Have you ever tried to spend 2 days without visiting social media? How did you feel? I bet it wasn’t that easy.
While meeting friends and traveling together used to excite all of us, it is a different story now. Through social media platforms, the internet has provided us with a room to interact, laugh and live boldly. On this line, I am sure some can even choose having a phone with the internet over lunch.
Though social media have been praised for their ability to make things easier for us, maybe the use of them is almost getting out of hand. Let alone the addiction which is getting on another level, a lot of people are being victimized by the advanced use of social media.
Of all people, Idols and all kinds of celebrities are susceptible to social media toxicity. However, other people, those who routinely use social media, are also in the risk zone.
Let’s just take a simple assumption. You woke up in the morning and opened your smartphone. To your surprise, you see a popping notification about a post you’re tagged in. Just as you opened the post, you find your private photo followed by both your names being humiliated and insulted by someone you know or don’t. How would you feel? Bad, right?
Most of the time, it doesn’t end with a simple insult. Sometimes social media users live as if every single minute of their life is criticized. Whether they ate something out of trend, wore disgusting clothes, or chose an ugly partner, all of these absurd insults are commented without considering the emotional harm they leave.
Apart from the emotional damage, social media can be ranked first among the things that create unrealistic pressure. They are like mirrors where we see everyone’s life, mostly fake, and compare it to ours which is only real. Just watching your age-mate spending a whole week going out, doing their expensive obsessions and chopping money as if it is some kind of trash, while you on the other hand, is struggling to even make a living is as depressing as watching a part of your body slowly perishing.
Another dark facet of social media is online predators. These perpetrators usually approach teenagers in the form of good people through compliments and gifts. In the end, the predators will start sexting, demanding for nudes, blackmailing and requesting for other sexual related activities.
Social media can really be fun and relaxing. On another hand however, they can be as lethal as venoms of a wild snake. Whether you use social media as a daily routine or occasionally, just know that fighting addiction is the number one task you’ve got. If you’re an older sibling, look after your younger ones. And if you’re reading this, be aware of all that we discussed above.
