Student Spectrums

Many people say that we should stay away from social media because it wastes our time, makes our private information public, and impacts our mental health. However, I believe that’s not always the case. I acknowledge that social media is a significant distraction, but like everything else, it has its pros and cons. If we learn to harness these pros and use them for good, social media may become our greatest ally in the twenty-first century.

Just as the invention of the telephone revolutionized communication, social media has a similar impact, allowing us to connect with people who are millions of miles away. A study by DataReportal shows that as of January 2024, 5.04 billion people use social media, which is 62.3% of the global population. While social media has its downsides, we can’t stop the world from advancing. Instead, we should embrace it and prepare for the future, where the first step is to use social media to our advantage. Although it is a double-edged sword, social media is also the pulse of the digital age.

Like gambling, alcohol consumption, and drug abuse, social media is addictive. However, comparing it to those addictions would be unethical, since it is a modern necessity. The greatest advantage that social media provides is the ability to communicate with the entire world. People in the past never had this opportunity, so we must utilize it wisely. While TVs existed in the twentieth century, only important figures had the chance to speak to the world. Now, everyone has that chance.

Social media is a tool that can help us spread knowledge and make people more aware of what the world is really like outside of our small bubbles. This is especially beneficial for issues that are very close to our heart and about which we are passionate, since we have a chance to share our perspectives with the rest of the world. This outreach may inspire others to delve deeper and understand us better.

Moreover, we can use social media to advocate for global issues. For example, we can raise awareness about the situation in Gaza. Imagine scrolling through TikTok or YouTube and stumbling upon a video depicting the struggles faced by families there. This realization may prompt someone to share these stories with friends, opening more people’s eyes to the truth.

Nevertheless, we must recognize that social media does impact our mental health. However, that would be a whole different topic. The fact is, we cannot live without social media; it has become essential for maintaining connections with friends and family in an increasingly distant world. We should strive to find the silver lining in even the worst situations, extracting the “good” and leaving behind the “bad.” By voicing our opinions, we can become stronger individuals and leave a legacy that past generations could not have imagined.

I’ll conclude with a quote from a worksheet my physics teacher handed out: “Social media is not intrinsically good or bad. It is our use of it that determines the outcome.” If we approach social media with the right mindset, we can use it thoughtfully to make a real difference and spread positive messages.