Today, we live in the age of social media. It has revolutionized the way we interact with one another. Traditional ways of communication have become redundant in the presence of social media. With the emergence of social platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, YouTube, etc. people can now interact with their families and friends anywhere and anytime. Social media is omnipresent. Even the remotest villages and towns have 24/7 access to social media.
However, as the saying goes all that glitters is not gold. The same is the case with social media. It is not all gold. If social media has facilitated communication and connectivity across the globe, it has also failed us in many ways. Social media is not without its downside, drawback, and disadvantages. Reckless use of social media has thrown up some new challenges, which are difficult to tackle. Some of these challenges and demerits are listed below.
1) Social Media Has Negative Effects On Health
Excessive use of social media poses varied health risks. People who are addicted to social media tend to become idle and sedentary. They become physically less active and thus gain weight. This leads to many other health issues.
The over usage of social media also causes anxiety and depression, particularly among children and young adults. As per a 2023 survey, 35% of US adults believe that social media is fully responsible for rising depression among the teenagers. This media promotes a false culture of comparison and competition. As people only share the agreeable aspects of their life on social media, it makes others feel deprived and depressed. People start comparing themselves with others and hence develop a sense of deprivation. This makes them depressed.
2) Social Media Is Addictive And A Waste of Time
Social media has the potential to become an addiction over time. People spend hours after hours scrolling through their social accounts, looking for notifications and replying to messages, etc. According to a study conducted in 2017, a whopping 67% of Italian social media users were afraid of missing out on something if they were not online. The fear of missing out (FOMO) is a known sentiment among social network users in the USA and other countries.
This addiction also causes a waste of time. Instead of doing some productive work, people remain glued to social media for hours and hence waste their precious time.
3) Social Media Violates Privacy
Breach of personal space and privacy has become a compelling issue on social media. As people share their personal information, pictures, and videos on social media, they become vulnerable to privacy attacks from hackers and criminals.
People share their personal data in good faith without realizing the consequences. Thus, they expose themselves to a variety of cybercrimes. Moreover, there are also reports of the users’ data being sold to third parties for unsolicited advertisement in breach of users’ privacy.
4) Social Media Is Responsible For Spreading Fake News & Misinformation
Social media is a breeding ground for fake news, disinformation, and misinformation. People have a temptation to share whatever they see on social media. They don’t bother to cross-check facts and information being passed on. Such false information/fake news goes viral on social media in no time.
People easily believe in such misinformation, and this can have serious consequences for themselves and society as a whole. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have witnessed an unchecked flow of misinformation and disinformation. So much so that even the WHO has to label this misleading information as Infodemic.
5) Social Media Leads To Cyberbullying & Harassment
Another downside of social media is that it may lead to cyberbullying and harassment. There are both bad and good people on social media. Bad people use social platforms to bully and harass others. According to an August 2021 survey, 92% of US adults believed that social media has made online threatening and harassing easier.
Such cyberbullying can take many forms, such as spreading false information about someone and thus tarnishing their reputation. The criminals use false identities and thus they manage to get off scot-free. On the other hand, the victims of such bullying and harassment suffer seriously. They experience extreme trauma and may commit suicide in some cases.
Conclusion
There is no denying the fact that social media has many advantages, benefits, and merits. It has facilitated communication, promoted knowledge, and encouraged the free flow of information. However, social media is not free from its negative aspects.
Irresponsible use of social media has given birth to many problems. Addiction to social media not only affects our physical and mental health but also leads to time waste. Then there are privacy issues where users’ personal data is compromised and they get exposed to cybercrimes. Cyberbullying and harassment are the other drawbacks of social media. Social media is also blamed for spreading false news and misinformation.
By becoming aware of these disadvantages of social media, we can use it more responsibly and productively and can avail many of its benefits.
Shah's Blog 
I don’t diagaree with any of the point mentioned by you.
Social medias are making Gen Y empty and draining energy from Gen z
People view social media all the time and then they compare themselves with that life. Lies are spread on social media and people believe them.
Social media is creating a gap in generations, it’s not connecting, it’s dividing.
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I respect your opinion, but I too have highlighted demerits of social media and didn’t glorify it.
Yes, social media has connected people living in far off regions, but it has created barriers among the people living under the same roof. In other words, social media has facilitated connectivity but weakened relationships.
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I second you, Shahbaz!
All points are so relevant. The way fake news is deteriorating our society is beyond words.
On one hand ample knowledge is available just shy of fingertips, on the other hand, the ignorance is growing like never before.
We need to pause and reflect where we are heading to; towards knowledge or ignorance, as both walk hand in hand.
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Thanks for reading and sharing your perspective, Saba. Agreed that fake news has caused irreparable damage to our society. We don’t bother to check facts and readily believe in whatever is passed on to us. This is alarming indeed, but who cares. Resultantly, we have a highly polarized society because everyone has their own “truth”. Peddlers of fake news are happy and thriving.
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Yes to all of this 👌 I believe like any other means of communication, social media will cease to exist and be deemed “uncool” at some point to be replaced by another fad.
What scares me more is that the change won’t be that fast. It’s because we were so quick to invite social media into our lives and let it dictate our income/physical appearance/mood etc. It became our modern Frankenstein—out of control and still hungry. I was reading some blog posts about “former” influencers who quit social media. All had the same starting point: “I was starved for attention and wanted to be heard.” Unless people learn how to be satisfied with their lives and make peace with themselves, I don’t see any change happening.
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Thanks Bahanur for your insightful comments! Fully agree with your perspective on social media. Despite our overwhelming dependence on social media, it is still a “fad” and is not immune from changes in trends and technology.
Of course, such change is likely to take its time, given how ingrained social media has become in our lives. Breaking away from something that has been a part of our routine for so long, will indeed be a challenge.
As regards the former influencers who quit social media, I think their experiences highlight the negative impact of social media. It is essential for any individual to be satisfied with himself/herself, and not rely on external validation to feel fulfilled.
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Very informative article on the downsides of social media. One point that particularly resonates with me is the issue of social media addiction. As someone who has struggled with this issue, I can attest to the fact that it can be a real problem. It’s easy to get sucked into the endless scrolling of notifications and updates. This can not only lead to wasted time, but also to feelings of anxiety and depression.
Only a responsible and reasonable use of social media will help us avoid the pitfalls you have mentioned in your blog post.
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I am glad to know that a part of this post resonates with you, Ahmad. Of course, social media addiction is a bitter reality and we seem to be helpless in this regard.
Thanks for reading and sharing your valuable thoughts!
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My pleasure!
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Great post outlining the negatives of social media. I think social media can be an amazing place but it can also be very problematic due to the things you mentioned. It’s all about how you use it and if you have kids make sure to keep an eye on what they are able to see.
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No doubt, social media has both its positives and negatives. However, much depends on its usage. A positive use will give you positive results, and vice versa.
Agree with you that kids are more prone to misuse social media, so the parents must keep them under regular watch.
Thanks for your interactive feedback, Pooja.
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Yes, absolutely. It all depends on how we use it. My pleasure.
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I’m glad to know that you liked this post. Agree with you that we must be careful about many things on social media, and also educate our youth accordingly. Health and safety must be our topmost concerns.
Yeah, teenagers have a tendency to share many things on social media in their naivety and thus they expose themselves to hackers and cyber-criminals. We definitely need to sensitize our children about the seamy side of social media.
Thanks for sharing your feedback, Brenda!
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Great Post Shahbaz. There are so many things to be wary about and we need to educate the younger generations how to be safe. Sometimes they can be naive with what they share
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