#2: FIVE PROBLEMS WITH SOCIAL MEDIA

# 2: FIVE PROBLEMS WITH SOCIAL MEDIA

Having social media taking up 80% of our daily lives, (am I exaggerating? Don’t think so..) humans in general are immensely attached to it. That itself is a huge problem.

This attachment has caused an increase in mental health issues. Addiction, jealousy, isolation are some words describing these issues that many are currently experiencing. It brings people’s confidence down while they compare themselves to fashion bloggers or A-list models. 100,000 followers does not mean 100,000 friends. If anything, it brings in a sense of isolation, decreasing social interaction (face-to-face). The green-eyed monster will find a place in you as you scroll down your Facebook or Instagram page, being hit by the feathers of peacocks flaunting their wealth and beauty. And you’ll still scroll through these egoistical exhibitionist's pictures and posts, building up jealousy while washing away your self-confidence. Or perhaps you’ll be like them too, being addicted and obsessed with showcasing all that you have, wanting more, needing more. Perhaps I’m wrong. Or perhaps you’re not that way. But I’ve seen many who lacks self-confidence because of social media. They put too much of their time and effort in it...that it leaves them dry.

Everything is about social media. Everything is happening in social media. The world lives in social media. It may seem like dramatic sentences...but truth be told..it is true. In business, if you’re not advertising or linking yourself to social media, then you won’t be up the ladder. Perhaps there are few successful people who did not need to rely on social media...but now, you’ll realise that business booms through the use of social platforms, especially in fashion. For example, you can now purchase products through Pinterest or even Instagram.

There is a lot happening in social media that you’ll feel lost if you're not connected to it. I could elaborate on it, but I’ll stop there.

Aside from these, there’s no such thing as privacy nowadays. We’re presented bare to social media. Everything we do is photographed and displayed in social media. It may not seem as a negative thing to many, but to me it is. Why would I want to document every step I take (exaggerating) and share it to the world? Just does not make any sense to me. Perhaps it does make sense to many...but not me. I feel like there’s no value for personal memories and experience, as well as privacy.

The next problem of social media? It brings down the values of actions and the things around us. For example, people tend to post their ‘good’ deeds on social platforms for them to get the likes, but it actually devalues their action. Perhaps they want to encourage good deeds. But I feel that gloating on these deeds calls upon the need to roll my eyes. Other than that, when one sees a celebrity or a rare event taking place, they tend to document them on their phones, just to post on Instagram, when they could have been really experiencing it, making it a valuable and personal experience for themselves. Or perhaps they want to document it for themselves? Or perhaps it's human nature.

To bring a close to this post, the final problem with social media is that it has become the platform to showcase the depravity of human beings and human nature. All that I’ve written above explains and elaborates this problem. I may seem cynical for believing all of these, but in truth, it seems harder to have hope with social media around. I am not saying that social media is a fully negative thing, everything in this world has an upside and downside to it.