The impact of social media on society and culture

Social media is a powerful tool that connects people.Social media has good as well as bad influence in our lives. Most commonly used social media platforms are Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Whatsapp, Microsoft teams, Discord etc. Even if there are downsides and upsides, it is a good creation for humankind.It has changed our lives entirely. I think that social media has changed people’s lives positively and negatively.

Positive

Most of our lives revolve around social media, helping us learn new things and giving us the opportunity to find out what is happening around the world. If we didn’t have social media, fast communication and content creation in a cost effective way wouldn’t be possible. In Europe and North America, around 90% of people use social media, however 53% of people use the internet worldwide!This is due to the fact that some areas may not have access to the internet or technology.People started depending more on social media during lockdown for education, entertainment and communication etc. Children used it for home learning,working parents used it for meetings from home, and people even used it to connect with their family and friends.It also helped people to start their business, meet new people and advertise without a physical space to do it.  Hence if social media platforms were not created, the world would be a slightly less developed community all together. Also people use social media for sharing their creativity with others of the same interests.Social media gives us access to videos on a variety of subjects so that people can choose what they like.In short, social media has become an essential part of our lives.

Also,social media gives us an insight on different cultures that help us to understand and tolerate other people’s cultures, which is important when we live in a multicultural society.

Negative

There are negative effects in having access to social media, such as cyber bullying,  sharing inappropriate messages, a variety of pop up ads, scamming and access to  inappropriate videos etc.Anyone can use social media platforms to share their thoughts on different subjects such as religion, political views, social rights and culture.This may cause a  huge argument about the subject, with many defending their sides  and sometimes spreading hates without knowing the facts.Many say that social media has  negative impact on children’s lives ever since it was introduced to children, explaining how this affects children’s mental health and physical activity in the growing years. These all link up to a point, social media isolates a person from the outside world and their family. It develops a lack of tolerance in people, causing them to be put off when they don’t get things in the way they wanted. 

Social media platforms have used to spread fake news, discriminatory attitudes towards cultures/religion that affects the harmony of the society. 

In summary, social media could influence people’s lives so it is one’s choice either to  use it for good or bad.