Social media sites have become unprecedentedly ubiquitous as a convenient means of contacting others and remaining informed. However, they also give rise to several mind-boggling social issues for which solutions are yet to be found. While I acknowledge the potential drawbacks, social media’s profound benefits should not be overlooked.
To commence with, misinformation and cyberbully are two frequently mentioned problems engendered by social media platforms. The reason for these is that the information posted are largely uncontrolled and unauthorized, allowing people to freely express subjective beliefs including potentially deceptive news and offensive opinions. The implication of this is detrimental as non-factual data may result in a proportion of credulous and inexperienced users being misled, while cyberbully may lead to mental illnesses and even suicidal cases. However, on balance, this conundrum is solvable in a sense through the implementation of artificial intelligence in monitoring online information and stricter laws for deterring people from disseminating false news or causing acrimonious arguments.
Conversely, social media has completely transformed the way human communicates and receives information. Regarding communication, a few decades ago, people had no other options but to meet face-to-face or send letters, which were inconvenient when an instant response was needed. Nowadays, they can effortlessly converse with peers via emails, texts, or calls, for no charge and in a matter of seconds. Additionally, social media has become one of the primary sources of news for youngsters due to its open nature. Blatantly, it provides people with the ability to become reporters themselves and possesses algorithms to tailor the articles shown based on individual’s interests, thereby making it more appealing than formal news bulletins.
All things considered, although it is palpable that social media holds both its own merits and demerits, I opine that the former outweighs the latter because its negative impacts can be curtailed through the help of modern technological breakthroughs and exemplary laws. In essence, governments play a crucial role in ensuring that social media platforms are welcomed and treated as tools to for improving living standards rather than a second world for performing nefarious behaviour.