Social Media Platform: A Connection or an Isolation
Keywords:- Social Media, Connection, Isolation, Internet, Platform, Pandemic
Author: Ishita Sachdeva
Playing games online?
Hanging out with friends online?
Don’t you think that’s just a waste of time?
Indeed, social media is not just a waste of time but it also affects our mental and physical well-being. I agree that social media has a lot of advantages but everything comes with its pros and cons. So let’s first understand what social media actually is?
WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA?
Social media is an internet-based technology which helps people to share their thoughts, communicate with different people around the globe, and learn new things. More than 4.5 billion people are now addicted to the taste of social media.
It enables the users to share any important document, picture, content, or video within a few seconds from one person to another. As a matter of fact, social media has made one’s life much easier and more relaxing.
Social media has enormous traction globally. Mobile applications make these platforms easily accessible. Various social media platform includes Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat and many more. However, the most used platform in India includes Facebook and YouTube, at nearly 71 and 89 per cent respectively as of January 2021.
When used properly, social media can be a valuable addition to a department’s communication strategy. As many employees have shown their interest in maintaining a social media presence in personal and professional capacities. On a professional level, you can use social media to increase your knowledge in a particular field and build your professional network by connecting with the professionals in your industry.
ON PHONE 24*7?
While walking, while talking,
While brushing, while rushing
Instagram or Snapchat,
Which one are you using?
Jokes apart, but these days we all have a weird habit of looking at our phones 24*7. Posting stories, posts, streaks or pictures of Himalayan peaks.
Aren’t we all enjoying our lives without actually enjoying it?!
Yes, with the huge impact of social media in our lives, we have forgotten to live in the moment. We do enjoy the glamorous lives shown by the social media influencers and secretly start manifesting in it. But because of that, we aren’t able to enjoy the moment too. We should cherish and love the present moment, and everything we have right now instead of looking for more.
SOCIAL MEDIA – A BLESSING?
Sometimes social media acts as a relative who helps you meet other people at weddings!
Funny right, but in other words it helps us to communicate with others. We can find our school friends with whom we have not been in touch for so long. We can talk with our relatives who live in some other state or country. So social media helps us to talk virtually. Being physically present everywhere is not as easy as it sounds. So these social media platform helps us to stay in touch with our loved ones. It has also helped a lot of people to earn money while sitting at home.
Nowadays, YouTube, a social media platform has become so popular that even tiny tots of our nation are influenced by it and motivated to post different content on it. Many poor people are now rich just because of choosing the profession as a YouTuber. It also helps us to learn new things with a single click and learn different things also.
SOCIAL MEDIA – ISOLATION?
But in today’s environment, social media can isolate people too. We all know that we had to stay in our homes during the pandemic. During those days every single person was on his/ her phone all the time to stay close to their loved ones just because they cannot meet them. But following this habit every day for 1 year, made such a strong impact on people that after that one year they valued their phones more than their relations. These people think that they can talk with their friends online so what’s the point of going out? But the biggest mistake is not being able to realize that sitting amongst 4 walls of your room all the time can damage your mind. Keeping you away from the real world. Our time is so precious and without realizing its importance we are just wasting it.
The young generation who spends most of their time on their phones can do so much good for the world, only by focusing in the right direction. We can be the masterminds of this world and make it a better place to live for everyone. But if we keep looking at our mobile phones and discussing other people’s lives it will do no good to us. So it’s better if we learn this now, otherwise after a few years, when we won’t be able to change anything then. We will regret the things we could have done earlier but we didn’t, instead, we wasted that time on social media. Be the change you wish to bring to this world. It will be possible only when we do the things which are important and keep our physical and mental health strong.
CONCLUSION
According to a recent survey conducted by The Cigna Health Insurance Company, loneliness is at epidemic proportions. And if you suffer from mental illness, odds are that feeling lonely or disconnected from people is a factor in your depression or anxiety. But the point arises that how can we feel disconnected from people when we connect with them on social media the entire time?! Studies suggest that using Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat or other social media apps to connect with people and forge offline connections can add vitality and communion to your life. But if you are spending hours on it as a substitute for offline connections, the feeling of loneliness is likely to worsen. As rightly said, excess of everything is bad. So everything should be done to its limit.
We need to realize that social media is just a part of our lives and there is no harm in using it. But there should be a time limit till we use such platforms. We need to live in the real world instead of the mobile world.
Mail us at edumoundofficial@gmail.com
