Essay Sample on Social Media: Is it Beneficial or Detrimental?

In this digital age, we sure have almost all our activities fluctuate around our devices. Especially in this time of pandemic where physical contacts are limited, we need to take precautions and opt for the best choice, digital platforms. Social media plays a big role in our society today. Not only does it allow us to communicate with people around the world, but it also plays a huge role in spreading information and providing entertainment. But despite all these benefits of social media, we can’t deny the fact that it has detrimental effects on society, especially the youth. 

Statistics show that there are over 3.96 billion social media users around the world, equating to 51.1 percent of the total global population. In the Philippines, online users spend an average time of 3 hours and 53 minutes on social media each day. In that period, anyone could be doing anything around social media. Considering that social media has become a part of our life, the time we spend using it is undeniably high. People access social media for a variety of reasons. Users like to find funny or entertaining content and enjoy sharing photos and videos with friends but mainly use social media to stay in touch with current events. With that, the time we spend scrolling through apps hinder us from doing the rest of our daily tasks. We lose track of our time and it, therefore, changes our schedule. 

Another common problem with social media is peer pressure. Teen peer pressure is an issue notwithstanding social media use; however, when combined, social media and peer pressure can be particularly harmful. With 59% of teens indicating that they have been bullied online, also referred to as cyberbullying, the ability for teens to feel pressure from social media is clear. Some users only use social media to feel validated for what they post on social media apps. As this continues, more and more people want to create an image that is far different from their true person. It is heartbreaking that people are slowly becoming narcissistic just to gain clout and popularity. People feel pressured to make themselves wholly different. Seeing that more children are allowed to have social media accounts, they are more likely to witness all of these and think that these are just social trends. It has raised impossible standards for social users to reach. In several studies, teenage and young adult users who spend the most time on Instagram, Facebook, and other platforms were shown to have a substantially (from 13 to 66 percent) higher rate of reported depression than those who spent the last time. Instead of becoming a platform to communicate, inform, and share positivity, social is slowly becoming a scary place that lets you lose your whole being.

Social media also caused poor physical health among its users. Research participants who used social media excessively were found to have higher levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a biological marker of chronic inflammation that predicts serious illnesses, such as diabetes, certain cancers, and cardiovascular disease. Numerous medical and scientific studies have shown alarming results when testing people who use smartphones for more than four hours a day and those who don’t. Smartphone users tend to develop rounded shoulders, spinal curvatures, vertebrate disorders, and associated neck pain and headaches caused by these ailments. It makes sense. Using our smartphones often involves being hunched over. Our posture suffers, and we alter the muscles and bones in our torsos over time.  Smartphones also emit blue light, which is very bright for our eyes. Looking at our smartphones in bed is especially harmful, as this direct exposure to light can be damaging to our retinas, which can lead to macular degeneration. It also causes disrupted sleep. Sleep is one of the most important factors in our overall health. In order to achieve and maintain healthy sleep, our bodies need to be able to naturally produce melatonin. Staring at smartphone screens in bed is like tricking the body into staring into a brightly-lit landscape, which delays melatonin production and prevents us from having quality sleep patterns, resulting in a host of health issues. Social media use has become an integral part of many young adults’ daily lives and we must understand how engagement across these platforms contributes to physical health.

It is true that social media indeed has a lot of disadvantages, but should we embrace this new world in the digital age and adapt to its significant changes, and just appreciate the convenience it brought to our lives. A place where we can enjoy and let our time pass. A revolution of the world and a whole new experience for us. However, despite all the advantages of social media, we can’t deny how it highly affects us. Its advantages are what caused its disadvantages. Social media is beneficial in some a read of our life, but we can’t opt to live inside of our screens. We need to understand that too much is never good. We need to even out everything we do and make sure to balance everything. Sometimes, we get so drawn into certain things that our life would just revolve around it. For now, we can’t deny that social media has become highly detrimental. So, maybe take a little break and always remember that life is still happening and it’s outside your screens.