Is Social media a blessing or a curse?

Being 21 I am old enough to have a childhood which consisted of no social media access. When I was a child msn was a big thing with Facebook and Twitter only just finding their footing. It felt like there was no need to create a social media account until I was thirteen because barely anyone of my age was on social media at the time. It also wasn't until a few years into my teens that certain sites such as Instagram were even created or sites such as twitter became vastly more populated. But now it seems like kids make social media accounts at far younger ages and that much of children's lives are spent online, with teenagers often living through social media as soon as they get an account. But can social media ever be a good thing? Not just for teens or kids but for all of us. 

Social media can very understandably be seen as a curse and I for one am more swayed towards it being of a far greater negative than positive. I can cite many reasons for this but for brevities sake I will only discuss a couple here. Firstly social media sites such as Facebook or Instagram has cultivated a culture of constant discussion of where you are and where you have been. This has lead to an extreme increase of FOMO or fear of missing out. This may seem like petty jealousy to begin with, that is simply being jealous that your friend is on holiday when you are at home, but in reality it often increases mental frustration and can even cause mental health issues. Indeed, by being constantly exposed to lifestyles which are seemingly better than ones own we become far more aware of our own failings, boredom and misery,  because of course we barely see the negatives of others lives as peoples only seem to post about the highlights of their current existence. This leaves us with a far greater sense of un-fulfilment with our lives.  

Secondly, through social media sites such as Twitter we become far greater exposed to peoples opinions which to some degree can become dangerous for our mental stability. Indeed, whereas before social media we would only hear opinions from a  handful of people per day, we can now hear opinions from hundreds within a matter of hours. This may not be so bad if they were mostly positive words of encouragement or discussions about things people love, yet many opinions online are often vastly negative. Having just watched a movie or TV show you have really enjoyed to look at its hashtag on social media is often to be met with hundreds of comments as to why it was terrible and even why you are a bad person for enjoying it. Of course it is good to hear differing opinions about things you enjoy and why it may be problematic, so that you don't become an uneducated individual stuck in your ways. Yet, to be met with a wave of negative thoughts picking apart every aspect of something you enjoy, picking apart concepts which most individuals would never consider bad and picking apart you as person will eventually lead to mental distress and often mental breakdowns, because the human brain really cannot deal with this many negative comments and ideas all at once. Not only are we met with negative opinions but constant negative news stories, whilst important to stay informed, to be met with constant negative news which is not only set to be told at certain times of day, just adds to our mental turmoil. 

Of course, however, social media isn't all bad. Firstly it has been crucial to keep up communication during the pandemic, allowing us to feel closer despite being so far apart. Following from this social media also became crucial for communication between communities during the pandemic and beyond, allowing for community programs to be formed for those who needed assistance during the pandemic as well as lost and found items or pets to be advertised to reach wider groups of people. Finally social media has also allowed for communication with people from far away places who you would otherwise have never talked to. For example, I was able to talk to a guy from Australia who became my friend and I have since been able to meet a handful of times in London. Without Facebook our paths wouldn't have crossed because we simply live too far away for there to have met by chance.  

Whilst I don't think social media is innately bad as good does come from it, the older I get the more worried I become about the impact it will have on society. Indeed social media seems to produce a wave of negativity that I don't think we as a species were prepared for and cannot part from, I think it will take a toll on our mental health and could effect us negatively for years to come.