Time wasted on social media each day
Madam,
The scene is all too familiar; your bright cellphone screen lights up your face late at night and the time reads 10:08pm. You hear a new beep notification, which pops up and without a thought, and you decide to immediately check that notification, maybe even respond. Two minutes should be all it takes, you tell yourself, but it doesn't take two minutes and before you know it, the time reads 11:38pm. Congratulations, you just wasted one and a half hours on social media, trading your sleep in exchange for nothing.
COMMUNICATION
Social media’s original goal was to enhance communication and sometimes it does. We are now able to interact with different people far and wide using our phones and laptops. This helps in saving the costs of travelling to meet the other party. Some people are also able to better express ideas on social media platforms, ideas that one would never be able to voice out in public. In reality, social media hinders productivity, spreads unreliable and false information, and has significant and negative effects on our social lives. Children find it all too tempting to spend countless hours tweeting and posting about their own private lives, instead of working towards a goal that will keep them healthy and change the world, which would inspire others to post same.
In addition, social media sites can be the perfect place for child predators to ‘pretend’ to be something they are absolutely not, putting up fake profiles to maliciously commit all sorts of crimes. Some even go to the extent of stalking others and others become victims of
cyber bullying. Even headlines you read on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook might not be based on the absolute truth, so one has to interact on social media with caution and commonsense.
Many believe social networks bring people together. Men and women can share their ideas, tell their unique stories, and even connect with one another around the globe.
CONNECTIONS
There are many individuals who might feel shy in real life, hence they choose to find friends and connections behind the safety of their keyboards. Often, social media sites can be a place of solace for them, but unfortunately, cyber bullying is more common.
Social media has an extreme effect on our social lives, adding to the dispersal of false information on the internet. Sometimes victims try to fight back, but other times, these false rumors and cyber bullying can lead to depression and suicide. One has to wonder; would all of these fights actually happen in person or are the people doing it because they can hide behind a screen?
Overall, social networks play a big role in our modern world. We cannot hide from them, but we can examine social networking and look at the positive and negative aspects of it.
Mavi Catherine Mahlalela