9 answers
Breezy28
Student
Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
1
Question
Updated
3994 views
what are the negative side of social media that we are not aware of?
Just a student and wants to keep exploring. #social-media #communications
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9 answers
Lisa Farrell
Leader, Service Logistics
16
Answers
London, England, United Kingdom
Updated
Lisa’s Answer
Social media/networking platforms can be really useful way of connecting and building up a network when it comes to preparing for work and planning your career.
As mentioned in other answers, there are also several considerations or impacts social media can bring
-impact to mental health
-replacing face to face connections
-be careful about what you share/comments you make - everything you do is visible - employers often search social media platforms on prospective employees
As mentioned in other answers, there are also several considerations or impacts social media can bring
-impact to mental health
-replacing face to face connections
-be careful about what you share/comments you make - everything you do is visible - employers often search social media platforms on prospective employees
Nicole Nelson
Head of Sales and Operations
29
Answers
American Fork, Utah
Updated
Nicole’s Answer
From an employee perspective working in social media - It can be hard to keep up with trends and coming up with new ideas to post every day.
If you are talking from a consumer pov, the biggest challenge is online internet safety. Online predators are a huge issue and social media is one of the big ways they are using. There needs to be more knowledge spread on this issue, and stricter measure put in place to protect our most vulnerable age group, children.
If you are talking from a consumer pov, the biggest challenge is online internet safety. Online predators are a huge issue and social media is one of the big ways they are using. There needs to be more knowledge spread on this issue, and stricter measure put in place to protect our most vulnerable age group, children.
Mahadev Agasar
Software Engineer
8
Answers
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Updated
Mahadev’s Answer
My short answers for negative sides of social media:
- Addiction
- Unwanted content spoiling our time
- Unwanted influences which affect your routine or yourself
- Leaving behind the real use of digital connectivity due to constant deviation towards activities which are not going to help in anyway
- Mind disturbance
- Leaving behind the real hang our with friends/families/colleagues
- Addiction
- Unwanted content spoiling our time
- Unwanted influences which affect your routine or yourself
- Leaving behind the real use of digital connectivity due to constant deviation towards activities which are not going to help in anyway
- Mind disturbance
- Leaving behind the real hang our with friends/families/colleagues
Nicole Serrano
Social Media Marketing
6
Answers
San Diego, California
Updated
Nicole’s Answer
One of the negative aspects of working in social media that you might not know is that you are always on. In order to be successful, you have to monitor what is happening on social, what trends are circulating, and what holidays are coming up. Even if you are "off the clock" your work can seep into your off hours.
Stephen Ramirtha
People Manager
18
Answers
Scottsdale, Arizona
Updated
Stephen’s Answer
That's a good question! While social media (and honestly the internet in general) are relatively new, I think with all media like Jeremy mental health is a major factor to consider. We also have to be mindful that we are given so much information at once, and as humans we can only process so much at one time. Information overload is something to be mindful of as well.
Regardless of what media you use (social, TV, radio, newspaper), being intentional with your usage can go a long way in combating mental health challenges with media.
Regardless of what media you use (social, TV, radio, newspaper), being intentional with your usage can go a long way in combating mental health challenges with media.
Carl Manson Jr., PMP
5G Program Manager - Verizon
76
Answers
Stone Mountain, Georgia
Updated
Carl’s Answer
Great question Breezy28! Many people, especially very young people do not realize that what you post on social media may come back to haunt you at a later date. Oftentimes this can be job interview or even some sort of background check. In other words, if you post something offensive, incriminating, or something that doesn't show you in the best light, it's not a good idea to post it to social media.
Ripa Bhagawati
Writer
2
Answers
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Updated
Ripa’s Answer
You might be surprised to learn that the negative effects of social media are both physical and mental. They can change your perception of the world and yourself. While social media does have some positive effects, and there are certainly positive social media stories, it also has a lot in the drawback column. Don't believe this? Read on for a list of social media's negative effects. If you recognize any of them as issues in your own life, it may be time to reduce your usage or even stop using social media altogether.
