Social Has social media improved or impaired society?

[Takes Two To Tango]

Pros and Cons of Social Media | Brown University Health

Consider learning about the pros and cons of social media before logging in to Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. from our experts here.

www.lifespan.org

Pros: Why is social media good?​

Social media and technology offer us greater convenience and connectivity:

• staying connected with family and friends worldwide via email, text, FaceTime, etc.
• quick access to information and research
• banking and bill pay at our fingertips
• online learning, job skills, content discovery (YouTube)
• involvement in civic engagement (fundraising, social awareness, provides a voice)
• great marketing tools
• opportunities for remote employment

Social media can be a good thing, but if teens ever feel uncomfortable about something they see or read on social, they should trust their own feelings and talk to someone – a parent, a teacher, or another trusted adult. Bullying, threats and cruelty on social media are all signs that the person doing those things needs help.

Cons: Why is social media bad?​

Along with the good comes the bad. With all of its benefits, the nature of social media presents a range of potential issues.

• Online vs Reality. Social media itself is not the problem. It is the way people use it in place of actual communication and in-person socializing. “Friends” on social media may not actually be friends, and may even be strangers.
• Increased usage. The more time spent on social media can lead to cyberbullying, social anxiety, depression, and exposure to content that is not age appropriate.
• Social Media is addicting. When you’re playing a game or accomplishing a task, you seek to do it as well as you can. Once you succeed, your brain will give you a dose of dopamine and other happiness hormones, making you happy. The same mechanism functions when you post a picture to Instagram or Facebook. Once you see all the notifications for likes and positive comments popping up on your screen, you’ll subconsciously register it as a reward. But that’s not all, social media is full of mood-modifying experiences.
• Fear of Missing Out. FOMO has become a common theme, and often leads to continual checking of social media sites. The idea that you might miss out on something if you’re not online can affect your mental health.
• Self-image issues. Social media sites provide tools that allow people to earn others’ approval for their appearance and the possibility to compare themselves to others. It can be associated with body image concerns. The “selfieholics” and people who spend most of their time posting and scrolling are the ones most vulnerable to this. In fact, most college girls who use Facebook at least five times a day are likely to link their self-worth to their looks. That doesn’t mean that the main problem is social media; it only provides a medium for it, which further elevates the problem. It also promotes the same sort of behavior to others.

 

[Larzon]

Helped some.

Hurt way more.

 

[Nizam al-Mulk]

Those who say Facebook and Instagram made us smarter. look at this election.

 

[Takes Two To Tango]

Helped some.

Hurt way more.

Yah I can see that.

 

[Cole train]

Pretty much destroyed it from what i hear from school world from teachers

Has some good sides as well like sherdog

 

[Nizam al-Mulk]

Pretty much destroyed it from what i hear from school world from teachers

Has some good sides as well like sherdog

Sherdog predates mass Facebook use.

Helped some.

Helped who?

 

[Rhood]

Those who say Facebook and Instagram made us smarter. look at this election.

Who said it made us smarter?
This is the first time I've ever heard this statement.

 

[Bacco]

Impossible imho give it positive or negative score, change too much person to person

 

[ferrisjso]

Most people have ADD from the internet and would experience horrid withdrawals without it but thats not from social media thats from having multiple tabs open at once.

Social media in isolation is really just pulling the curtain back on things that have previously existed and we could pretend didn't exist. In the pre internet world it was much easier to put yourself into a bubble and not care what anyone thought of you and social media has really made that impossible.

Social media is less toxic then MSM. By alot. Except maybe 4chan.

 

[ferrisjso]

Pretty much destroyed it from what i hear from school world from teachers

Has some good sides as well like sherdog

They also hate wikipedia.

Teachers hate any easy way to get information because in the old world that was their function and its now being threatened by people who paid less dues and they are VERY insecure about that.

 

[PurpleStorm]

Society is what it is. Many are realizing too much social media rots your brain and makes you lonely. I'm not anti-technology. I think we as humans are responsible for controlling our usage. I've phased social media down to where it's cool just to hit up a friend or see how my extended family is doing. I log off when I get tired of seeing narcissistic peple post too much self-promotional bullshit.

 

[PurpleStorm]

They also hate wikipedia.

Teachers hate any easy way to get information because in the old world that was their function and its now being threatened by people who paid less dues and they are VERY insecure about that.

I fucking love wiki.

 

[Plutoburn]

I think it improved society at first, but as tech company make the apps more engaging, and it's harder and harder to step away from. Couple that with the user base start to use them at younger age. It's not far off to call them the digital drugs of the 21st century.

 

[Sirwastealot]

Hurt way more than helped imo. It really fucks with your head.

Its played a significant role in the current mental health crisis imo.

 

[pugilistico]

I think there is some good content out there and it can help exposure for good things, but like a lot of things it's the most stupid and vain stuff that is the most popular and since the algorithm pushes what gets more clicks, it mostly shows you stupid shit. Like an instagram I see stuff about traveling, dogs and boxing since that's what I'm interested in, but it also shows me a lot of thots whoring for attention by posting bikini pics even though I don't go out of my way look for that kind of content. It's also very easy to be stuck in a bubble because of this algorithm which is the irony of our time. We have the whole world at our fingertips and people stuck in echo chambers more than ever.

 

[Larzon]

Sherdog predates mass Facebook use.


Helped who?

Not that many haha. It's good for disabled people who can't leave the house ect. Also people even more socially retarded than us Sherdoggers

 

[KBE6EKCTAH_CCP]

Society is what it is. Many are realizing too much social media rots your brain and makes you lonely. I'm not anti-technology. I think we as humans are responsible for controlling our usage. I've phased social media down to where it's cool just to hit up a friend or see how my extended family is doing. I log off when I get tired of seeing narcissistic peple post too much self-promotional bullshit.

I think in its early stage it was a net plus. In its current form i think it s more toxic than helpful.

 

[AGGAMEMNON66]

It’s not an improvement

 

[Wrath of Foamy]

It should have been an improvement, but as a collective, we've gone way too far with it. It should be used as a tool to connect, but not to replace it as a method to connect.

I also have a hunch that certain groups, even Governments, weaponize it with a very subtle form of propaganda.

 

[pugilistico]

It should have been an improvement, but as a collective, we've gone way too far with it. It should be used as a tool to connect, but not to replace it as a method to connect.

I also have a hunch that certain groups, even Governments, weaponize it with a very subtle form of propaganda.

It's not a hunch and it's not that subtle lol. China uses tik tok for that very purpose. Russian bots are all over instagram and youtube content about the war.

I have to say though, as someone who travels a lot and has friends all over the world and doesn't meet them for most of the time, Instagram has been really useful for staying in contact.