over the world when it comes to communicating and connecting with each other. But along with all these are a few negative outcomes which we will discuss in this article.
Mental Health
Being in social media can be addicting and can cause anxiety. Users tend to constantly compare their lives with the others. Seeing the “perfect” life of your friends can sometimes lead to self-pity. It makes you feel less confident about yourself or simply think less of your own life. Eventually, makes you feel unhappy and stressed.
Productivity
A lot of companies have already restricted access to social media in their system due to the continued decrease in productivity among their employees. Some tend to lose focus on their tasks because they get caught up with social media. But that doesn’t stop workers from being online because they can still access social media through their mobile phones.
Bullying and Peer Pressure
Cyberbullying has been one of the top concerns especially for adolescents. There have been a lot of reported cases of death due to cyberbullying.
Social media also seem to glamorize bad vices which eventually affect the behaviors of teenagers and young adults. Kids these days post a lot about partying, drinking, smoking, etc. and easily influence their peers.
As parents/grandparents, it is very important for you to guide your kids/grandkids to internet safety. It is best to monitor and limit their internet usage.
Invasion of Privacy
The most common problem in social media is hacking. Through the simple data like date of birth, name and location that we put in our social media profiles, hackers can create fake social security cards, driver’s licenses and ID cards. They can also access our online bank accounts and other accounts through the info that we put online.
Clicking on certain links that we see on Facebook can also allow virus to get into our system and hack our private information.
It is very important to be aware of the risks that we are exposed to in order to use social media in a proper and positive way.