1. Depression and Anxiety
Do you spend several hours per day browsing through social media? Spending too long on social networking sites could adversely affect your mood. In fact, chronic social users are more likely to report poor mental health, including symptoms of anxiety and depression.
2. Cyberbullying
Before social media, bullying was something that was only possible to do face-to-face. However, now people can bully others online—anonymously or not. Today everyone knows what cyberbullying is, and most of us have seen what it can do to a person.
3. FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)
Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is a phenomenon that became prominent around the same time as the rise of social media. Unsurprisingly, it's one of the most widespread negative effects of social media on society.
4. Unrealistic Expectations
As most people are probably aware, social media forms unrealistic expectations of life and friendships in our minds.
Most social media sites have a severe lack of online authenticity. People use Snapchat to share their exciting adventures, post about how much they love their significant other on Facebook, and load up their Instagram page with heavily staged photos.
5. Negative Body Image
Speaking of Instagram celebrities, if you look at popular Instagram accounts, you'll find unbelievably beautiful people wearing expensive clothes on their perfectly shaped bodies.
And to nobody's surprise, body image is now an issue for almost everyone. Of course, seeing so many people who are supposedly perfect (according to society's standards) on a daily basis makes you conscious about how different you look from those pictures. And not everyone comes to healthy conclusions in this situation.
As with everything else, there are good and bad aspects of social media. We've discussed some of the negative impacts social media has for many, but you're the one who must decide whether there's more help or harm in it for you personally.
If you find that social media is having a negative impact on your life, stop using it. However, if you decide to stay, there are ways to waste less time on social media, and thus maintain a healthier relationship with it.
1. Depression and Anxiety
Do you spend several hours per day browsing through social media? Spending too long on social networking sites could adversely affect your mood. In fact, chronic social users are more likely to report poor mental health, including symptoms of anxiety and depression.
2. Cyberbullying
Before social media, bullying was something that was only possible to do face-to-face. However, now people can bully others online—anonymously or not. Today everyone knows what cyberbullying is, and most of us have seen what it can do to a person.
3. FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)
Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is a phenomenon that became prominent around the same time as the rise of social media. Unsurprisingly, it's one of the most widespread negative effects of social media on society.
4. Unrealistic Expectations
As most people are probably aware, social media forms unrealistic expectations of life and friendships in our minds.
Most social media sites have a severe lack of online authenticity. People use Snapchat to share their exciting adventures, post about how much they love their significant other on Facebook, and load up their Instagram page with heavily staged photos.
5. Negative Body Image
Speaking of Instagram celebrities, if you look at popular Instagram accounts, you'll find unbelievably beautiful people wearing expensive clothes on their perfectly shaped bodies.
And to nobody's surprise, body image is now an issue for almost everyone. Of course, seeing so many people who are supposedly perfect (according to society's standards) on a daily basis makes you conscious about how different you look from those pictures. And not everyone comes to healthy conclusions in this situation.
As with everything else, there are good and bad aspects of social media. We've discussed some of the negative impacts social media has for many, but you're the one who must decide whether there's more help or harm in it for you personally.
If you find that social media is having a negative impact on your life, stop using it. However, if you decide to stay, there are ways to waste less time on social media, and thus maintain a healthier relationship with it.
RJ Gazarek
1
Answer
Updated
RJ’s Answer
Social Media platforms are meant to really do one thing, and that's to keep you engaged on the platform as long as possible. Just like with how advertisements work, social media platforms will continue to serve you up posts/pictures/videos/etc that they think you'll really enjoy because it'll make you click on it and stay on the platform longer. For example, let's say you really loved dogs and really hated cats. You'd first click on a dog picture, and the social media platform would record that, and say "oh they must like dog pictures, lets give them more dog pictures". And then over time they'll NEVER show you another cat picture ever again (or only on extremely rare occasions). Now, what if nobody told you cats were real or existed. You would never know, because you would never see them online. And you might be on a bunch of dog forums where everyone talks about why dogs are so much better than cats, and that's all you'll see, and you'll start to believe it yourself - if it's all you see, it must be true!
