By Evan Li
Social media nowadays is a significant part of our daily lives. However, many people don’t even realize the harm social media can inflict on them. Whether its grades or cyberbullying, social media can have a very dark side.
Social media is the home to cyberbullying, the most common form of bullying these days. Statistics show that nearly half of all young adults have experienced cyber-bullying in some shape, way or form, and about twenty percent of them experience cyber-bullying regularly. Cyberbullying leads to anxiety, depression, and even suicide. The power of online trolls is unimaginable to someone behind a screen. Because it is not often addressed, social media has a greater effect on people’s lives than we think.
Furthermore, social media often sucks people out of reality, completely shattering their academic life. Research shows that people who are very active on social media and who often post generally have bad grades proving the notion that social media affects personal life and work. People spend over 2 hours on social media each day while they could instead be using their time more wisely.
Not to mention, everything on social media is trackable and practically unerasable. Did you accidentally send a controversial political statement? Well, it’s there for the rest of your life. For instance, in a job interview. Let’s say you are one of the top 2 candidates for your dream job. Then the company finds several offensive statements in the midst of your social media. These statements may result in the loss of opportunity due to a statement from years ago. Hence, be aware of anything controversial that you post on social media.
While social media is entertaining, it has an underlying dark side as well. Small mistakes that you make while using social media can have grave consequences. Remember to be mindful the next time when you use social media.
