It is a common notion by the general public that social media sites, such as Facebook, have had detrimental consequences on individuals and communities. However, while I agree that one’s normal routine can be hampered by the constant stimulation that social media provides, I do not support the idea of social media having a bad influence on society as it gives a platform to common people to talk about issues that would not be possible without social media.
As stated above, social media utilizes lots of technique to provide dopamine boosts to individuals so that they use the product for longer period of time which disrupt one’s normal flow of life. Firstly, these tech companies, such as Facebook or YouTube, integrate doom-scrolling features in their app so that users never run out of content. As a result, this feature makes it so hard for the user to stop using the apps which wastes a significant portion of their time. Secondly, tech companies design and develop new algorithms that track user’s watch histories and recommend new relevant content to each user.
This results in hooking users into watching new content for hours which kills their productivity.
On the other hand, social media, for instance, Twitter or Reddit, provides the general public with a medium to raise voices about issues, such as war, politics, and religion from anywhere in the world. In the online world, people generally express their own opinions about problems in our society that normally people feel hesitant to discuss in real life. Additionally, users have the option to be anonymous which can remove the barrier to being able to express freely without any penalty. I believe having a good platform for healthy discussion is important for our society if we want to promote critical thinking and freedom of expression.
To conclude, while social media has negative consequences on individuals by disrupting one’s flow of life, social media also has a positive effect on communities because it gives us a chance to talk about sensitive, controversial things which is impossible in real life.