Social Media affects three main areas, Depression, Self Esteem and Suicide. Social media can bring people up or tie them down. When misused or used with the intent to harm, it can cause depression, which may lead to suicide. However, it has the potential to empower and uplift as well. Instagram has similar properties. Overall, social media has both negative and positive aspects. It can cause positive change in the world, as well as empowering people to speak up about issues they have. However, it can also cause depression and distortion of reality.
Social media is a powerful medium for communication and change that has serious pushing power. According to an article on huffpost.com, the #IceBucketChallenge, a charity project started by a grassroots organization raised over 100 million dollars for the ALSA. Other hashtags such as #Ferguson and #ArabSpring raise awareness about issues that affect humanity and the planet. Social Media even call attention to the Internet's issues. With #NetNeutrality and #Article13, the internet called awareness to bills that could have prevented the internet being the place it is today. However, even with all this communication, Social Media could be pushing us apart. An article on NPR.org shows a scientific study that people who spend more than three hours a day on social media are more at risk of feeling isolated. It is a vicious cycle - isolation drives us to Social Media, and too much Social Media drives us into isolation. When isolated, depression may set in, and further issues can occur. One of these issues is the distortion of reality, especially prominent on image sharing sites like Instagram.
Instagram causes many people to distort their views. When looking at only the cherry-picked aspects of a person’s life, people view everything through that person’s lens. They do not see the sad part of their lives. This can cause people to put their own lives in a wrong perspective and distort their reality. For example, a popular social media influencer may only choose to publish positive aspects of their life. When people click onto their page, they only see what the influencer wants them to see. They base their entire business around that. According to vox.com, social media influencers may make up to as much as 250,000 US Dollars per post they publish. In these sponsored posts, the idea that they are selling people is that the viewer's life can be like theirs, all they need is the product they are selling. This can lower a person's self-esteem, as well as cause depression in the long term.
Overall, Social Media is a two edged sword. On one side, it causes great social change in the world. On the other side, it causes isolation and depression. This is especially common in teens, the majority of Social Media users. Their views are molded by what they see on their feeds, and when it becomes tailored to their assumed likes and dislikes, especially in the political sphere, it enforces their opinions actively. This forms what is called an echo chamber in which opinions and views are circulated constantly, without new or different ideas entering the user's feeds. Social media can be a great good, but it needs to be regulated strongly.
Citations:
Hobson, Katherine. “Feeling Lonely? Too Much Time On Social Media May Be Why.” NPR, NPR, 6 Mar. 2017, www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/03/06/518362255/feeling-lonely-too-much-time-on-social-media-may-be-why.
Lieber, Chavie. “How to Make $100,000 per Instagram Post, According to an Agent for Social Media Stars.” Vox.com, Vox Media, 28 Nov. 2018, www.vox.com/the-goods/2018/11/28/18116875/influencer-marketing-social-media-engagement-instagram-youtube.
Sharma, Ritu. “Social Media as a Formidable Force for Change.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 7 Dec. 2017, www.huffingtonpost.com/ritusharma/power-of-social-media-dem_b_6103222.html.