Beware of social media addiction, it can ruin Lives especially of young people

Any form of addiction is bad. That includes social media addiction.

We are being constantly reminded of the evils created by the abuse of social media.

The latest reminder came from the Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) Naval Division, Captain (Navy) Humphrey Tawake, at the Cadet Passout Parade at Lomary Secondary School on May 31.

Using social media is the most common practice of today’s younger generation.

They are much more digitally connected than the older generation.

This age is being labelled as the digital age and the younger generation are referred to as the smartphone generation.

It is a fact that today’s digital technology has changed our lifestyles in a most profound manner. From the mobile phone to social networking – Facebook to Twitter and all else in between – it is virtually found everywhere and is very influential.

It has made our lives more convenient but it has also brought along its challenges.

Unfortunately, for every positive there must be a negative, and many young people fail to appreciate that there is also a downside to social media sites too. Some teenagers spend so long browsing their favourite sites that they neglect their school work, and those who spend longer on Facebook each day actually find that their grades dip badly.

Social Media is popular for connecting people in a unique way yet it has also been a platform used for purposes that are not in line with our culture, way of life and the Laws of Fiji.

Be careful with what you share online and do not let social media dictate the kind of person you are. What may be the most worrisome aspect of online social networks is that they encourage people to share personal information.

The smartphones are known to provide the younger generation with all sorts of entertainment options. Entertainment on smartphones has overtaken the primary purpose of communication among the younger generation.

Social media is the means of communication in today’s world and is very effective both negatively and positively. It is very useful but if it is used in the worst way it can result in many bad or negative things. Although social media yield positive impacts upon the younger generation, it also causes negative impacts upon them, for not all of the social media sites are healthy for adolescents or youngsters.

The social media usage of secondary and tertiary students has the potential to affect their grades, social-skills, and time-management skills, but it could also have a positive effect.

A professor said that although using social media has many benefits in our lives, addiction to social media is not good. It will have awful influences on studying, make us live way from reality and have bad effects on health. In order to avoid being addicted to social media, young people should spend more time playing sports, studying and taking part in activities in schools.

Spending long hours chatting on social media sites also decreases productivity among the youths. This in turn causes the youths not to be self-dependent and instead depend on their parents and families for their upkeep.