The Reality of Social Media: Is it Really a Grim?

I fear the day when technology will surpass our human intervention. The world will have a generation of idiots.

This is a quote from the year 1995 and I think that time has come. Nowadays, we spend much of our time using social media. The graph of daily social media has been increasing throughout the world. 

Courtesy: Statista.com

In this post I will discuss few things about social media, what was its motive, what are its pros and cons and the biggest issue throughout the world, "Is Social Media a Rumour Spreader?". So without wasting time let us start.

What was the motive of social media?

The first social media website was made in 1997 named SixDegrees.com (it is still in use). On this website, people could make their profile and enter their personal details. Social media was introduced so that people could come close to each other and friendship could begin on a world scale. 

Earlier it was limited to only a few people, afterwards with advancements in science and technology various more social media giants entered this industry like Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and bla bla bla. It was meant to make information available to a lot of people throughout the world. Its another motive was to connect people sitting at two different corners of the world. Its main motive was spreading some important news or a piece of very essential information, but nowadays it has deviated a little bit from its motive.

What is Social Media today? Is it doing what it was intended to?

Nowadays along with a Globaliser, it has also become a mode of entertainment. There are various social media platforms which support the uploading of entertainment stuff and all. But, there are various people nowadays which upload totally irrelevant and cringe content which is just wastage of time and energy. Due to these some problematic people the whole Social Media industry has to face defame. Else, it is doing the same task it used to do before of worldwide friendship and making physically distant people come together.

Pros of using Social Media

There are various advantages of Social Media some of which are as follows:

1. The first advantage is the same as we have discussed that is WORLDWIDE CONNECTIVITY WITH PEOPLE. We can chat or talk to any person throughout the world with whom we want to. This helps in increasing our friend circle and making a bond of friendship al over the world.
2. The second advantage is that we can get to know about some latest affairs going all around the world. There are various channels which provide the latest news on social media and keep us up to date.
3. It is a good platform for showcasing one's talent as it has a vast audience. For E.g. various talented people are sitting around the globe which do not have enough resources to showcase their talent. They can showcase it on Social Media.
4. Earlier (i.e. before the 2000s) School or College colleagues used to get away from each other as they all get settled at different places. But now it is a totally different case as they can create groups on social media and chat or video call each other. Though on being physically distant they can be close to each other with the help of Social Media.

Cons of Social Media

Everything which has some very great advantages always has some disadvantages and that is also the case with Social Media. So, some of the cons with social media are as follows:

1. The first con is related to cybercrimes. Nowadays, almost everyone is using social media. Majority of the users tend to share their personal information like their address and real-time location which can harm them a lot. There are a lot of ill-intended people sitting around the world. They can use this information to blackmail people or whatever else they want to do.
2. Next disadvantage is related to health. We will discuss it in two points:
1. It puts strain on our eyes especially during late-night usage (and most of the people use it during the night). It can weaken one's eyesight and once the eyesight is gone or weakened it will never become just like before, so please take care... and we should not use it during night as it affects both our eyes and sleep.
2. The second point is that it makes us lazy. It reduces our physical activities. A person should rather take out an hour from his busy timetable and do some exercise rather than just scrolling his social media feed for hours.
3. Next problem is that it decreases the physical interaction between friends.  They just chat online and never meet in person. This does not enable them to form an emotional bond between them.
4. This point is especially for students who keep using it all day and don't pay attention to their study. Social Media is not gonna make them clear their BOARD exams or any entrance exams (I will not mention JEE or NEET or else I will sound stereo-typed). Social Media causes a distraction for students while studying and hence hampering their academic performance until and unless they use it within a limit. Excess of anything is harmful whether it be Social Media or Studies. We must balance everything.
5. The last point is ALL OF THE ABOVE. Ya, these all points are very important to be kept in mind.

Is Social Media a Rumour Spreader?

So now let us come to a major topic, IS SOCIAL MEDIA A RUMOUR SPREADER? According to the current scenario, I would say that Yes, Social Media is a Rumour Spreader. If we take an example of this COVID situation there were various rumours on social media which misled a lot of people.

Many anti-social elements all around this world trouble people to feel happy. They spread such rumours to mislead people and gain popularity. We must stay aware of such posts and should not blindly believe in everything which is given on social media. We must check the source to get to know that is it from a verified source or it is just bogus. We must not believe in things which are not from a verified source.

My Opinions about Social Media

According to me effects of Social Media (whether positive or negative) totally depend on how it is being used. If it is used with caution and care, then it is beneficial or else it is more harmful than poison. I would say that it is a sweet poison which appears good but is actually very harmful. I agree that social media helps to share information throughout the world and make new friends but if we see another side the coin, then it also has many harmful effects which we have already discussed above. I would say that especially students must stay away from social media as it is a total distraction (for around 90% of students) if not used within limits. Moreover, we should reduce the time we use social media. I think that if we use it for more than an hour a day it is really harmful. I would also like to request the social media website owners to keep a check on the things going on (especially rumours and cyberbullying) So, that using social media must not turn into a disaster.

And moreover, I would like to quote something.

पैसा हाथ का और दोस्त साथ का, जरूरत में केवल ये ही काम में आते हैं |

So, we must also meet and enjoy with our friends physically and must not always rely on Social Media.

So, I would end this post here and hope that you liked it and got to know whether Social Media is really bad or not. I know that this a little big post but I hope it is worth it. Please comment down the things which you liked and disliked about my post. Also please give me suggestions on topics for future posts. I hope you have a nice day.

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Bye! Have a Nice Day.

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