Social Media Dependency

With the evolution of technology for the past two decades, comes the dynamic
development of the internet in the 21​st​ century. The internet has become the most-widely used
communication tool in the modern era and has been considered as a basic need in almost all
aspects of human life. This has been the reason of the rise of different social media outlets in
the online virtual world. They soon dominated the world, attracting billions of active users from
around the globe, who somehow have incorporated digital interactions and content-sharing as
part of their daily routines. We can’t deny the major culture-shift they had caused in our society
and it is no question that we are developing dependency on these new technological
advancements, but could this growing obsession possibly affect our psychological well being? It
may seem ridiculous but psychologists were serious when they said that social media
dependency could become the new mental health issue in our present and future generation.

Social media is everywhere. It is no doubt that it had taken the whole world by storm,
targeting a large population on the youth. A research shows that one of every seven people on
earth is a user of such media applications and channels. It is really overwhelming how they
could influence our lives, forming habits and creating patterns that are more virtual than real.
Although we can’t ignore the fact that it made a lot of things easier for us, we can’t also pretend
that there is no downside to such progress. For an instance, it revolutionized the way of our
communication. Social media made the world smaller. Not only can we build and enhance
relationships within our inner circle of friends and families but also to other neighboring
countries. It also broken down barriers that enabled us to voice out our thoughts and share
opinions with like minded people. Ironically, it also constructed walls by isolating people behind
their online identities. We tend to feel that we are already being social without having to go out
and physically socializing, therefore, impairing genuine human interactions. Searching and
obtaining information is also much more accessible. Social media became a huge platform for
storing up all sorts of data by blogging our experiences or posting articles online but sometimes
users share too much information, causing them to lose their privacies and to give up personal
information. Easy access could also risk being open to malicious contents like sex, drug and
violence which might corrupt the minds of users that might lead to unwanted and immoral
behaviors. Social media could also be as simple as a happy place to some users where they
can be entertained during their free time. It is amazing that a single post on our timelines could
make us feel different sorts of emotions. For example, laughing at a funny wacky photo/video or
a corny joke. Another is when we get inspired reading a quote. But sometimes several posts set
up unrealistic standards in our society that pressures people to meet such ideals to fit in and
feel accepted. They can also be a distraction that makes us lose our focus to much more
important things. This proves that it can shorten our attention span. Social media is also an
opportunity to get noticed and be promoted by sharing your talents or your artistic/literary work.
Sadly, some users ignite unhealthy and unnecessary popularity contests provoking conflict
between two or more sides. Likes, comments, views, followers, retweets, etc. had become false
measurements of self-worth. When they do not receive the attention they wanted, they lose their
confidence which might lead to anxiety, worst, depression.
 I think it’s funny that social media could lock you up or free you like a prisoner from a
prison cell, our minds. It really depends on one’s perception whether social media can have a
negative or positive effect on our psychological mind but it is clear that we already built up an
irrevocable relationship with it that we are never be able to comprehend what our lives would be
without it. We’ve grown dependent with these advancements that they had become the updated
version of our culture. Tapping, swiping, scrolling and pushing or clicking buttons is surely now
part of our daily routines. It also depends on how a person would balance social media to other
aspect of his /her life. As of now, there has been no research that reached consensus whether
social media dependency can be considered as a mental health issue but this doesn’t mean that
it could not lead to a serious matter. Social media can still poison our brains through excessive
use. We can prevent this from happening by constantly being aware of how it can impact your
life but if it’s too late, the last resort would be to turn off the wifi, shutdown all devices, burn them
up and live in a cave. Just kidding. Shutting down the devices is enough.