How Social Media Dominates Our Society and Mental Health

In the age of the internet, social media has become one of the primary components of daily life. It serves as an outlet for entertainment, allows us to share pictures and videos with others, and facilitates easy communication with people all around the world.

Today’s society is dominated by networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, that all participate in the rapid spread of information and news. Through social media, people can raise awareness for causes, gather support for political campaigns, keep in touch with friends and family, and advertise products and services with ease. These kinds of sites generate much popularity because of functions such as these and thus, social media has quickly been recognized for being highly multifunctional and profitable.

And yet, we can also see that social media is, in fact, a double-edged sword. Because it provides us with so many different services, we are often blind to its detrimental effects. Social media has undoubtedly changed the way we live our lives but it has also altered the way we think and interact with others.

When we use social networking sites, we are simply engaging with a screen. Our attention is devoted to a single, small device through which we project our opinions, thoughts, and ideas. Although social media enables us to connect with other people, it has the potential to hinder our social skills. We are socializing without really being social. We are given the means to share our lives with our peers without having an actual conversation with them. One can merely view the posted pictures and status updates and click “like” to let the user know that yes, you now know what’s going on in their life but no, you don’t actually wish to discuss it with you in person. Face to face interactions become omitted from the daily experience.

This ability to put one’s life on display allows for another negative effect on mentality. Social media fosters the propensity for individuals to compare the quality of their lives with others. More often than not, social media posts pertain to personal milestones, achievements, and successes rather than misfortune. This leads people to believe that the lives of others are much more interesting or happy. The fact of the matter is that posts are tailored to the preference of the users and so profiles are carefully crafted and personalized in order to present the best and idealized versions of the users’ selves. Unless they are thoroughly and completely open about every aspect of their life, it would be impossible, and rather unhealthy, to deem another person’s life as better based upon their posts on social media.