By Nasra Abdullahi
It was our last day in high school, we were done with our final examinations which meant everyone was to go their own way, but there was a question lingering in our minds! Will our four-year-old connection just end that way?
Then there was our answer, social media! There was Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. Years later, we still keep in touch. Our connection is still as intact as it was during our school days. We meet, greet and see each other virtually.
Social media plays a significant role in every person’s life. It is often easier and more convenient to access information, provide information and communicate via social media. It seems it is making our world much easier.
But what happens when we manage social media poorly? When we allow it to ruin our time and other important resources. Internet platforms that we often use as communication tools to know more about our university education can be a double-edged sword with both positive and negative effects on our life.
Addiction
Social media addiction is one of the consequences that many of its users can experience. According to a research study on students, people aged 16 to 24 spend the most time on social media – 3 hours on an average day.
Do you spend several hours per day browsing through social media? You should know that spending too long on social networking sites could be adversely affecting your mood. It becomes an addiction that will create so many other troubles and vexations.
Most people use social media to escape reality through the creation of new identities both internally and externally. It doesn’t take much thinking to figure out why. Social media lets you see the carefully selected best parts of everyone else’s lives, which you compare to the negatives in your own life.
Comparing yourself to other people is a sure path to anxiety, and social media has only made this easier to do. There are so many bad role models hiding their real identities behind fabricated profiles and photo-shopped images.
Then there is FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) a phenomenon that was born around the same time as the rise of social media. It’s a form of anxiety that you get when you’re scared of missing out on a positive experience that someone else is having.
This fear receives constant fuel from what you see on social media. With increased social network use, there’s a better chance for you to see that someone is having more fun than you are right now. So you may end up following the wrong ideologies of life.
Most people share their exciting adventures in barrage of beautified posts about how much they love their significant other on Facebook, and load up their Instagram page with heavily staged photos. In reality, you have no way of knowing whether this is all a farce.
While it looks great on the surface, that person could be in massive debt, on bad terms with their significant other, and just desperate for Instagram likes as a form of validation. That same person may be a deadly monster, a robber and an online predator stalking for online prey.
Performance
The most negative consequence of social media overuse is found among students. .Jennifer Walsh, the lead author of a study, which was published in the journal Emerging Adulthood, wrote that students who spend the most time using social media had ‘fewer academic behaviors’ such as completing homework, attending classes, lower academic confidence and more problems affecting their school work, like lack of sleep and substance use.
Students who are addicted to ever-increasing internet platforms find more time to remain online, often missing opportunities to study for upcoming exams and courses. Most of them come out of schools with poor performances which will drastically affect their career progression.
As a reality, we need to learn how to use social media platforms for our own personal development. We need to practice self-control and beware that the overconsumption of internet communication is too dangerous for both our physical and mental health.
Today most young people know how to upload a picture, fix minor computer problems, share links, and adjust settings which seemed impossible for the older generations. If used wisely, Social media has a positive effect on students because it provides them an outlet for creativity.
Whether it’s posting a shot on Instagram, writing poetry on Tumblr, or sharing something they’ve created on Twitter, social media has been the perfect tool for students to showcase their creative work.
In another positive gesture, Social media exposes students to a whole new way of learning. Recent researches have shown that students who are proper users of social media are more innovative and exhibit better memory as well as are updated on what’s going on around the world.
There has also been a corresponding increase in social media incorporation in teaching and learning in higher institutions. Social networking opens new avenues for research, encouraging students to get creative in an age where innovation is highly prized.
Another great advantage of social media in education is the increasing distance learning opportunities. There are many disadvantaged students who are not able to acquire formal education by attending regular classes in an educational institution. With the help of various online tools along with social media, modern educators are able to attract students through distance learning programs.
Social media came in handy during this critical time of coronavirus when people are supposed to isolate as well as continue with studies. This means Social media is giving us opportunities that were uncommon during previous generations.
The proliferation of social media sites is like two sides of a coin, bringing with it both negative and positive impacts on our lives. If you find that social media is having a negative impact on your life, take a break and find out the best strategy in order to use it to your advantage.
However, if you decide to stay online, make sure you dedicate less time on social media to maintain your hobby in a healthy manner, fight off internet addiction by reading books and listening to important lectures and lessons. And finally, avoid bad role models and FOMO.
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Nasra Abdullahi is a third-year university student pursuing BSc. public administration and leadership.
