Almost everyone uses social media and while it is a good source of entertainment and a good place for people to socialize and interact with each other, it can affect different people in different ways and sometimes those effects aren’t always good.

   A lot of people like to focus mainly on the negative effects of social media, and while yes there are definitely some negative effects there are also some positive effects. According to Lee Kum Sheung from the Center for Health and Happiness at Harvard, ‘’Social media may provide individuals platform barriers of distance and time, allowing them to connect and reconnect with others and thereby expand and strengthen their in-person networks and interactions.’’ (Sheung) This shows that people can use social media to stay in touch with friends and family who may not be close enough to see in person easily. It also allows people to interact without having to deal with some of the anxiety that comes with being in public/crowded spaces that some people might have. It also allows people more opportunity to express themselves to a larger audience. It has also been shown to help with expanding businesses, and also help people create businesses.

   Now yes social media can be good for contact, businesses, and other things but it can also sometimes be bad for people. Social media has been shown to have negative impacts on people’s mental health, including anxiety and depression. I myself have had struggles with my mental health that definitely were affected by my spending so much time on my phone and on social media. Deborah Glasofer, an expert from Columbia University Mailman School of public health states, “Although there are important benefits, social media can also provide platforms for bullying and exclusion, unrealistic expectations about body image and sources of popularity, normalization of risk-taking behaviors, and can be detrimental to mental health” (Glasofer). A lot of people seem to ignore the negative effects of social media. I’m not saying social media is bad and shouldn’t be used, but people should definitely be more aware of the effects it could be having on people. Especially young men and women. Glasofer also states, “For those vulnerable to developing an eating disorder, social media may be especially unhelpful because it allows people to easily compare their appearance to friends, to celebrities, even older images of themselves” (Glasofer). Social media is known to worsen the “beauty standard” that girls tend to hold themselves to. As well as the standard that guys hold themselves to. It can be very damaging when a majority of people think that girls and guys should look a certain way, meaning look like the celebrities or models they see on social media. Given Makarin from Bocconi University said, “When I started to really look into the trends of deteriorating mental health among the young adults, thought, I came to realize how truly bad the situation is, and that stuck with me” (Makarin). This situation is worse than a lot of people seem to think and it’s important that people become aware of this.

    I think it's important for people to know the effects that social media has on people, whether the effects are good or bad. It’s important that people know so they can decide for themselves how much time they want to spend on social media, or just how they spend their time. Being someone who has both been harmed, and benefited by social media I feel it’s something that should definitely be talked about more.

Works cited:

publichealth.columbia.edu/news/just-how-harmful-social-media-our-experts-weigh

mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/study-social-media-use-linked-to-decline-mental-health

hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/social-media-positive-mental-health/