Unperceived Dangers of Using Social Media

(Estimated reading time: 6 minutes)

Social media has become one of the most powerful tools for spreading information with the advent of the use of the Internet. Whether it is used to communicate, share ideas, or market products, social media sites, and mobile applications have become the go-to of many people whenever they need to share something with others in the digital world. It changes the way we connect. Some say social media made the world even smaller because we can even feel close to a person halfway across the globe, albeit digitally.

Still, like any technology that humankind invented for its benefit, there are downfalls when it comes to the misuse of this powerful information tool. And like many misused technological advancements, social media can negatively impact the very person who uses it if she or he will not be very careful in handling it. The following are some observable problems that emerge from the continuous use (and misuse) of social media networks:

Connectivity is now valued more than meaningful relationships and communication.

It changes the way we communicate. Some of us may have learned that communication has basic two parts: the verbal part which is the actual words we say, and the nonverbal cues, or gestures, facial expressions, tone, etc that make a conversation meaningful. In an online conversation, it is difficult to perceive the emotional attachment of one side to the other because we tend to focus ourselves on the message and will often miss the other context in which the message is being sent. There is also the trend of gathering a huge number of "friends", "followers", and "subscribers", even if the user doesn't personally know many of them.

Trolls are lurking at the end of the information bridges.

It has become a platform to spread misinformation and lies. Fake and unverified news is easily shared by everyone. Many rely on "influencers" and famous personalities who share such news for the authenticity of a story without verifying what is true by themselves. Also, politicians and fanatic supporters often use social media to malign their opponents. Their use of social media is mainly to exploit the emotions of the masses to support their side and hate their critics. Many engage in polemics, that is, aggressively attacking or refuting the opinions or principles of another. Hate is never been intensified and now manifests in the form of cyberbullying, hate speech, racism, and the new cancel culture. Often, the person with the differing view is viciously attacked by trolls instead of focusing on the issue at hand. False accusations about certain celebrities can quickly spread regardless of being baseless or not.

Anonymity and privacy are just illusions.

Social media platforms are full of advertisements that can lead to an increase in consumerism. If you take some time to read and understand the social media platforms' "Privacy Policy" you can see that everything connected to the use of social media platforms that a user has is gathered in data centers of social media companies. Social media companies can share users' information with advertisers and other companies to help them in marketing pitches, whether that information is gathered inside or outside the platform. Based on data gathered from the users, advertisers can create an advertisement customed for a single user aided by the social media algorithm such as audience targeting. Even the news media, mainstream or fake news, benefits from this system. Because social media collects data from its users, from the IP addresses to the last video that the user viewed, it is easy for an advertiser to target their ads to a specific group of people through social media campaigns and sponsored posts. The issue of violating the privacy of users has reached the courts in the US but big data companies are yet to change their policies regarding data gathering and usage. Also, one is very much vulnerable to cyberstalking and undue surveillance by almost anyone with the intent online.

Filter bubbles are created to nurture your prejudices and shield you from reality.

Social media platforms have no safety nets to filter misinformation but help fuel bias among users. Social media platforms follow an "algorithm" or a system where only the relevant (and also the frequent) searches will appear depending on the activity of a social media user (based on the data they collect). One can rarely see an opposing or alternative view when searching for specific information they are looking for, their searches always align with their preferences. This is also the reason why certain users are easy targets for political ads and fake news. Also, some of it is due to the person searching, as people tend to search for information to confirm and validate their beliefs and dismiss those who are against them. They look for people online who share the same opinion or belief. This adds to what is called a person's confirmation bias. The more we search for something online, the more we expose ourselves to the same opinion, whether unfounded or not. Social media groups, chat groups, and hashtags are some of the most effective ways to fuel such kind of bias.

"Facts are subjective. Proofs are irrelevant. Powerful evil persons are controlling the world." - Deniers, 2020

Many content creators are posting content for followers and views and seem to have no intention to give information or educate based on facts, sound evidence, and research. Conspiracy theorists before the advent of social media only exist on the fringes of the internet. Now they are thriving and gathering more adherents, even gaining attention from news media for some time. These demagogues are gaining popularity, mainly because people nowadays tend to make social media their primary source of information. The danger lies in denialism of facts such as those held by the scientific community, the twisting of historical events, the spreading of lies to fuel hate against certain races or gender, and promoting extremist ideologies.

Data, privacy, and sanity are modern commodities. Clicks, views, subscriptions, and likes are the new currencies.

Models and other celebrities gather hordes of followers and publicly display their lifestyles that can easily be viewed by netizens. Some personalities show sexy and provocative images of their body to express themselves. The problem is that not everyone has the same take on what they see from others. Many may fall into the thinking that the value of a person is based on physical appearance, or even focus on the prestige brought by social status and wealth. Self-objectification is a possible effect, as one can have a false sense of self-worth by comparing themselves to a personality. Social media use has a profound effect on the mental health of many users. It portrays the idea of being "perfect" in any aspect when projecting one's self to the public through social media. It disregards the other aspects of life that are sometimes unpleasant and gives an imbalanced view of self and the apparent realities in the life of a social media user. Likes are now the basis of justification and validity for one's identity and personality.

Like any other technology that humans have invented, social media platforms along with the internet can be very beneficial to us. We haven't even mentioned the amount of time many people spend using them, and how they became the extension of the persons using them. Only, we should be vigilant when it comes to the destructive side of such tools, and push for positive changes where needed. The world becomes closer than ever because of the rapid advancement in the field of communication. As we get more and more connected to each other, let us strive to make such connections meaningful and worthwhile.

Recommended readings:

Think Before You Like: Social Media's Effect on the Brain and the Tools You Need to Navigate Your Newsfeed by Guy P. Harrison

The Happiness Effect: How Social Media is Driving a Generation to Appear Perfect at Any Cost by Donna Freitas

The Twittering Machine by Richard Seymour

Some Unperceived Dangers of Using Social Media by Leandro Angelo Castro is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.