Friday, June 19, 2020
Is Social Media Helping Us, Or Destroying Us?
While reading one of the "Room for Debate" articles, specifically "Is Digital Connectedness Good or Bad for People," I was very conflicted which side to be on. For the pro side, the author argued that social media allows people to bond and connect with others over shared thoughts. Personally, social media has allowed me to get into contact with many of my friends. For instance, I message my peers on Instagram whenever I need help with homework, when I get confused with an assignment, or when I just want to bond and converse with them. I believe social media is a great way to build relationships, which is super great emotionally. However, there are some cons in social media. As I read the argument against social media, which is that social media is just for public validation and not meaningful relationships, I thought of another problem social media causes. That problem, which occurs too often, is the lowering of self-esteem and confidence. Users are always shown beautiful, fit models who have the “perfect body” for society. Obviously, many people don't have these bodies, sometimes causing them to become insecure. This low self confidence issue caused by social media is really damaging to mental health. Both sides of the argument are valid, but I would like to know everyone’s point of view on social media!
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Hello Emma! I believe that social media has both positives and negatives. This can depend on the type of person being on social media and what they actually go on there for. For example, many people can use social media to put others down. They do this by creating fake accounts to make fun of others, which makes the targeted people feel bad. In this case, social media can lead someone to feel like what they do isn’t right. This then leads to them wanting to change due to it lowering their self esteem.Therefore, since this person wants to bring others down, it creates a negative platform. On the other hand, someone who uses social media to contact friends and stay in touch with others makes there be a positive side to social media. I believe it all depends on what your intent is when being on social media.
ReplyDeleteI am also conflicted on whether or not social media is helping us or destroying us. Honestly, I think it is not completely good or bad, it is more a combination of both. Although I have never been bullied on social media platforms, there are times when I see people spreading negativity and judging others. However, I feel like this is mostly the case for those with a large following, who are criticized for their appearance and other things. Even if we do not personally experience the harmful side of social media, we are still constantly exposed to it. It also depends on who we choose to follow, for example, on Instagram, as it dictates what we will see while spending time on social media platforms. Therefore, indirectly, it can harm our mental health. At the same time, social media can help us. For instance, to those who struggle to express themselves in “real-life”, they can easily access social media and utilize it to build personal relationships. Overall, social media possesses benefits and dangers to users. We can’t completely place social media under one category of “good” or “bad”. Saying this, I can still admit that it depends on the type of person who uses social media. Nevertheless, I think it is safe to say that to an extent social media users are exposed to good and bad sides of social media.
ReplyDeleteHello!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kimberly and Jennifer about the fact that social media is not completely good or bad. It comes down to the morale and ethical standpoint of each individual who chooses to use it. However even before social media people have been criticizing and minimizing their peers, and society as a whole has always formed conforming stereotypes that create terrible problems for its members. Such as how girls must fit into one mold, or people in general being hated and oppressed for the color of there skin, religion or sexuality. These horrible things have always plagued our society, social media is just another medium to communicate and amplify it through. Nonetheless, it has also provided a platform for great change to combat the cons that have always been there. Allowing people to make societal changes, like the recent social media revolutions that have happened or are happening and giving a voice to more people than ever before. Closer to home, it also allows us to be more connected like never before, giving us,the next generation greater potential for a better future. At the end of the day it really comes down to how we will use social media, to build a brighter future, or to tear us apart.
Emma, you present a good point. It can be hard to make decisions on these types of topics. Social media is a great platform to share information, images, ideas while also being excellent at connecting people. With that in mind, I would like to propose the idea that the intent of social media is a complete positive but the human practice of social media is, more often than not, a negative. I will use a few negative attributes of social media to explain my point. As you mentioned, self-esteem and confidence issues can originate from social media. But I propose that those issues derive from human practices rather than social media. Social media has only served as a means to share various forms of information. Social media users, however, have chosen to define what is and is not acceptable on different platforms. When examining the models you refer to, you'll find that those body standards were already established before social media became widespread. Users then chose to extend those standards onto social media platforms. Then, users continued to emphasize and uphold this standard of beauty. Other things have also made social media unfavorable. Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter make it effortless to find people online. It only takes a quick search to find someone online. While this was intended to help people connect, users have used this to cyberbully and defame others. The two examples demonstrate how social media platforms are corrupted by their users. In conclusion, it is not social media that is to blame, but rather those who use social media.
