Social media- the 21st Century Revolution
Social media has many advantages, but also disadvantages. It has brought us closer to family and friends, yet many regulars suffer anxiety, depression and isolation. So where is the boundary to maintain contact with friends, and mental illness.
Many studies show that people check their phones a staggering 42 times per day, and adults spend more than less 10 hours in front of a screen, whether a kindle, phone, iPad, or TV. With today’s market in a variety of electronic devices, it is hard to omit technology from one’s life and home, but with alarming results from studies around the globe, social media could turn into cigarettes of the 21st century.
In the 50s, when cigarettes were first introduced to the general public- they supposedly were harmless, only during the 70s were studies conducted with alarming results, like now with social media, about effects of nicotine and tobacco on the body. 20 years after their introduction, which considering the negative effects of nicotine is astounding and in many cases life-damaging.
We have the same thing only 50 years later, history does like to repeat itself, 15 years after the introduction of Facebook, it has already gathered around a billion people, much more than cigarettes.
Social media has changed the way we look at life, it is the person with the most likes online that counts, not the best basketball player. A person ‘competes’ against people worldwide.
People care more on what other people do than their own achievements. And being unpopular used to mean bullying in or around school, now coming home, children face a new beast- cyberbullying.
Social media and the internet have opened a Pandora’s box- cybercrimes, dark web, Anonymous, Silk Road and a multitude of others, but just like Hope in Pandora’s box, social media has a good side in this e-brew.
Cybercrimes have change the face of law enforcement and the very definition of crime.
But coming back to social media, it is recommended to use it up to 30 minutes a day which is kind of shocking for some. According to a study reported in the Huffington Post, an average person uses 5 social accounts and spends 1hr 40 browsing them. On the other hand sources say that up to 3 hours, but almost all sources agree upon the universal limit of of 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Most of the time spent on social media is unproductive, involving cats, puppies and other unrelated stuff. It is possible to use social media in a good and constructive way, however it often is not.
Try to use social media in a constructive way
You should also try signing up to groups that you are genuinely interested in.
