As we well know, we live in an era where everything depends on technology. We use it both to relax and to accomplish our daily tasks. The internet has become extremely important in our lives, especially social media. Unfortunately, many times it can have a negative impact on us, but if we know how to use it wisely, it can bring us many more benefits than disadvantages.
Of course, social media influences both positively and negatively. If we know how to take advantage of its strengths, we can avoid the risks so often encountered by most young people of our generation.
The positive impact that social media holds lies especially in the ease with which we can talk to absolutely anyone. It doesn't matter if the other person is thousands of kilometers away, a message is just a click away. Thus, you can make friends from all over the world, discovering traditions and new places directly from people who have lived in different environments than yours. However, social media can be extremely dangerous because you can't always be sure who you're talking to. Therefore, we need to be much more cautious about the information we share on the Internet.
The most popular social media platforms are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Although it can be wonderful to always be up to date with what your friends or favorite celebrities are doing, this can also have a negative impact. Sometimes, when we spend too much time on such applications, we can become too interested in other people's lives instead of strictly focusing on our own. It's easy to fall into this trap where it seems like everyone has a perfect and happy life, but we forget that people generally only post the good things, and life on social media will never be like real life. Thus, we may feel a certain envy towards other people, forgetting to live our own lives exactly as we want and believe is appropriate.
Another problem we face as young people is cyberbullying. Cyberbullying on social media refers to aggressive, intimidating, or offensive behaviors that occur online. It can have serious consequences for victims, including damaging self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and, in the worst case, even suicidal thoughts. It is important to learn to be respectful of others regardless of opinions, sexuality, race, and gender, and to detach ourselves from the insults of people online.
These are among the most important aspects with a strong impact on our lives as students regarding social media, but fortunately, there are some solutions to stay connected to our daily lives without always feeling like we're in competition with others.
1. There are many influencers who don't portray everything as always "rosy" or "happy". It's extremely healthy to follow people who show life essentially, when we have extraordinary, good, boring, sad, or absolutely horrifying days. Fortunately, there are many influencers who show that it's normal to go through difficult times or help us deal with real and common problems such as stress, fear, anxiety, and others.
2. Although it's truly disturbing to live in an environment where everyone judges everyone and every person has to be guilty for the slightest inconvenience, it's important to truly know our worth. Everyone makes mistakes. Some more or more serious than others, but throwing hate online will never be the right way. Thus, when you have a truly good opinion of yourself where you know that no one deserves to be subjected to outrageous insults from people you've never seen in your life and who don't really know you, it's much easier to move on and not let your life be affected by these people.
Therefore, social media can help us tremendously by connecting with people at any time and learning so many lessons from open people who truly show their lives on social media. Although it's hard to be active on social media and not fall into these traps that make you feel like your life will never be as good as others', it's important to be open to new ideas. After all, every good or bad thing that happens in our lives is a special lesson for us, helping us to develop in the future, and that's exactly what makes our lives so different from those around us: the fact that everyone learns important lessons about everything in different ways, maturing faster or slower.