Social media

Ana Rita Joaquim Soares, nº1, 10ºD

Start

#mamma media, here I go again#follow me

Social media

Why are teens so addicted to social media?

Quote about the use of social media

The good and the bad side of social media

Social media in our lives

Index

Social media has been part of all of our lives since the very beginning, all of the people from our generation have simply lived with it, not knowing a reality without it. The truth is we don’t actually need social media, but it is, in fact, a great tool, that if used in a good way, the right way, might provide us entertainment, keep us in touch with people, even if they are in the other side of the world, and it also gives us the opportunity to share information as well as receive them and learn with them. With all of these and even more utilities and advantages, social media has become an important part of our lives, where we spend a lot of time, sometimes even too much, having impacts on our lives, routines, habits, way of thinking and doing certain things affecting us sometimes positively, and sometimes negatively.

Social media in our lives

The good and the bad side of social media

There are good things and bad things about social media, two very different sides with advantages and disadvantages of the use of it:

Easy way of entertainmement... but can create addiction

Social media can be an easy way to entertain yourself, with customized feeds consisting of memes, posts and short clips of videos as per the user's activity. But on the other hand, this can lead to addiction, and as the users start to be all the time in the world of social media, they start to isolate themselves and lose their interests in other things.

Helps us to keep in touch with people... but promotes social isolation

But there is also a bad side to this, because it promotes social isolation and the creation of virtual friendships instead of hanging out with friends and being with them, which is really important to us.

Social media helps us to keep in touch with the ones that we love the most, by messaging or calling them, no matter where they are, or where you are, you can always connect with them.

Social media can also be a source of information and learning, providing access to educational resources that might help us students; but also to random interesting facts; life hacks; cooking recipes, and literally all that you can think of you can find in social media. It is used to share information, but the information can be truthful or untruthful, which leads to another disadvantage of social media: the spread of misinformation and fake news. Yes it is as easy to get real information as to get fake information in social media. Untruthful information can be spread purposely or accidentally, purposely can be done as a satire or to instigate an emotional response, but untruthful information is also spread un-purposely by the thousands of users of social media. Social media users can share information or spread the information that shows up on their feeds without checking to ensure if the information is accurate and truthful.

Is a source of information and learning... but can spread misinformation and fake news

Can have good... but also bad impacts on mental health

Social media can lead to addiction, it promotes social isolation, and sometimes you even tend to compare yourself and your life to the ones of famous influencers and people you see through your screen, not remembering that sometimes things aren't exactly the way we see them. And all of these negative thoughts that get in our heads, may cause real problems with our mental health like depression and anxiety. But although this happens with a scary frequency, social media can be good for you and help you go through some things in your life: for example, there are communities of people online that talk about their problems and their life experience, usually relating to other people that experienced the same. Here is created a safe space for talking, but also for giving advice, providing help and even emotional support between the members of these communities. This feeling of belonging and being seen and heard, can be really important in some lifes, and can really make the difference.

Why are teens so addicted to social media?

Teens use social media as a way to fit in with the group of peers, to communicate and bond with them.

To fit in with the group of peers:

It is a way of avoiding feeling bored, as it is very entertaining and makes time pass easily without even noticing.

To avoid feeling bored:

Social media is a way to escape the real world, to stop thinking about what is happening… which can be a relieving feeling that some teens pursue.

To escape the real world:

Why are teens so addicted to social media?

Social media can also help teens be updated, and keep up with current events and things that are happening around.

To keep up with current events:

Teens also have the tendency to be always online because of the fear of missing out, the fear that something will happen the moment they aren't on their phones and might be important to them.

For fear of missing out:

Malala Yousafzai

“What is interesting is the power and the impact of social media… So, we must try to use social media in a good way.”

Bibliography and webography: -#English 10: English book -#English 10: Mind the Map-https://webandcrafts.com/blog/social-media-advantages-and-disadvantages -https://ualr.edu/socialchange/2017/03/01/blog-riddle-social-media/ -mostly my head