The human race is the smartest and the most practical. As long as our species exists, advancements are bound to happen. In the modern era, we hardly acknowledge our accomplishments- It is jaw-dropping when we realize that we can capture time and store it. While life still is not a bed of roses, it certainly is not only a bed of thorns. And while there does seem to be a lot of pros, there are quite a few cons as well. We have come so far that we now fear our own technology. We have created a junk of information that in a certain future might turn into something that is too much to handle.

One of the most prolific, addictive and efficient technology of modern era is social media. Billions of people use some form of online entertainment in a daily basis- whether it be YouTube, Instagram or some form of online information source; there is one thing we cannot deny- we are addicted to them. The thought of easily being able to update ourselves regarding global events just by scrolling through social media is terrific. Humans crave pleasure, and the easiest form of pleasure is in fact social media.

Revolutionary Tech

The first reliable and techy social platform was Six Degrees (1997). Six Degrees was but just a nutshell version of the modern social platforms that we know today. While there was not much to work with except creating your own profile, connecting with a few friends and texting them through the site- people still were astonished by this technology that easily allowed them to connect with their family, friends and alike.

The early 2000’s saw the establishments of the social platforms that are relevant and widely used till this day. These include Facebook (2004), YouTube (2005) and Twitter (2006)- later that decade, Instagram (2010) was created as well.  

The creations of these platforms saw a rapid change in the daily activities and lifestyles of people. People now could share their accomplishments, their unique activities or even just their ideas to technically the whole world.

While we defame this tech for its addiction and possible side effects, this same tech makes our life way simpler- whether you want to check the steps to make your favorite dish, or check the latest hot topic; Social media can give it to you in the matter of seconds. It can help you with your educational life as well as your social life. We often tend to overlook the fact that social media is the reason most of us are so well updated regarding international occurrences.

Social media has also given a lot of people a second chance at their life. Many people who were initially considered a failure and had given up are living their life through these social platforms. They now do what they love and broadcast it and earn a living out of it. We often overlook how social media has enriched human employment- editing, scriptwriting, approaching brands for sponsor etc.

The Down Side

New studies show a massive increase in anxiety and insecurity among the modern youths. Some researches argue that these psychological issues are a result of gadget addiction. Gadget addiction is a serious problem- and we cannot deny it. The average screen time of a gen-z has estimated to be about 9 hours! That’s 37.5% of a day gone into gadgets. We also find that gen-z’s mostly used applications include YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.

Another downside of these platforms are that not everything is appropriate and proper. Across these platforms we find manipulative, explicit and negative content. This is an even bigger problem when we realize that most social media users are young teens who can be easily addicted and manipulated. Young teens are at the point of their life where they want freedom and enjoyment- and a lot of times their enjoyment proves to be cheap and negative.

And the problem is not limited to mental issues either. Eye strain, obesity and sleep disorder are some of the critical effect gadgets cause.

When we are on our phone or any other gadget, we tend not to blink as frequently as necessary- leading to dryness of the eye.

Another major problem includes obesity- scrolling through reels give us dopamine (hormone released when you feel happy) very easily, making us crave dopamine without stepping out of our comfort zone. Exercising and playing outdoors is a good source of dopamine, but due to the instant gratification we get from scrolling through social platforms, we don’t want to work hard- resulting in lack of physical movement, causing an increase in our body fat percentage.

Sleeping is essential for our body’s development and recovery. Neglecting it causes various physical and mental problems. Due to our addition to the social platforms, most of us tend to wake up late at night and sacrifice our sleep. This is very unhealthy and fatal for our body. Getting good sleep is essential to make our next day efficient and by neglecting it we are causing ourselves a lot of harm.

 A double-edged sword

Though the topic of social media has become somewhat a cliché, it is still very often necessary to talk about it- whether good or bad. What we should actually do is use these platforms for our good and in a balanced in manner- neither we should defame it nor get addicted to it. By doing so, we use the social media platforms rather than the social media using us.

Related Article: Is the Nepal E-commerce Bill 2081 Killing Small Sellers?