social media

The Negative Effect of Social Media

Today, social media is popular over the world. I had a friend and she spent more than five hours a day checking her social media. She got addicted to Socia Media which wasted her time. In the article, Kemp said: “More than 4.5 billion people now use the internet, while social media users have passed the 3.8 billion mark”. Social media can affect people in a negative way because it causes mental health problems, the invasion of privacy, and distorted information.

First, social media causes mental health problems as it makes people addicted, stress, and unrealistic expectations. Social media can be more addictive than drugs and shopping. For example, when I was living in dormitory with nine classmates, they checked their social media during their lunch, dinner, in classes or even in the restroom. They used smart phones to check their status all the time without getting necessary information. My friends stare at their phone to use Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat on the street, so they neglect them on surrounding. This is the reason why many accidents occur unintentionally. Furthermore, Professor Roberto Truzoli of Milan University said: “Whether problematic internet use turns out to be an addiction -- involving physiological and psychological withdrawal effects -- or whether compulsions are involved that do not necessitate such withdrawal effects -- is yet to be seen, but these results seem to show that, for some people, it is likely to be an addiction." Many people do not know they are addicted to social media until they can’t take their eyes off screen. Next, social media causes stress and depression. For instance, many people always compare themselves to others when they see their new feeds or posts. Because they feel jealous of someone’s success or achievement, the feeling turns to depressive symptoms. Moreover, many people do not have good sleep as they spend too much time checking their notifications at night. Sounds of new notifications can awaken the sleeping people, so it steals the valuable sleep. Last, social media produces unrealistic expectations. Some girls use photoshop to modify their photos since they want to have many likes on their social media. They think those symbols show significant affection from others although it is illusory. Unfortunately, many people try to do plastic surgery to become the models who are famous on social media. In short, social media affects mental health problems through addiction, depression, and unrealistic expectations.

Next, social media invades privacy as it steals personal information, makes advertisements from privacy data, and tracks locations. First, social media invades privacy because it steals personal information. Members must provide their information to join social media. If hackers steal information, they can hack bank accounts, social security number, and important privacy information. “In Australia, for example, only 53 Facebook users actually used the This Is Your Digital Life quiz app, but Cambridge Analytica was still able to gain access to over 310,000 people” (Lindsey). It is dangerous to share personal information because hackers can defraud of money or benefits. Next, social media accesses privacy data and creates many relevant advertisements. For instance, when I access restaurants’ websites to order food, those restaurant’ advertisements will appear in social media. This proves that social media tracks online activities of users in order to provide data to advertisers. “Facebook also provides publishers with a piece of code, called Facebook Pixel, that they (and by extension, Facebook) can use to log their Facebook-using visitors” (Dewey). Because advertisers use personal data without user’s agreement, it is illegal. Last, social media can track a user’s location. Many people have a habit of checking their locations where they visit or travel. It is serious because kidnapers can use them to do their bad actions. For example, Naomi Jones, a 12-year-old girl was kidnaped and killed by a murderer named Howard who had interacted with her on social media. “According to news reports, Naomi was using an app called “Marco Polo,” a walkie-talkie app similar to Snapchat that’s only been popular for the last year or so” (McKeon). In summary, social media reveals privacy through personal information, privacy data, and locations.

Last, social media causes of distorted information because of fake news, indirect communication, and purposive seller. First, social media causes distorted information through fake news. Last month, when a picture showed unattended dead bodies lying on the streets of Italy because of the Covid 19 pandemic, people showed fear and anxiety. The fact that the photo was taken as a part of an art project in Germany in 2014 (Time Fact Check). There are so many fake news stories which people want to get attention and popularity. They try to create public confusion without real evidence. Next, social media is indirect communication, so transferring information from one person to another causes distorted information. For example, many people want to be perfect, so they try to lie about themselves with partners. They have a strong tendency to change their bad characteristics, thus creating distorted information. Last, social media is a useful tool of sellers since they can sell their products with negative effects. To take advantage of the Covid 19 pandemic, many sellers exaggerate their supplements which can cure diseases. Distorted information damages customer’s health and money. In brief, social media brings distorted information because it includes fake news, indirect communication, and purposive sellers.

Some opponents may believe that social media brings some positive effects because it is the most convenient way to communicate. However, “the biggest of them being that people are forgetting how to communicate with strangers when put in scenarios that require face-to-face interactions, becoming anxious and having problems articulating their thoughts into coherent sentences” (Groom). In fact, people lack communication skills when they use social media frequently. In addition, messages or conversations can leak out on social media, so some important information or sensitive pictures may be stolen. Many famous scandals cause debates because their conversations were exposed. “In other words, for most personal data about people, their activities, and their transactions, it seems that a social media site would not be regulated for use or abuse of this data, only for misrepresenting what data was collected and how such data was used. Deep intrusions of privacy may be allowed, as long as the site doesn’t directly misrepresent what it is doing” (Claypoole 2). Social media can get privacy data without publicity, but it is still not safe to communicate. There are many ways that are more secure than social media, such as email or fax. In short, social media has more negative effects than positive effects because it makes people lack communication skills, create scandals, and it is not safe.

In summary, Social Media is negative effect because it is a reason of mental health problems, the invasion of privacy, and distorted information. Social media developed and spread in the world. People should control their time to avoid addiction to social media.