Social media refers to digital interactive platforms. Some of the platforms are Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat among others. The origin of social media can be traced to the invention of the internet in 1960. In 1971, the first email message was sent thereby marking another significant development of social media. Furthermore, in 1997 Six Degrees was developed as the first modern social media site. In this article, we explore the positive and negative effects of social media.
One of the positive effects of social media is faster and more convenient communication. By using social media platforms, individuals can be able to exchange information faster compared to previous times. More importantly, we can easily access news without having to watch television, listening to radio or reading newspapers.
Secondly, social media enables us to learn new skills such as writing, public speaking, digital marketing, craftwork and designing among many others. Some of the social media platforms that are effective for learning new skills include YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok.
Additionally, social media sites such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Instagram are common avenues for showcasing or sharing talents and other works.
Moreover, social media has revolutionised the advertising industry by making it easier to reach out to the prospective customers. In comparison with mainstream advertising, social media enables creation of more personalised advertisements that resonate with consumers.
Lastly, social media has transformed the e-learning landscape by enabling institutions to conveniently offer online/virtual studies.
On the other hand, social media has several negative effects. First, the users spend a lot of time surfing through the social media platforms and this may lead to missing crucial deadlines, poor sleeping habits and wastage of money.
Also, frequent use of social media may pose danger to an individual’s health by increasing the probability of being obese, stressed/depressed and developing poor eyesight.
Furthermore, using social media exposes one to security risks such as hacking and cyber bulling. Hacking often leads to loss of personal data.
Finally, overusing social media may lead to poor cognition which affects learning, thinking, writing and reading.
In summary, social media has both positive and negative effects. Positive effects include faster and more convenient communication, learning new skills, showcasing or sharing talents and other works, more personalised advertising and convenient e-learning. Negative effects include time wastage, worsening health, exposure cyber security risks and poor cognition.
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