Social Media: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

by Meera Murali

Let’s face it: most teens can’t live without at least one social media account. Social media is an integral part of modern society. As of 2021, 4.48 billion people actively use social media, 93.33% of the world’s 4.8 billion internet users are active on social networks, and the average social media user is active on an average of 6.6 different platforms. The topic of social media has been heavily debated over the last couple of decades, and valid arguments have been made both in favor and against social media. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits and downsides of social networking apps.

Our world is becoming increasingly connected, and that can come with some perks. Firstly, social media allows us to connect with people we wouldn’t have the opportunity to interact with otherwise. It allows us to connect with job opportunities, communities of like-minded people, and even old friends. Before the age of social networking, interaction largely depended upon face-to-face interaction and was limited to people nearby. These days, you can interact with virtually anyone, anywhere in the world through the internet, opening up millions of opportunities for social and professional connection. This increased interaction provides immense benefits for aspiring teens looking to enter the job market and connect with potential employers in their field of choice. According to Jobvite.com’s 2015 Recruiter Nation Survey, 87% of job recruiters use LinkedIn to find potential candidates. Evidently, social media is an incredibly useful tool in the modern job market.

Furthermore, platforms like Twitter, Reddit and Instagram allow people from all over the world to bond over a shared passion for everything from musicians to sports teams to TV shows. Whether you’re a Harry Styles superfan, an NBA enthusiast, or someone who’s watched Brooklyn Nine-Nine eight times in the past month alone, there are thousands of communities of people with those same interests, allowing people to bond over passions in ways that wouldn’t be possible without the wonders of the internet.

Social media is also a great place to gain exposure and recognition for your work. Whether it’s art, music, writing, or a new startup, social media allows millions of people to see your achievements and spread them across the planet, maybe even attracting the attention of people who have already found success in the field that could further your career. Many of today’s popular musicians, such as Shawn Mendes, Justin Bieber, and Lil Nas X, found worldwide success on social media sites like YouTube, Vine and TikTok. Social media can completely transform a person’s career with the click of a like button.

Beyond career opportunities and socialization, social media plays a significant role in political change. The rise of social media correlates with a rise in youth voting turnout. Harvard University’s Institute of Politics reports that 63% of 18 to 29-year olds said they “would definitely vote” in the 2020 election, up from 47% in 2016. Additionally, thousands of accounts on hundreds of different platforms, such as the Impact account on Instagram, promote causes like feminism, racial justice, and climate activism. 

Clearly, social networking has a wide range of benefits, but there are definitely some dangers we need to consider as teens before we dive head-first into the world of social media. One of the key arguments against social media is the volume of misinformation that spreads every day. A study conducted by the American Press Institute found that “64% of people who use Twitter for news say that they have encountered something they later discovered wasn’t true.” Another study conducted by economists from Stanford and New York University found that fake news about both candidates in the 2016 election was shared on Facebook around 37.6 million times. The fast spread of information that social media allows for can be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands, and it’s up to not only social media users, but the companies themselves, to stop the spread of falsehoods.

I’m sure any teen these days has heard their parents tell them to get off of social media, that it’s “addicting,” and they’re not totally wrong. According to Famemass, some teens spend up to 9 hours on social media per day. 7% of all social media users consider themselves “addicted,” with more than 330 million people suffering from social media addiction worldwide. All those hours of unproductivity are significantly harming our society, and if we can learn to control the urge to open Instagram every 3 minutes, we can contribute so much more to the world every day. 

The level of anonymity social media provides also exposes teens to the risk of cyberbullying. Around 37% of kids aged 12-17 have reported being cyberbullied, with around half of LGBTQ+ students reporting experience with online harassment. 23% of students have admitted to doing something cruel on the internet, and girls are more likely to be both perpetrators and victims of cyberbullying. Interestingly, 81% of students say they would be “more likely to intervene in cyberbullying if they could do it anonymously.” The internet allows bullies to commit abuse with absolutely no repercussions, and allowing this atrocity to continue is severely damaging the physical and mental wellbeing of the next generation. 

Lastly, social media exposes internet users to privacy issues and identity theft. Hackers use the large volume of personal information shared through social media to commit identity theft and financial data theft. Social media companies such as Facebook collect large amounts of user data and use it for targeted ads. Most social media apps use location data automatically collected by your phone, so your location is tracked by social media corporations at all times. Unfortunately, many of the world’s governments have made absolutely zero effort to combat this invasion of privacy- 18%, to be precise. As more chilling information about the true invasiveness of social media companies such as Facebook continues to be exposed, we come closer to realizing just how much of our personal information is already in the public eye without our consent, which will, hopefully, let us put an end to it.

So, what’s the takeaway? Is social media worth using, or should we abandon it as a society? Well, social media can be an incredibly useful tool in the right hands, whether it’s furthering careers or powering political change. However, it also exposes us to many risks, like cyberbullying, privacy issues, and misinformation. The answer to this question, like many others, lies in moderation. Setting your profile to private, being careful not to reveal your location, full name, age, and other personal information, and reporting people who commit online abuse are just a few of the ways you can make the internet a safer place for yourself and others. Of course, make sure to avoid spending hours scrolling through your Instagram feed or watching 15 hours of TikTok. If we use social media the right way, it can truly benefit ourselves and the world.

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