Reaction to Social Media on Social Media

In all honesty, I was not impressed with this essay. It certainly appeared to be something written by a college student with minimal writing ability. He was very redundant, did not use proper grammar, clearly did not review his piece in depth (same phases repeated twice in one sentence), and man, that kid needed a thesaurus. I am certainly not saying that I am a fantastic writer, but he definitely is not.

Besides the writing, the topic of the essay was old news to me. It has been said by every teacher, parent, and adult I know, "You kids need to stop being so attached to your phones and that social media." I did understand what the essay was claiming and the concerns that arose, but almost everyone knows social media can have a negative effect on you. There is a lack of physical human interaction, the likelihood of conflict, and a whole slew of mental issues. Though, with the negative comes the positives too. I have some close friends that I met at camp a few summers ago that I can still stay in contact with over Facebook and Instagram. My past exchange student from Germany, Freya, is someone I talk to every week. I am also able to stay in contact with my older brother and see pictures of my adorable nephew. Social media can connect us and build new relationships. Social media is a platform for so many things. Politics, entertainment, religion, business, art, etc. How you use it is at your discretion. While some people take advantage of that, people have created amazing online profiles and presences. So, in the long run, I am very pro-social media. I do recognize it has flaws, but it is a significant aspect of what I wish to do with my career. 

When others talk about social media taking over and how "dangerous" it truly is, I often think of this one episode on a show called Black Mirror. The episode is called "Nosedive", and it takes place in a society where social media has completely taken over. Every single person has a rating or score based on what others rate you. You could get rated from something you posted online or something someone saw you do in real life. Your rating determines your social status. Your job, your friends, the houses and cars you're eligible for, literally everything in life depends on your rating. People in the episode are obsessed with getting ratings, or perhaps in reality it would be Likes. I just think of this insane society where I am belittled to a rating on social media. At least people can choose to not have a phone or social media accounts. While it is an unpopular decision, we are not forced to mindlessly scroll around on our Facebook feed. Social media is a crucial aspect of our lives, and it is only going to develop further. The only thing we can do is prevent it from consuming us like in Black Mirror.