Technology is very advanced in the recent years. People are aware of everything that is going on in the entire world with just having a mobile phone. Updates keep coming time to time with the advancements in science and technology. Earlier newspapers, television, radio, telegrams etc. were used to obtain information about various subjects but now, social media plays a very important role in spreading news and information at a much faster pace. The name social media itself indicates socializing with people, information, friends, family and the world. Most of the people throughout the world have their respective accounts on different social media platforms. These platforms not just help in posting pictures, sharing life updates, statuses etc. but also provide information about the different happenings in the world and the currently prevalent situations in different parts of the world at a faster pace in a shorter duration of time. Different social media platforms have different impacts in the lives of people. The beginning of Facebook created a new revolution for college students to connect with people all over the world and expand their contacts. LinkedIn is mostly used for professional purposes where people can connect with employers and employees from different companies through contacts and look out for their desired jobs. This is very helpful for people who are looking out for jobs, who are unemployed and for those who are planning to change their jobs.
Social media is one such platform that helps people to access different kinds of information such as personal and private information people from all over the world, life and live updates, facts and information about different places, food, clothing, share market etc. The different platforms currently prevalent and popular are Youtube, Twitter,Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, LinkedIn, Bumble etc.
Boon of the Social Media:
Advantages of these social media platforms is that they are useful means of communication, entertainment, resourceful for getting to know about some important happenings across the world etc.
Here are some examples which quote the advantages or rather the boon of social media platforms.
YouTube: It is one such platform which contains videos and content on various topics, subjects and interests. Graphical and video presentation helps in better interpretation and understanding. Videos on various content such as cooking, vlogging, educational videos, songs, movie critics etc can be viewed on YouTube. There is so much content and videos on YouTube related to various topics, fields etc that it will take years to complete watching and viewing all the content.
LinkedIn: Professional networking site which helps people to look out at jobs, job postings and openings all around the world. It is an easy way to communicate and contact the recruiters with the desired job profiles. Each individual gets equal and fair opportunities to apply for jobs and undergo interviews without being a partial process. This platform is also very educational where people can learn about the new advancements and developments in science and technology and gain knowledge. New research papers, journal articles get published here which are very insightful and help in learning new stuff.
Instagram: This is the most widely used platform these days by all age groups. It helps in giving live updates to people all over the world which gives access to content and information from all parts of the world. It is not just restricted to posting personal and family related pictures on occasions of happy events, graduation, vacation etc but also a very quick and easy way of sharing any news or information related to the recent happenings all over the world.
Bumble: Dating apps help in connecting people who are looking for a relationship in life and moving forward in their life by getting married. This is the first step to get married where you get to meet two unknown and different individuals by uploading their respective profiles which talks about their personal information, likes and dislikes about various stuff and their interests or what they are looking upto in this particular relationship.
Matrimonial sites: The same concept as the dating sites but the only difference is that this is specifically meant for matching grooms and brides for a prospective marriage match between two individuals.
Facebook: This was highly prevalent earlier to Instagram and helped people to share posts, information and other stuff easily which could be accessed by people all over the world. This came as a new revolution which attracted and distracted young minds and created a sort of delusion as well to many with respect to its extreme usage and application.
Whatsapp: This is a powerful means of communicating with people about anything very easily. Earlier making calls to people who lived far off was extremely difficult but now with the usage of whatsapp, it is very simple and easy to just make regular calls and video calls to people who leave in far places. This is a good and nice platform for old people and engages them for sometime in their day chatting and communicating with their loved ones.
Bane of social media:
Some of the disadvantages of these platforms constitute distraction, bad influence on people, early and unnecessary exposure to bad stuff for young minds, waste of time and gaining of negative ideas. These create fake impressions and expressions in the minds of people by the influence of other peoples’ profiles, their respective lifestyles, portraying of characters and characteristics. The concept of likes, comments and views on respective content supports the previously mentioned line. People get highly influenced by these factors and start comparing themselves with others who have better opportunities and chances.
Social media has a lot of bad influence on young minds and children since they are exposed to lot of things and stuff at a very tender age. The access to these sites makes them view various kinds of content irrespective of their age inspite of disclaimers with respect to age restrictions by creating fake profiles by entering wrong date of birth and age.
Social media and its impact on education
Education is utmost important in every individual’s life. A formal classroom kind of learning is always credited and appreciated because you have a solid proof of the curriculum studied, degree conferred by an esteemed and reputed university.
But these days online education has become the trend especially after Covid19 and this online mode of education became the most sorted option for people to undergo education. This is helpful for people to pursue further education along with working. Some people need to work in order to support their families. So by the use of these social media platforms, they can achieve both wherein they can work and study simultaneously. These social media platforms act as a powerful medium to pursue education wherein stuff related to assignments, quizzes and other grading means can be openly discussed, there are discussion forums for doubt clarification and numerous video lectures and presentations on YouTube to understand different concepts and subjects. Peer groups play a significant role in this type of learning. It helps students from different parts of the world to connect and interact with one another. This provides a great medium between the instructors and students as well.
People become lazy and their attention gets diverted. At times it becomes restricted access to people since they cannot meet personally and only get to meet and greet online. Certain learnings are better understood in a classroom kind of setting which is lacking in these online modes of education. The interaction between the professor and students is also limited and mostly virtual without having to meet them in person. Some negative impacts can be where the fellow students or classmates can take advantage and start discussing or talking about other unrelated issues and stuff which hinders the professional relationship and breaks a good cordial barrier.
Ultimately it is each individual’s perception and decision on using social media to a certain extent. Anything too much is too bad. There is a limitation on the usage of any resource and any utility otherwise the bad implications effect an individual both physically and mentally. Peace of mind can be lost and a healthy beautiful life is destroyed. People tend to become more lazy and depend on these platforms for everything without even spending their individual time and energy. Most of the precious time in everyone’s life is lost because of just surfing and browsing these platforms which becomes futile after sometime and thereby hindering themselves from performing and undergoing any kind of physical activity and recreation. This leads to harsh impacts on individual health and lifestyle.
By: Supriya K S
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