Over the past few years the social media
has made a huge impact on our lives. Not long ago, information were given in
very different ways. For example, back in the day we had to write letters and
physically send them, land phones were used to make appointments and phone calls.
Over the past five years or so, a new invention has been made to make social
connections easier. Since Facebook launched, we have seen the social world
majorly changed.
Social media, such as Facebook, can help
and hinder people’s connections. There are many positive and negative sides to
Facebook. Facebook has been a big impact
to the young teenagers’ lives, right now they are one of the biggest consumers
in the social industry. Teenagers are constantly on Facebook. They are exposed
to social pressures as it is, and with the Facebook launching the media
pressure is now at its peak point. For example, If a teenager has many friends
on Facebook, he/she is considered cool and very popular with friends. At the
same time, somebody with a little number of friends might not be popular, and
that causes pressure. Even if the teenager has lots of friends, they might not
know most of the people they are friends with. Social Media is not only
pressuring teens, but also contributes to losing their social skills. Right now
most teenagers rather chat at home than seeing their friends face to face.
People, who are usually shy in
interpersonal relationships, sometimes find it easier to make friends via
Facebook. They become a whole new person on the social network. It gives people
a chance to create an image of themselves who they want to be. For example,
they become more outgoing on Facebook than in real life. Some people might take
it to the next level, where they would even put a picture of somebody else,
just to make them look cooler. People sometimes photoshop themselves in photos,
just to look pretty.
Even though you can set your privacy
settings, it is still easy to spy on other people and find out information
about them and their lives. That also gives a chance to manipulate people.
People can pretend to be someone else, in order to meet other people, which can
turn out to be dangerous.
Despite all the negatives, Facebook has
brought positive changes in peoples’ social life. It helps people to stay in
touch with their loved ones and friends. Facebook allows you to find your friends
again, those that you may have not seen in a while, like friends from your childhood.
Facebook also allows you to help your
business by advertising and promoting the company.
So, as we can see, Social media can really
do help and hinder people’s relations. In my opinion, I’ll rather have real face-to-face
friends than 500 strangers, that I never see. As long as you keep your privacy
to yourself, you can have the positive sides of this social media.
