Guest post by Cassie Steele
Do you know nearly 73 percent of women in America have an active social media profile? There are also almost 40% of women worldwide claiming to use social media for three or more hours a day. While these statistics indicate the impact social media has on our society, the data also illustrates the accessibility of social media. In today’s climate, social media impacts communication, propaganda, and censorship. Here is why:
A Vast Information System
Social media is a tool that allows people all over the world to share information and ideas. With the estimated social media users expected to surpass 3 billion by 2020. That means most of our planet will have the capability to communicate and interact with each other without having to talk face to face. This accessibility to other ears and eyes can cause a dangerous dynamic. Posting personal information, photos of yourself, and displaying your interests can all leave you vulnerable to the public. On social media, you never quite know who is watching. Posting sensitive material should be thought through carefully.
Self-worth And The Public
Posting pictures and updates about your life on social media can have its dangers. Posting this content and viewing the same from millions of others can push you to compare your physical appearance, life accomplishments, and digital popularity with people all across the world. This can steer you to attach your value and self-worth to meaningless likes and clicks. Camera and filter technologies on these social media platforms allow you to portray yourself as someone you are not, further developing issues with confidence and self-worth. Even more maliciously, social media allows users to hide behind a computer; perpetuating a lack of care for others. False rumors, fake accusations/edited pictures can take false information and spew it out to millions at once.
Getting Lost in Social Media
Even though social media connects you to the world, it can also suck you into its own. Social media can be a black hole of your interests, passions, and desires; it can be easy to lose yourself within a platform and look up 4 hours later confused as to how time flew by so fast. If you shut yourself off from the outside world, your real social skills can suffer, along with your relationships, including time with loved ones and friends. Just like any entertainment platform, make sure to curb the time you spend shopping and communicating online in order to do these things in real life.
Watch Your Back On Social Media
Social media is an amazing system that can connect all of us, however, it does have its perils. The nature of its vastness makes you vulnerable when you post sensitive and personal information. Posting this content can force you to rely on social media and the online community for your feelings of self-worth and acceptance. By being cognizant of these dangers as well as reducing your time on social media as a whole, you can be happy knowing you are prepared to fight back against the perils of social media.