Social Media: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly Truth.
The very first electronic mail was sent in 1971 but in just over 40 years, social media has become a global phenomenon. Social media are websites or applications that allow people to share their ideas, thoughts and feelings through mediums like photos, music and videos. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Ask.fm are just a few examples of such platforms. Social media has made the world a smaller place with just a click of a few buttons. One could literally do anything, such as, posting photos, making videos or exchanging ideas. Furthermore, through social media, one can also readily share ideas and easily communicate with people around the globe. With the convenience and accessibility it brings, social media may seem like a great invention, but the awful truth is that excessive use of social media can be addictive. This essay will discuss how people’s dependence of social media would cause problems like addictive behavior that are similar to drugs and alcohol addiction, antisocial behavior, and lastly, the mental state of the user.

Inordinate use of social media can cause severe ramifications. However, when used with restraint, social media could be a convenient way for people to communicate easily with one another anywhere and everywhere. For example, according to CASAColumbia (2014), more than seventeen million teenagers log into social media sites each day to update their statuses or upload a photo. On average, out of this seventeen million, 56% of them spend 44.5 hours on social media sites each week (Online, n.d.). Besides the large amount of time invested on using these sites, could otherwise be spent on doing other things such as outdoor exercises, social media also leads to other adverse consequences, such as its contribution to addictive behavior. A survey done by CASAColumbia found that teenagers who use social media on a day-to-day basis have a higher chance of adopting behaviors like smoking, drinking or drug-taking (National, 2011). To worsen the situation, teenagers who have seen photos or videos of others using drugs, alcohol or cigarettes, are four times more inclined to try and attempt it themselves (National, 2011). Following the “Monkey see, monkey do” phenomenon, all these pictures and videos can easily influence teenagers to pick up vices such as alcohol and drugs. Additionally, posting on the social media of one using alcohol or drugs, results in more social attention from peers and this further add on to the satisfactory feelings that the addictive substances can give (Goodwin, 2011). This cycle, fuelled by social media, makes it even harder for one to stop using the addictive substances, as even if the drugs do not directly provide pleasure, the attention that one gets on their social media by posting their use of the addictive substances would make one continue to use them. This situation is further worsened by the huge amount of time people spent on social media, which meant more exposure to such influence.

It is an irony that social platforms can turn individuals more antisocial than ever. Social media can create problems sneak to our daily life, in every possible way. According to a recent poll survey, 24% admitted that they had missed crucial events such as weddings, birthdays as a result of using social media platforms during the event itself (Deppe, 2011). In fact, two out of five people spend more time communicating through social media than through face-to-face communication (Bennet, 2012). People who spend too much time online become more anti-social as they do not go out much to meet their friends or any gathering. It seemed they are more likely to make and reach out to online friends for emotional support (Routledge, 2015). Today, people are much more dependent on their smartphones and other electronic gadgets, and consequently, less dependent on actual human interactions. Many people do not realize the gradual strain in actual social relations because these relationships are usually not as intimate (Ma, 2011). Social media has led to antisocial behaviors, in which there are lesser physical social interactions and less intimate ties.

Over the years, there have also been concerns about the connection between social media and mental health. These issues have been increasing. People often invest their time on Facebook, trying to escape their feelings of depression, but social media itself can actually be the root cause of negative feelings (Healthcare, 2015). Being too hooked on social media can actually cause insomnia, suicide and other mental illness. The recommended hours of sleep per night is 8 hours, but with social media in the way, people are only getting 6 hours and 21 minutes of sleep (Whiteman, 2014). People think that once you sleep, the brain shuts off, however in all entirety, the brain is actually working by keeping the relevant memories and getting rid of the irrelevant ones that is not needed anymore (Stein, 2014a). So the later people sleep, the less the brain can actually do any of its activities and consequently, this will have negative results in the future. The worst concern for social media, however, is suicide due to social media. Take for example, Ask.fm, is a social media site where people pose questions or make a statement to another person anonymously. It already has recorded 9 suicide cases in a span of 3 years because of people writing hate messages. Suicides caused by social media is a problem that is getting out of hand by the minute. In every 27 seconds, someone around the world would have received hate mail (Teens, 2012). Needless to say, social media has been connected to mental health issues and it is a cause of concern if no extra preventive measures or precautions are taken.

In conclusion, while social media allows us to share our ideas and communicate with one another, anywhere and everywhere, if used excessively, it can result in addictive behaviors. Over-dependence on social media can be a serious issue as it can leads to antisocial behavior and deteriorated mental state. In fact, adverse consequences extend to beyond all these, to include other issues like obesity and decreased productivity. With the convenience that social media brings, it is undoubtedly being used every day. However, addiction to these sites include the element of choice as well. Thus, it is paramount for preventive measures to be taken to stop social media addiction. One example is digital detox, which helps users control themselves from social media. If these sites are utilized appropriately, the benefits they bring about would definitely outweigh the disadvantages.