ReplyDeleteHey Emma! I too was also conflicted on whether or not social media is helping or destroying us. While I read a few comments, I had first agreed with them, and I still somewhat do, but then, I had read Chiagozie's comment and I do believe he made a good point as well. The intent of social media was positive but the users on it have made it have several negatives. One example that shows the intention of social media as a positive is how it can spread awareness and information about certain topics. One issue that social media has helped spread more information about is the Black Lives Matter movement. Because of social media, people, myself included, have learned about the many injustices that black people have faced in America and even around the world. Many good changes have happened because of the use of social media by the people. Social media users who only go on those platforms to cause more harm than good, are the ones giving social media a bad reputation. Social media has become a place where cyberbullying does happen, but it is wrong to put the blame on social media.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the point Celeste and Chiagozie brought up about social media not creating the negativity and stereotypes that exist in our society. They are instead another factor fueling these things. However, just as much as social media has fueled negativity, it is providing the platform to combat it. For example, the body positive movement, Black Lives Matter, and LGBTQ+ Pride are all things that have gained widespread attention and support on social media. These movements are giving people the opportunity to connect and confidently express their true selves. While there still a lot of room to improve with regards to all of the prejudice in the world, people today are more conscious about current issues than ever before. Activism is becoming an important part of the lives of everyone today, and this can be associated with people's activity on social media. Social media is neither good or bad, but it is such a large part of our current culture and it can only be what everyone makes of it.
ReplyDeleteHi Emma! I am also very conflicted because both sides have valid arguments like you mentioned. Social media has become such a huge part of our lives that it is difficult to determine whether it is helping us or destroying us. I believe most people use social media for good reasons, but it all determines on how people view it. Social media is a good tool for us to use to spread awareness for major topics, such as body positive movement, Black Lives Matter, and LGBTQ+ Pride and making connections with other people like Mia said. However, while spreading awareness, there are always people who talk down on these topics which cause arguments and that is how it can destroy us. I believe social media isn't helping us, nor destroying us. It is just being used differently because everyone is different and has their own way of doing things. Like I said before, social media was made for positive reasons, but people can get caught up in what everyone else thinks which can make it a negative thing.
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ReplyDeleteHey Emma ! I am also conflicted about which side to stand on. Social media does target people into thinking they have to have the "perfect" bikini body and just as you said, Emma, not everyone is like that, which is totally normal, and when people see that they don't look like the other girls and guys on social media, they start getting insecure about themselves and feel pressured that they have to look like everyone else, therefore, it can lead to many negative outcomes. However, social media does have positive sides to it. With social media, I am able to communicate with people from all over the world. Social media also brings attention to different topics, for example, the Black Lives Matter Movement, the famine in Yemen, as well as the workers in Bangladesh who are not being paid. The news does not show us everything. The news filters things and shows people what they want them to see, and sometimes it is not the truth. Through social media, we are able to see and witness the truth behind everything, for example, the truth behind the protests that are peaceful, but are being labeled as "terrorists".
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, social media is more good than bad. Yes, it makes some people feel that they are not the most beautiful person around, but we should move past looking at pictures and losing our self-esteem. Social media has helped people across continents connect, spread their culture, ideas, beliefs, and more without having to actually fly and visit someone. Social media also helps people who are fighting for justice in places like the U.S., Middle East, and China. Whistle blowers now have an accessible platform to blow their whistles. The Black Lives Matter movement can show the world what injustices have occurred and get protesters to spread the message. All in all, social media has helped many people gain a voice in world affairs. Just remember, you control it, it should not control you.
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