Why is social media so important nowadays? Why is there such a great social dilemma regarding this issue? Social media forms a large part of our daily life; regardless of whether you use it or not, it impacts your life and is always present in one way or another due to the big technological advances that have taken place in recent years. That is why, day by day, social media has become more important all over the world, having more influence and control over us because we do not realize the negative effects it has. That's why we must start thinking, analyzing, and reflecting on what social media really is, how it originated, how it works, what information it provides, etc.
Something impressive to me is social media’s rapid growth around the world during the last few years. This quick development has brought both benefits and downsides. For instance, social media platforms have given us the opportunity to achieve communication with any part of the world in just a matter of seconds. But, simultaneously, I think this is already getting out of control. The people behind these platforms are manipulating and seducing us - they are generating an addiction, creating a drug that makes us release dopamine. To achieve this, they use our psychology against us and employ algorithms that lead us to a never-ending array of videos, advertisements, and photos. We are all vulnerable to the attraction of social media, even the creators themselves.
In addition, social media has changed the way we think, particularly affecting young populations. The creators control where we put our attention. They appropriate our sense of value and identity to make us start to feel insecure. With the evolution of the media we have begun to care what other people think of us, leading to skyrocketing levels of anxiety, depression, and suicides among teenagers. I am reminded of this phenomenon every day when I interact with people my age.
Sometimes we don't think and we don't realize everything that is going on behind our screens. We do not understand the weight of a single click - just by liking a post, tagging someone in a photo, or simply watching a video, we are opening a window to a million possibilities.
Author: Arantza García Morales
Biography:
Arantza is a Grade 12 student currently attending school in Mexico City, Mexico. Some hobbies she enjoys in her spare time include playing a variety of sports (soccer, basketball, tennis), listening to music, going for walks with her pets, going out with her family to the movies or restaurants, and hanging out with her friends.
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