Social media has changed the way our world works in the most dramatic ways. Never before in human history have we seen such a huge dynamic shift in the way that the population interacts with one another. The ability to instantly connect with one another and publish content or information truly is a wondrous one. But it is one that is also fraught with risk.
Everyday we see people crying out about the dangers of social media. How it is causing irreversible damage to the younger generations and altering our minds. While, on the other side of the argument, people proclaim that social media is a force for good. A tool of empowerment and possibilities.
There are merits to both sides of the argument. And it can be hard to separate fact from fiction with so much misleading information constantly being published online. So today we are going to be examining both the benefits and dangers of social media.
Increased Social Awareness
One of the most apparent and powerful advantages of social media is that it has become a tool for spreading social awareness and facilitating radical change in the world. Up until the last decade or so it wasn’t unheard of for people to go about their daily lives completely unaware of the suffering that was occurring across the globe.
TV news stations are, by and large, biased towards only concerning themselves with the actions of their home nations or key players on the global stage. Social media has shifted the balance and allows almost total freedom of information to be spread. This has become increasingly useful in recent years with multiple new wars being started. Social media has allowed the general public to see behind the lies of the mainstream media and get firsthand accounts from those actually involved.
Social media is also being used to help spread awareness for social groups that have famously been oppressed. Queer communities in particular have been using social media to form online communities that offer support to those in need. And people who are curious about their sexuality can find more information and support than was previously available.
New Career Paths
As technology advances you always have people saying that more automation will put people out of jobs. But this has been proven to be false time and time again. Social media has created millions of jobs across the globe. In nearly every sector on the planet.
Marketing is the biggest industry that has been changed by social media. Nearly every company on the planet now uses social media as a marketing platform. And they often hire people solely for the purpose of managing their social media content.
Social media has also given birth to the influencer generation. People are making social media their entire career. While this is a very competitive industry to break into, it is accessible to almost anyone. This has also led to many jobs being created in the form of social media marketing agencies and account boosting. People can buy followers for Instagram and TikTok to help them get a leg up. But, when buying TikTok followers make sure you use a reputable source with plenty of customer testimonials, to avoid being scammed.
The Age Of Misinformation
We spoke briefly about how social media has facilitated the instant sharing of information. And this, in theory, is a powerful idea. But it is a double edged sword. Because it also means that people are free to spread as much false information as they want as well.
This has become the biggest debate of the last few years. Fake news, as it is often called, is the outcry of the masses. It is all too easy for people to publish false information online and it will be shared and repeated endlessly. And once it has been spread it is difficult to squash that misinformation.
This has the potential to cause a lot of very serious problems. Both for individuals and for entire nations. Political races are now becoming a vicious back and forth of both sides spreading lies and decrying the other party’s messages. And people can have their lives ruined by slanderous lies posted on social media.
A Dangerous Addiction
Social media has also been proven to be highly addictive. Humans weren’t meant to have such unfiltered access to information or to communication. It is no wonder that people spend hours endlessly scrolling through TikTok or Instagram. The dopamine hit one receives from doing this is nice. But, without moderation, it can become all too addictive.
