Social media may be the worst thing to have ever happened to me.
I got my first social media account at the tender age of 12. My first Myspace, was a secret from my parents. I posted awful photos of my brace-faced, acne-riddled self and constructed my top 10 friends list, my best friends at the moment.
While this account was short lived it created these negative perceptions of self and worthiness. I wasn’t on a lot of people's Top 10 friends, I wasn’t even on some of my Top 10’s Top 10. What could this mean to a 12-year-old with a worthiness complex? All it meant is that I wasn’t good enough, my photos weren’t getting as many likes and comments as everyone else's and my perceived best friends didn’t consider me their best friend.
This made me feel terrible, but I continued to use social media religiously. Only recently, in my college years , have I realized the potential good in social media. I have separated myself from the number of likes and shares and focused on connecting. Instead of using social media for reasons that are probably considered “narcissistic” by baby-boomers, (and by the way, I swear on everything, baby-boomers post more selfies than any millennial I know), I use social media to share my art and photography and good times in my life, and in turn use it to see the art and good times my friends and family are having.
There are so many arguments for and against social media.
Cons
Cyberbullying - people now have an entirely new way to bully others, and there's no way to properly stop it.
It has the potential to ruin relationships as now there is this whole new form of "cheating" (depending on what people define as cheating) and a simple exchange of messages can cause jealousy.
Can be seen as a waste of time or a distraction.
Pros
You're able to express yourself.
Share your feelings, some might see this as a con, but the people who do share their feelings on social media are using it as a stress reliever.
Makes it easier to stay in touch with friends and family.
Social Media isn't a new thing, before the internet it was parlors and bars and book clubs. People have always needed a forum to relate, this is just the newest inhabitation of that need.