Friend Or Foe

Is social media my friend or my foe? This is a question that is on my mind a lot of days. I have to admit that I have always disliked social media. I was one of my last friends to get a Facebook and I was definitely my last friend to get an Instagram with my friend making one for me just two years ago. Other than those two social media outlets I do not even partake in the rest of the social media world. The thing is though that in today’s society it is incredibly hard to stay off of social media. It has become one of the main ways that people communicate, especially young people. Now social media does offer a lot of great things such as fast and easy communication, the ability to find people from your past and reconnect, as well as a way to stay up to date on popular trends. So in some ways I do see social media as my friend. But in more ways than that I view it as my foe.

Social media is not just a foe to me but to really anyone who is using it and that is because it allows everyone to be incredibly vulnerable, in an outlet where perfection is expected. When someone posts a picture on Instagram it isn’t for themselves, it is so that everyone else can see it and judge them. There are so many apps out there that give a person countless tools to doctor their photos before posting them so they can look their very best. Then everyone who sees the photo will comment about how great the person looks and this will of course boost their self-esteem. The problem is that no one is posting regular unfiltered pictures of themselves anymore. So even if they are getting positive feedback on their picture, they may be thinking to themselves that the people only like this edited version of them or even that them without editing is not good enough.

This is a broken system because of everyone thinking that they have to portray themselves as some perfect version of themselves they become less satisfied with who they really are and are more likely to suffer emotional and physical consequences from this. These consequences include things such as depression, eating disorders, and anxiety. So to answer the question I first posed, I would have to say that social media is my foe, because everyone should be able to be happy with who they are, without any filters or edits.

1 comment

  1. I have to disagree a little bit with your point of view on social media. Though I do agree with how dangerous it can be for your mind and daily activity, I must say, when used correctly it can be an amazing tool to stay connected with people you don’t see everyday. Social media overuse, so to speak, can lead to states of jealousy, relationship problems, low-esteem and even depression when constantly comparing your life to someone else’s. However, in my particular case, it is through social media that I am able to stay connected with my family. My father is a former Marine and was re-stationed almost immediately after I graduated high school. My sister had already graduated from college and settled with her husband outside of her college town. But my brothers were younger and they moved with my parents. I stayed behind for my own reasons. That distance from your family is difficult without a doubt. I started college and met my now husband and we built our family here. Though his family lives in the area, my family has since spread out across the country. My aunts and uncles live all over the United States and I am actually the only one in my family that lives in PA. Social media allows me the opportunity to see my nieces and nephews, my brothers and my sister, my aunts and uncles, grandparents, cousins and my parents in those times we can’t be together. It also allows me to share pictures, events, and videos with my family that is spread so far out. My best friend married a Marine and lived in Japan with her husband for 3 years. Thank goodness for social media as we were able to share moments of each other’s lives from thousands of miles away. She now lives in Texas and I am still so grateful for Facebook and being able to feel like I am a part of her life even from states away. Of course there is always a downside to each new piece of technology and there will be those that may not take the opportunity to use it appropriately but for us, it really does keep us connected during those times we cannot be directly together.

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