This can become very dangerous especially around important topics that affect our entire society. It can be very hard to see all sides of a discussion or an argument on a social media platform that is built to show you things that you already like/agree with. So it makes you start to feel that everything you read is the only truth, because that's all you ever see - and you see it from so many people and different sources. However, what you don't see is an entire other point of view (or multiple ones) because the algorithms are created to keep you coming back, and they have no idea if those points of view will keep you on their platform and keep you engaged.
There's a great documentary on Netflix called "The Social Dilemma". I encourage you to check it out, it'll give you more insights into how this feedback loop works on these platforms.
This can become very dangerous especially around important topics that affect our entire society. It can be very hard to see all sides of a discussion or an argument on a social media platform that is built to show you things that you already like/agree with. So it makes you start to feel that everything you read is the only truth, because that's all you ever see - and you see it from so many people and different sources. However, what you don't see is an entire other point of view (or multiple ones) because the algorithms are created to keep you coming back, and they have no idea if those points of view will keep you on their platform and keep you engaged.
There's a great documentary on Netflix called "The Social Dilemma". I encourage you to check it out, it'll give you more insights into how this feedback loop works on these platforms.
I second this response. Also check out 'New Studies Show Just How Bad Social Media Is For Mental Health' at https://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2018/11/16/new-research-shows-just-how-bad-social-media-can-be-for-mental-health/?sh=693f00dc7af4
Zahid Iqbal
Katie Connelly
engineer
3
Answers
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Updated
Katie’s Answer
It's important to remember that we are what we consume. We are inundated by information through social media channels and what we see on a daily basis can become a large part of what we desire and what we think about. We're creatures of comparison and both consciously and subconsciously compare our humor, our jobs, our level of freedom, our level of happiness, fitness, capabilities, and much more to what we see. It's incredible to expand our horizons and learn more about things we may not have considered, but that line between learning and yearning is very grey. It's okay to yearn for what we don't have because it can motivate us and pull us along. I don't have an answer for what point that wanting though, becomes "inappropriate" and turns to feelings of impatience, ingratitude, jealousy, and other sour emotions because we don't have right now, what we're constantly consuming.
I read somewhere that it takes us receiving 18 positive comments to overcome the effects of a single negative comment. If we consider the types of comments that are included in most social media posts, I think it's safe to say that more often than not, there is not an 18:1 ratio of positive to negative comments. We have the ability to continuously bear witness to commentary that brings our mental state down rather than up. I may not feel immediately bad by a group of comments or a single session on social media. However, I think of it as "death by a thousand cuts." Overtime those comments add up and I don't think we yet know the consequences or longevity of the effects that continuous exposure to other peoples' opinions can have on us. Is it healthy to have the ability to constantly form an opinion on every small thing we see, hear, and read? I'm not sure it is. I think it creates a habit of reacting instead of absorbing and thinking through what we see, hear, and read. One other person commented to your question that we have to be intentional with these things and how we respond and I really cannot agree more with that statement.
I read somewhere that it takes us receiving 18 positive comments to overcome the effects of a single negative comment. If we consider the types of comments that are included in most social media posts, I think it's safe to say that more often than not, there is not an 18:1 ratio of positive to negative comments. We have the ability to continuously bear witness to commentary that brings our mental state down rather than up. I may not feel immediately bad by a group of comments or a single session on social media. However, I think of it as "death by a thousand cuts." Overtime those comments add up and I don't think we yet know the consequences or longevity of the effects that continuous exposure to other peoples' opinions can have on us. Is it healthy to have the ability to constantly form an opinion on every small thing we see, hear, and read? I'm not sure it is. I think it creates a habit of reacting instead of absorbing and thinking through what we see, hear, and read. One other person commented to your question that we have to be intentional with these things and how we respond and I really cannot agree more with that statement.