Social media is a wonderful thing. I find it very useful being a work-at-home/homeschooling mom because it keeps me in contact with the outside world. I also find it a great tool to use if you want to get the word out about something. As an author, I’ve used social media to market my book, as well as communicate with others who also have written books to gain important information in the publishing world. I’ll say it again, social media is a wonderful thing!
Do I dare say there are faults with it? I think I’m going to go there. Below you’ll find five things that are wrong with social media. Let’s get started:
- It’s dangerous. It can be anyway, especially for children. We teach our children the phrase “stranger danger”, but do we stop and think about all the strangers out there in cyber space? So many children “meet” strangers through various social media platforms, and given certain circumstances, end up in big trouble. Of course certain outlets are worse than others, but everyone needs to be cautious. It can be dangerous for adults as well. If we share too much information, the wrong person finding it can do a lot of damage. Giving out private information, or even information as simple as where you’re at all the time, can invite a predator to harm you and/or those you love. There’s also cyberbullying. I don’t think I need to share much on that seeing as it’s a growing “trend.” Anyone, anywhere can do a lot of emotional damage to someone, which in turn can lead to physical damage to oneself.
- It’s addicting. When someone thinks of an addiction, they usually think of smoking, drinking, porn and even overeating as addictions. Hardly could social media be considered addicting, can it? Absolutely! I’d even go as far to say as I’ve had a small addiction to social media in the past. When all you want to do is interact via social media, no matter the platform, it’s an addiction. If all you think about is your “friends” online and catching up with the latest gossip, it’s an addiction. If social media is something you dream about and look forward to doing every waking minute, it’s an addiction. And let’s face it, no addiction is good.
- It’s time consuming. Kind of branching off the addiction part, social media takes a lot of time, especially for those who have any and all platforms. I currently only use Facebook and Twitter, but there’s a lot more out there. We’ve got SnapChat and Kik and Pinterest and so on and so on. To check in to all of these and get up to date would take a lot of your time. Time that, I dare say, could be used in better, more efficient ways.
- It’s confusing. I’m usually really good at figuring things out pretty fast BUT some things I don’t 100% understand, and I’m sure many of you out there have certain things you don’t quite get either. For instance, each time Facebook updates they have everything laid out different. For the most part it’s not too different from before and I can easily figure out how to navigate and post, etc. Occasionally I have to do some digging, though, on how to do something that I once had no issue with. Facebook, I feel, is notorious with updating and changing how things go, and I’ve heard/seen many people upset at times with Facebook because of it. Another example is Twitter. I know how to do the basics, but seriously I just don’t get it. So my followers can see what I’m posting, but sometimes I don’t get the point. The whole hashtag idea just has me scratching my heads most days, too. I know it might not be that big of a deal to others, and I definitely can tell that some people are really good at the whole hashtag thing, but it’s just confusing.
- It’s provoking. Social media can lead to some pretty bad attitudes. I’m guilty as much as the next person of getting jealous or upset over a post or article I’ve read. And, frankly, I really try to keep my emotions in check, but occasionally you are bound to see something that just brings that nasty attitude right out of you. Or it can cause some really sad/depressing thoughts. This goes along with jealousy, but for those longing for something and seeing others get it, it makes you sad/depressed (as well as jealous). On the opposite end, it can make people brag about their good fortunes and/or create “show offs”. Some people just post things that will gain others’ attention. When all is said and done, social media has that much of an effect on us.
Now in no way am I saying that we need to all leave social media or that social media is a bad thing and you’re going to be bad if you use it. NOT AT ALL! I just simply want to make everyone aware that it’s not exactly all cracked up as people feel it is. There are some dark sides to it. There are some pitfalls.
But, oh, it’s also a wonderful thing!