The Impact of Social Media on Our Society

When people ask me what sparked my passion for human rights activism, I respond by

telling them about how I went on Twitter one day towards the end of the summer before sophomore year, and was immediately bombarded with tweets and articles about the Ferguson protests and how the officer that shot Michael Brown was not being indicted. This kept me up at night, feeling immense anger towards the fact that Darren Wilson’s o nly consequence for his actions was paid administrative leave from Ferguson Police Department, as well as fear for the safety of the protestors. Ever since then, things like human rights activism and feminism have become an extremely significant part of my life. One of the main ways that I’m able to seek new information and find other individuals that are also interested in these topics, as well as what actually introduced me to the world of activism nearly two years ago, is social media.

According to a recent eMarketer report, over 1 in 4 people use social media worldwide, and the number is continuing to climb higher and higher as years go by. There is a tremendous variety of positive impacts that social media has made on society. Websites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram have taught our youth to express themselves in ways that would be difficult in a world without social media. People are becoming more and more active supporters of important causes such as feminism, supporting LGBT+ rights, and standing up to individual and systemic racism. We are able to connect with like­minded people across across the globe, and have easy access to information about different cultures which leads to us becoming more open­minded. Many influential hashtags have been created on Twitter that are slowly becoming symbols for important movements, such as #BlackLivesMatter, #FreePalestine, and #BodyPosi. Social media is also an effortless way to learn about about current events or breaking news, by simply scrolling down your Twitter timeline, Tumblr news feed, or Facebook home page. Social media has opened up many opportunities for aspiring journalists, activists, or artists and makes it easy for businesses to inform the public of staff and job openings. It also allows for millions of artists to showcase their work to the world that may not have been noticed as easily without it.

Regardless of the large array of beneficial impacts that social media has had on the world, there are many negative aspects to it becoming such a significant part of our daily lives. One of the more dangerous impacts is cyber bullying and harassment, which is a quickly growing issue that, in worst­case scenarios, can lead to psychological damage to the victims of these actions. Internet trolling is also also a popular find on websites such as Twitter and Tumblr, in which people seek out ways to annoy and harass other users or start arguments over trivial things. Social media is also a central part of the demise of actual human interaction in the real world. We’ve all found ourselves trapped in those moments when you’re speaking to a friend while hanging out and you come to the realization that rather than listening to you, they are scrolling through their Twitter or Instagram feed. Even I’ve caught myself unintentionally ignoring a family member at dinner because I’m too busy watching a video on Youtube or laughing at a tweet on my timeline. Often times social media can lead to decreased productivity at school or work due to it being a distraction, and can also make it easy for random strangers to violate your privacy. Nowadays, employers and universities are very easily able to view the things that people post on social media, which can lead to the loss of a job opportunity or rejection from a dream college.

Regardless of whether the pros outweigh the cons or vice versa, it is easy to conclude that social media has made a sizeable impact on our society, therefore it is important for us to

embrace the technological advances that many of us are privileged to be able to use. Remember to make the most of of what you are capable of doing when using social media, but also utilize it wisely and be careful with what you release to the internet for the entire world to see.

Jaskrit is sixteen years old and lives in Southern California. She is passionate about human rights activism, animal rights, feminism, environmentalism, fashion, and photography. She is a writer and ambassador for Affinity for Life Magazine and wants to be able to educate people and bring attention to significant current events and topics.