Over the past few years, information and communication patterns have changed with the latest technology and social media development. The emergence of cell phone devices and the internet play an essential role in our lives and also impact people positively and negatively. With the global change and emergence of social media, most people rely on and spend much time online. However, they need to learn about social networking apps and usage.
In this post, I’ll discuss the bad and good about social media apps.
Social Networking Apps Usage
Social media adoption has revolutionized our daily lives. 5.35 billion people use the Internet worldwide, and 62.3% use social media. This means that the majority of people use social media apps.
- In January 2024, different social media apps gain 400 million active users.
- WhatsApp has gained 2 billion monthly active users, including teens.
- Facebook Facebook Facebook has a total of 3.049 billion users, and Instagram gained 2 billion monthly users.
- TikTok has 1.562 billion users, including children and adults.
- Spending on social media has been increasing over the past few years. The kids aged 13-16 spend 6 hours a day, and children aged 14-18 spend 8 hours a day.
With the increased rate of social media users around the world, people must know about the good and bad of social media apps and their impact on their lives.
The Good Side of Social Networking Apps:
You need to adopt and spread the following attributes to the younger generation. Parents should teach them why social media apps should be used rather than wasting our precious time on them. We should encourage our young generation to follow the positive aspects of these social networking platforms. However, we have mentioned the excellent side of instant messengers.
Friendship and Relationships:
Social media allows us to connect with others around the world. Instant messaging apps such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Line, Vine, Viber, Instagram, and others are the best tools to contact friends reasonably. Many of us have indeed found old schoolfellows with the help of social networks we have had. That’s why these social platforms are very effective in a positive way for relationships.
The social messaging apps tethered the whole world into their hands. We can talk from thousands of miles away from our houses with families, friends, spouses, and even with our employers and employees. It has allowed us to connect with the whole world, and we can now make relationships even with those we cannot meet in the real world.
Lack of Communication Barriers:
Everyone knows that instant messengers enable us to communicate with the vast audience available within single social platforms, and we have dozens of digital media. We can share our thoughts, ideas, and opinions and get wise tips from the digital world. When we share our vision or reviews on social networking apps, it reaches out even to those who are not our friends.
We can make online groups with people who think similar to us and give importance to our feedback and opinions. We can start campaigns against any issue in favor of a social or noble cause. In short, we have a broader medium to communicate with the world’s people.
The Gateway of Opportunities:
Social media networks have become a massive part of our lives. We got updated when we got access to the browser on the social apps. The modern world of business is heavily dependent on social media platforms. They always consider their priority to publish the advertising of their products. Now, we have customized applications to promote the products.
We can build a business online and then promote the product online. Because every one of us has accounts on social media accounts, and no one gets access to more than anything other than the social apps in particular. The whole activity of promoting goods on social networking apps is known as social media marketing.
The Bad Side of Social Media Apps:
An Addiction:
Mostly in young teenagers, we have seen that addiction to using multiple instant messengers and reason can be different from one another. People make text messages for hours and hours, make calls from the morning till the end of the battery of their cellphone device, make video calls, and some use the internet to get entertainment. All of these moves made by young teenagers lead them toward extreme addiction.
They could not bear it when they forgot their smartphones in their homes or anywhere else. Let’s imagine for a while when the internet connection and what they do in their leisure time become limited. According to some studies, the excessive use of social media can create addiction among users. The addiction among the users leads them to check their inbox, notifications, and status, and finally, it becomes part of their routine life.
Isolation:
Without a shadow of a doubt, technology in the form of social networking apps creates a complete sense of isolation. People gaze at their mobile phone screens at breakfast, talk in the company of friends, and even attend family events, and their minds work on multi-purpose things. They cannot communicate convincingly with their friends and cannot pay attention to what is happening around them.
Social Issues:
Modern-day social media apps are creating a mess in the lives of teens and kids, and they often become the victims of many issues that follow. Every parent should be aware of this. They are responsible for their security.
Cyber Bullying:
When young teens and kids use multiple instant messaging and dating apps without the consent of their parents, they could be trapped by cyber bullies. Ultimately, the effects of online bullying could last long. They could have plenty of health issues, such as deep depression, anxiety, and as well as psychological problems.
Cyber Stalking:
Stalkers are everywhere on the instant messengers, and they always look forward to catching young and innocent teens. Initially, they use pick-up lines to make friends with the teens. Once they have won the trust of the teens, they can use them for their dark desires, and often, teens get blackmailed.
Pornography:
The sharing of sensual content on digital media apps is widespread. Therefore, young kids and teens encountered pornographic content and ultimately got addicted to it. These adult videos and photos can destroy the lives of young kids and teens, and a time comes when they cannot leave to view the adult content, which may destroy their brain cells.
Promote Dating in Teens:
Young teens and kids use dating apps such as Snapchat, WhatsApp, Tinder, and others for dating purposes. They make friends online, and without having complete knowledge, they commit to meeting with sexual predators in the real world.
Sexual Obsession:
The rising sexual obsession among teens is due to social networking apps. Young teens text and then start sexting with their boyfriends online and even sometimes send semi-nude videos and photos to their girlfriends and boyfriends when they ask them for them. They do this because of the insisting nature of their friends and show their loyalty to the relationship. Finally, they found their videos and photos shared on the dating apps.
Conclusion
We have mentioned a few positive and negative points of social media, but it doesn’t make sense that the digital world is either positive or negative. It stands somewhere in between. Will you remain wary despite these examples of whether social media is good or bad for society? We would love to hear your thoughts and opinions about the question raised… Do you think Social Networks are good or bad?
