​BLOBBLECUPS

                    Social media is a phrase that indicates different types of online communication platforms. Social media users make use of it to share and receive content, to interact and to liberate expression. In this organisation and globalisation, with the development of science and technologies, social media has made its way to become one of the most essential necessity within the society. As social media can be very influential, they carry huge responsibilities, be it benefiting or harming the society. It makes a huge impact towards the society especially towards the youths these days. According to the new research released by Ipsos Open Thinking Exchange (OTX), Americans aged eighteen to sixty-four who use social networks stated that they spend an average of 3.2 hours in a day on social media. Most of them enjoy checking and sliding their mobile phones continuously although they have a lot of things to be done at that moment. With this, social media can easily harm the society, especially in the aspects of reducing productivity, losing sociability and maybe even increasing of cyber bullying.  

 

                    One significant point that points out why social media has done more harm rather than good is the distraction that it can bring into a person's life. The social media has the power to draw undivided attention from its audience because its purpose is to allow you to share your life (or social life) to many others around the world! People who want to follow the most trendiest news or acting behaviour will also find social media the perfect place to access those information. Imagine if you spent 1 hour on social media in a day, eventually you will end up with consuming 9 weeks in a year just on social media. That is so terrible! A person can even finish a couple of courses within that 9 weeks. It has proven that social media acts as a distraction in lives to some of the young children, students or even working adults. However, the main problem that the world is facing right now is that many people often do not realize the few minutes that they have spent on social media can act as a distraction. The temptation or urge to scroll down a page is strong. The few minutes they take can then be multiplied into an hour and it would have taken up a lot of those precious time (that could have been used to do something more beneficial) when one finally notices the accumulated minutes spent just on social media. In other words, social media can be a time stealer. Furthermore, this distraction may lead to poor productivity. Most of them who are supposed to concentrate on studies or work end up neglecting their tasks and start socialising with friends or posting unrelated new things on those sites. The convenience and its rapid function have caused many of us to wholly rely on these social websites or applications.

 

                   Secondly,the danger that social media can bring is the easy access of information that one is able to obtain from the social sites or apps. The social networking platforms are inclined to become a weapon for cyber bullying or stalking purposes. Cyberbully is a form of bullying which takes place using an equipment or device such as mobile phones, computers, and tablets as well as any kind of sites like Facebook or Twitter. People who share their personal information online can provide a chance for cyber bullying to occur. For example, if one unintentionally shares her sensual photos online and checks in at a location for holiday publicly, there can be a possibility for someone to do something unfavorable to her

(although her posts may not be true or the information that she shares are inaccurate) but the main idea that all should be aware is that we will not know what will happen next or what is already happening as we freely give out information about ourselves through social networks. Many cases have happened in the past due to sharing of information online and people using it as a tool to threaten lives. Hence after all, social media is not a safe place and the harmful effects that it can cause are many.

 

                  Lastly, none of us are going to deny the convenience of social media brought to the society,which is keeping in touch with others. However, there is a tendency of people starting to be afraid or tired of talking to other people face to face, some of them even begin to be “anti-social”. The booming of social networking is slowly destroying our social skills. Human interaction is very important for the brain development but it seems like people nowadays are afraid to go out of their comfort zone and practice the traditional way of communicating which is verbal communication. Even when you are eating at the same table, you can see your company/guests would be “socializing” through their phone rather than making conversations with the people who is in the room. Not only they are being anti-social but also they do not have any respect towards others. For example, at a family gathering it is very common to see the grandchildren being glued to their devices and socializing with their friends on social media when they are supposed to be bonding with their family. Social media is definitely is a big distraction and it is the main culprit to why our society is losing social skills.

 

                    In conclusion, though social media can be entertaining, social media also harms the audience in the aspects of reducing productivity, cyberbullying and losing socibility. Despite the fact that social media contains all these disadvantages, it is still estimated that social media will become one of the most essential tools within the society in the days to come. Future generations may not even be able to remember a time when social media wasn’t used in everyday life, when you left a classroom and did not immediately crank open your phone. The harms of social media needs to be more notable within the society so that the people will be more well aware of the negative aspects of it. With it being estimated to become such a rage in the future, parents play an important role as well to create a foundation for the future generations to come. Though it is too late to return to the social media-free world, the limitations and reduction of technology can at least still shine light on our society as it is never too late to improve for the better. The people of the world should be highly encouraged to cut down on the time they spend using social medias in order to reduce the negative effects which will indirectly affect not just their lives but also the social life of the new generations in the time to come.