Is Social Media Harmful? A Must-Read Guide

Do you ever wonder how harmful social media is? Well, I sure do! But, I’m not saying that social media itself is already harmful ever since it was developed. It greatly impacted our lives by providing us with lots of benefits even though lots of people use it the wrong way.

Social media itself is not harmful even if its nature is addictive. However, its impact depends on how it is used by individuals. If it is used responsibly and in moderation, social media can have positive effects. Users must learn how to maximize its benefits and minimize its potential harm.

In this article, you’ll learn:

There was a time in my life that I became addicted to social media, my smartphone was almost glued into my hands that I just can’t stop scrolling.

At that time, I wondered if social media is really harmful after hearing some news reports that it can greatly affect our behavior.

It has also helped me to realize that the nature of social networking sites is really addictive. But I can say that social media is not necessarily harmful based on my personal experience. Everything is dependent on how other individuals utilize it.

The normal things that we do on social media are to communicate with friends, share our stories, and even learn new things. But, we must be mindful of how much time we spend on social media and what kind of content we consume.

Why would you continue to look at the content that makes you feel inadequate when other people’s lives appear to be so perfect? You must learn to establish boundaries and prioritize yourself since not all of the stuff you read on social media is beneficial to your health.

It’s very easy to blame social media platforms that they were created to harm humanity. These social media platforms today must be considered powerful tools that must be used for good.

It is our behavior that we must be responsible for because we are more knowledgeable about what’s right or wrong.

I always use social media platforms to be beneficial to me. If I noticed that it’s not healthy for me anymore, I try to take a break by deleting the app on my phone.

That’s how I set boundaries because I want to make the most of the benefits of social media while avoiding its potential risks.

In this article, I’ve been repeating a lot of times that social media itself isn’t harmful and it all depends on how we use it. But, sometimes, there are things we can’t control on social media and it can cause us harm.

I believe that one of the biggest ways social media can harm us is by exposing us to cyberbullying. This is when other users use their social media and they try to bully and harass others without any reason.

Cyberbullying on social media platforms can be done in many forms such as name-calling, spreading rumors, or embarrassing your photos. They can even do this on an anonymous profile.

For how many years of using different social media networks, I have experienced being bullied by receiving hurtful or damaging words. I didn’t even know the person who messaged me. Maybe he just did it for fun.

Another way social media can harm us is by exposing us to harmful content because algorithms just want to keep us engaged on their platform as long as possible.

While this can be helpful in some, it can also be harmful because it feels like they just want to put something on our feed without identifying if that is healthy for us.

There is a lot of fake news on the internet and even if we check the page, it’s hard for us to identify if the page is trustworthy. This can be harmful if we believe and act on it. There is also explicit content that we may not want to see.

If you surprisingly saw harmful content on your feed, you can report that you don’t want to see that kind of content again. There are more ways that social media can harm us that we can’t control such as hackers trying to compromise our privacy and creating unrealistic expectations.

So, social media can harm us in many ways and some of this is that we can’t control. However, you must learn how to act by using social media responsibly once you become aware of those harmful things for the second time.

If you want to know how to use social media responsibly, try to read Article 9 ways to use Social media responsibly.

My own experience has shown me that social media is more beneficial than harmful. Despite the fact that social media has had many unfavorable effects on us. There are far too many positive consequences compared to bad ones, therefore I still want to be grateful for all of them.

I provided a list of reasons why social media does more good than harm:

We can maintain contact with distant friends and family members thanks to social media. Social media enables me to remain in touch with family members who reside in other locations and to share information about our life.
It is a fantastic method to meet new people, particularly if you share the same interests. For instance, I have several acquaintances who like working with cutting-edge technologies.
Social media is an effective tool for spreading awareness of crucial topics. I have observed several social media efforts that have aided in raising awareness of crucial issues and igniting constructive change.
Social networking is a fantastic tool for entertainment. From humorous memes to adorable animal videos, social media is full of entertaining and fascinating content.
Social media may also be a wonderful educational and learning resource. I’ve utilized social media to interact with professionals in my area and remain current on news and research.

Many people have been claiming that social media is very harmful ever since the platforms were created. However, I firmly believe that advantages always outweigh disadvantages. The good benefits outweigh the unfavorable ones, which are few.

The answer to this question is not black and white because social media itself is not the one who’s ruining our lives.

We are the ones who are using it that’s why we must always be responsible. It is always up to us because we are human beings and social media is just a technology. It doesn’t have any feelings or it does not know if it is harming us already.

Every time I use social media, I always try to recognize the harmful effects. Since I always have some control over this kind of technology, I also take some measures to reduce these adverse effects. Social media should not rule our lives.

Personally, I have experienced both the positive and negative aspects of social media because I’ve been using these platforms for several years.

Every time I felt the negative aspects, I never blame social media. I never concluded that it has ruined my life because I know I’m the one who was responsible for my actions.

Final Thoughts

I’ve repeated many times in this article that social media itself is not harmful. It all depends on how individuals use it. If social media is becoming harmful in your life, learn how to take the necessary steps.

Everything must be in moderation and this implies every time we use social media. Before you scroll through your feed today, try to ask yourself, what benefits or risks are you willing to accept?