In a world of globalisation, social media has become an indispensable part of everyday life, enabling people to communicate with others and access information instantly. Although it has some drawbacks related to misinformation, I firmly believe that its benefits outweigh the disadvantages, particularly in terms of maintaining interpersonal relationships and instant access to information are far more significant.
From a critical perspective, social media poses a serious threat to the dissemination of misinformation. Once people rely on unverified social media posts rather than trustworthy sources, they may develop inaccurate opinions about urgent issues, thereby creating unnecessary panic and anxiety. As a result, they can not only deteriorate their mental well-being but also spread false information to others, which in turn may be trapped in an echo chamber and deepen social polarization. This challenge is especially detrimental for teenagers and elderly people who struggle to distinguish genuine or misleading information.
From an optometrist viewpoint, social media serves as a powerful catalyst for strengthening social bonds and fostering access to information. When people start using social networking platforms, such as Instagram, Telegram and others, they can communicate with their relatives and families regardless of geographic distance, thereby maintaining close connections and fostering their family bonds. As a consequence, they can not only reinforce family ties, but also provide each other with emotional support, particularly in life’s ups and downs. Another compelling advantage of using social media is accessing information constantly. If people follow reliable sources and websites, they can stay up to date about urgent issues and other news, especially political, environmental and public health problems, which in turn, raises social awareness among individuals. These ad advantages are significant, especially for migrant workers or students and busy professionals who have limited time for watching TV news and reading printed newspapers.
To conclude, although social media has negative repercussions on the spread of misleading information, it’s prons gave significant impact on individuals’ lives, such as making them up to date with recent news and bridge geographical distances, by connecting them online.