In today’s world, our lives revolve around social media. It’s as if we can’t go a minute without looking at a TikTok, liking an Instagram post, or sending a Snapchat to our friends. We become addicted to a fake world that only exists online. On the outside, it seems like the perfect place to be, where no negativity can enter. But once we start to analyze it, we realize social media is not what it seems.
On social media, people seem beautiful and perfect all the time. We see girls and guys with ideal faces and bodies and wish to be like them. We start to lose focus on our own image, and only look at how we would like ourselves to be. We decide we’re not skinny enough, we’re not tall enough or we don’t have the right eye color. We compare ourselves to the gorgeous people online and point out what they have that we don’t. Our values get lost in the way of thinking of who we want to be, and not who we are. It’s always important to remember you are perfect just the way you are. You don’t need to look like somebody else, because being you is what makes you unique. All bodies and faces are beautiful in their own way, never try to change how you look to fit the “perfect” body type that other people on social media have.
Sometimes expressing our opinions in front of others can be intimidating, and we decide to do so on social media. The idea of hiding behind a screen gives a feeling of comfort to say what we want without being judged on our faces. That’s why on social media, people love to leave comments under posts, thinking they don’t have to feel afraid of expressing themselves. But sometimes, people can be rude and cold, and insult what you post. These people are called haters, and what they do is bring others down on social media in order for them to feel good about themselves. They will criticize what you say and do. Some go as far as to tell you to harm yourself. These are the consequences people sadly have to pay just for sharing a post on an app. Cyberbullying is huge on social media, and it’s even been normalized since haters will always be there. That’s why you have to be aware of cyberbullying and be prepared that at any time you share something, someone will rain on you for the dumbest reasons because they themselves are insecure.
People need daily human interaction in order to be mentally stable. Eye-to-eye contact with other people helps us humans stay in touch with the real world and with nature. But what happens when you become way too absorbed in social media? You start to isolate yourself, and you start living your life on a screen. You cut off everyone and everything around you, and focus only on what happens on social media. You prioritize interactions with people online over having in-person interactions with people around you. Once you start doing this, you put yourself in danger of suffering a mental health disorder, such as anxiety or depression. The more you absorb yourself in social media, the more you are exposed to struggling with one of these disorders. This is why it’s important to prioritize your mental health over your life online.
Having learned more about social media, it’s become evident that it’s a toxic place for people to be in. Yes, it might have positive aspects to it, for in general, it does more wrong than good. It wraps your head around the concept that it’s a place where nothing ever goes wrong, but that’s not what reality is. Once you’ve snapped out of the fake world that social media is, you start to see its true colors.
