The social media has lots of benefits and pitfalls, this article explores all of the effects f Social media.

The introduction of social media has altered the world in many ways and affected everyone in a different way. It has ingrained itself into the very heart of society and everyone can be found on social media whether poor or rich,  old or young.

Social media serves different purposes to different individuals,  it can be a means a mode of communication or a mode of entertainment. It means different thing to different people and can either have a negative or positive effect. In this article, the ways in which social media affects our lives will be discussed.

The positive effects of Social media.

1. Spread of information

Since social media reduces the world into a global village, you can interact with anyone in the world with the click of your device. Ideas can be shared, opportunities are gotten, and the pieces of information can be generated. Information can be spread easily on social media.

2. Connecting with new and old friends

Social media offers an avenue where you can meet new friends and maintain old friendships. You can easily trace friends you have lost contact with on social media and reconnect with them Just by typing in their names or indicating the school they attended. It strengthens friendships as it helps people to stay in touch with each other regularly.

3. Advertising

Products and services can easily be advertised on social media. This can either be done directly or through celebrities who can be paid to do so. You can reach a lot of people when you advertise your products and services on social media as lots of people make use of social media from everywhere around the world.

4. Employment

Finding a good job is one of the positive effects of social media since it helps professionals to advertise their skills.  And it helps them connect with people who need their skills. Employers can easily connect with employees without having to go through a long process. Social media also helps you get the right person to perform a certain job for you very fast and free.  You do not have to place the advertisement in newspapers anymore. Social media networks like LinkedIn help in the employment process than the traditional methods.

5. A place to Express yourself

It offers a place where people can freely come and express their honest opinions.  Those who are shy to say their opinions to the public can easily express and discuss their views on social media without fear.

Read more: 50 Advantages of Using the Internet for research, studying, in business, banking and at home

6. Easy communication

Social media has other major positive effects. It reduces the amount of money you spend to communicate with anyone around the world.  What is needed is just a device and internet connectivity.  You do not spend a lot of money to contact your friends,  family or even business partners. 

7. Learning and skills

Another impact of Social media is that it provides the platform for knowledge to be passed across from professionals and experts. You can anyone or be friends with anyone to boost your knowledge or skill. You can get all this without paying or spending a large amount of money. You do even have to leave your home.

8. To save lives

Social media can be used to create awareness about certain issues and help people discover ways to improve their lives.  Social media can be used to promote non-Governmental organizations (NGOs) and social welfare activities.  It can help change the way people think and live. Social media can be used to save lives with the spread of awareness and motivation. It can be used to assure people that they are not alone in their problems which is important in preventing suicide.

9. Entertainment

Social media can act as a source of entertainment. You can easily follow and like your favourite songs and artists, you can view trending clothes and hairstyles. You can get news of what is happening everywhere around you without having to spend a lot.

10. Meeting of like minds

Social media help like-minded people who share a passion for same interest on similar things to meet and communicate.  Followers of various religions, nationalities and interests can come together to form groups or communities where they spread the word and discuss. You can join any community that interests you,  music lovers can join music communities, health and fitness can join communities where converse and learn needed ideas in their daily life.

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11. Relieve of social isolation

Social media can help you relieve social isolation and it can also affect your mood positively as emotions expressed online can affect your mode. It helps people to share their thoughts without needing to reveal their identities.

12. Advice and help

You can share your issues on social media and get help in terms of advice or money. You get all this from the online community which you are connected to.

13. Connecting with customers

Companies and business owners can use social media to connect customers and build revenue.  Social media can help stimulate customer demands and target product advertising. Social media can be used to promote products and services and also interact with potential customers.

Negative effects of Social media.

14. No privacy and Aids in committing crimes

Social media can aid criminals in committing crimes. They can stalk your posts and updates to do exactly what you are doing or places you are. Robbers can know when you are always from home. Pictures posted on social media can give a glimpse of your personal life and can give bad people opportunities to exploit you.

15. Cyberbullying

Social media can aid in cyberbullying (which is the use of electronic communications to bully a person with the use of threatening and intimidating messages). Cyberbullying is now common on social media and it does not only affect teenagers. This can cause emotional trauma and even lead to suicide.

16. Social isolation and disinterest in outdoor activities

This is one of the negative effects of social media on youths hence it is capable of leading them to social isolation. People spend their time connecting with thousands of friends who cannot be there for them when they need help or a listening ear. The time that should be spent in meeting real people, conversing with family members or engaging in recreational outdoor activities is wasted on social media. Some check their social media accounts even during meals with family or friends.

17. Excessive spending

Social media influences people to spend more because of advertisement which can be found there. People end up buying a lot of products that they do not necessarily need.

18. Less productivity

Social media can reduce productivity with its many distractions.  It can distractions when you are performing an important task. When people receive notifications for new posts and tweets from social media,  they leave all they are doing to check on them, they end up spending unnecessary time looking at unimportant information and losing task of time. This can reduce the number of things they ought to achieve daily. Employees who access their social media while at work do not perform well at work.

19. Dependence on the views of others

Social media can reduce the ability to think independently. People are afraid of criticism if they air out their views and this can lead to low self-esteem. They believe that they have to think or behave in a certain way to be accepted by others. They depend on the views of their friends on social media.

20. Addiction

Excessive use of social media networks can lead to addiction. Some symptoms of addiction to social media are neglect to personal life, tolerance and concealing of addictive behaviour, mental preoccupancy, escapism and many others. Those addicted cannot stay away from their internet devices and may experience withdrawal symptoms such as anxiety when they are separated from them. This is no doubt one of the bad effects of social media on both youths and adults.

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21. Jealousy

Social media can lead to Jealousy.  People tend to compare themselves with others on social media,  they feel inadequate when they view some content posted on social media. Feeling jealous can make people want to look better and change their appearance or make their lives seem better on social media. This makes lead to posting jealousy induced post leading to an endless cycle of jealousy and Jealousy is never a healthy emotion.

22. Loss of sleep

Social media makes it harder to sleep at night. The brain is on high alert when on social media especially with feelings of jealousy or inadequacy,  so it makes it harder to fall asleep. Also, the light emitted by phones or any other screens can reduce the levels of melatonin in the body. Melatonin is the hormone that helps us fall asleep when it is reduced,  we find hard to fall asleep.

23. Less Attention span

Social media reduces attention span. It is not only the subconscious that it affects but also the ability to concentrate when awake. People can no longer concentrate on other activities as their minds are always on whatever is going on in social media.  They cannot engage in meaningful conversations or pay attention in class or work, social media takes all their concentration.

24. Increase in Appetite

Social media can alter appetite. When people view pictures of food posted by others,  the brain’s reward centre is activated and can cause them to overeat. Indulging in such activities can lead to obesity and eating disorders.

25. Self-image issues

Some advertisement and post portray body images that seem perfect to society. They can show underweight models and spark feelings of inadequacy among some people. This can lead to feeling less beautiful or manly as they do not have some of the attributes that these seemingly ‘perfect’  models seem to portray. Social media now acts as a tool for people to analyse other people appearances and possibly compare themselves.

Social media can be a hub of activity used as a source of interaction, connection and entertainment, however, care must be taken that Socializing with people does not become totally dependent on it.

It is good to go out and have physical activities with others as there is no substitute for the real smiles and the ability to physically enjoy one another’s presence.

What are your thoughts on those positive and negative effects of social media above?

Please place your comments below, let’s talk about it.