Since the internet evolved, social media has gained a lot of growth. Previously people used to send letters or postcards to keep in touch with their near and dear ones. Phone calls were also used to communicate with each other but calling rates were high. Nowadays, we have a variety of applications like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, discord, clubhouse and much more collectively known as social media. People prefer messaging to communicating on a call which obviously favors everybody because replying to a message is much comfortable than sparing out time to answer a call. We see children using better social media than elders which is quite evident as the technology is rapidly advancing. Let's find out how our lives have been affected due to social media. Is Social Media good or bad? Below are the pros and cons of social media.
Pros of Social Media
1. Keeps people connected
Through social media, we can stay connected with our friends and family no matter how far they are from us. Just one message or video call and we can talk with them, see them and be feel close to them. You can connect to anyone around the globe and for that, you don't even need a laptop, just get your phone and one message and our message is communicated.
2. Faster communication
We no longer wait for days to get our message delivered to the other person. Social media and the internet have made it possible that our message can be sent to the required person within seconds. We can also make groups with our friends and can send a single message which will be forwarded to everyone. We no longer have to send messages personally to everyone.
3. No face to face meeting required
When a meeting was scheduled we had to wait for everyone to gather and then we would start with the meeting. But now, platforms like google meet, zoom, Microsoft teams, etc have made it possible to attend meetings from the comfort of our homes.
4. Stress reliever
Social media apps can also prove a stress buster to those who are not addicted to them. Instagram reels, youtube videos, Facebook posts all provide entertainment to humans. After a long busy and stressful day, scrolling some reels and memes can make us laugh and we will feel relaxed. So if social media is used in the right amount can also prove to be good.
Cons of Social Media
1. Addiction
This is a very serious problem with people using social media. It can prove very harmful for students and can hamper their studies. People get addicted to social media. Every time they think of what to post and what story to update. They remain very much worried about the number of likes their photos are getting. People start thinking so much about their appearance on social media. Instagram reels once started, keeps scrolling and scrolling, not realizing the amount of time that has got wasted. All these are materialistic things that don't matter but due to the overuse of social media, people are getting addicted to it.
2. Time Wastage
Scrolling memes all day is a great way to pass our time if we got nothing to do. Students get very much involved in social media and they waste a huge amount of time. The 30-second video known as a reel is so addictive that we spend hours watching it. A huge amount of time is wasted in clicking the perfect photo we want to post on social media
3. Kills productivity
Investing a lot of time in social media leads to time wastage which kills productivity. With a number of apps on your phone, the very moment a notification comes we check our phone which distracts us from our work and decreases productivity.
4. Unnecessary worries
We remain too much worried about what the other person viewing the photo think of my photo, will he like it? what if he doesn't and a number of questions we keep caring about. Also, when we message some person and he/she didn't reply quite early then we keep thinking about the possible reasons for his/her late reply and we even get suspicious and in this way relationships get hampered.
5. Fake messages
Truly social media is a great platform to remain in touch with current affairs but all the information prevailing on social media is not true. Many fake messages keep forwarding, they sound too good and we forward them to another person. The information is very unreliable on social media and we need to think properly about the surety of such messages before forwarding them. Rightly said, "Don't believe everything you read on the internet just because there is a photo with a quote next to it".
