Social ‘ME’dia

"Social Media Treadmill" by Intersection Digital is licensed under CC BY 2.0

While sitting in my car enjoying a coffee between one stop to the next, I looked around and found myself observing those around me. Some people were inside the coffee shop, some sitting in vehicles in the parking lot while others were walking by. My biggest observation in this moment was that almost all the people in my sight were busy scrolling or typing away on their electronic devices. This led me to wonder, how come everyone is so fixated on their phones (or any type of device)? Are they working? Or browsing Facebook? Maybe they are watching the newest TikTok trend? I don’t know the answer to this and I truly never will, but it did lead me to consider Social media in a more critical light.  

For many people across the world, social media has become a part of one’s everyday life. For some, they want to connect with their friends and family by sharing a photo of the food they’ve just purchased. While maybe others are writing a blog and sharing their deepest thoughts and insights on a great (or potentially awful) new product they just purchased. Social media is something that will continue to grow and evolve in the years to come, but is it really for the best?

Of course, the impact of social media cannot simply be placed in one positive or negative box. As you can imagine this is a decision that each individual person or business will have to decide for themselves based on their beliefs and personal opinions.

"Automotive Social Media Marketing" by socialautomotive is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

Let’s look at some of the positives and negatives of social media use:

Advantages	Disadvantages
Staying connected with family and friends	Decreased face to face interaction
Lightning-fast information	Cyberbullying
Education	Isolation
Employment opportunities	Depression
Community discussions	Loss of sleep

For me personally, I love using Facebook and Instagram to stay connected to those that I may have fell out of touch with – I have the ability to see photos of their growing families and updates showcasing their travels around the world. I’ve benefited from joining in community discussions and have even learned new things as people contribute information and experiences into groups I like and follow. Lastly, I consistently see new employment opportunities that I have on several occasions been able to share with inner circles.

With many things in life, good things can come with bad. With that, I can admit I truly enjoy scrolling through my social media accounts but am also aware that some of the above listed negatives have impacted me. I’ve lost sleep while mindlessly scrolling and I’ve watched several moms in a local mom group I follow be bullied for sharing their opinions on various topics. I also have to admit that I’ve decreased face to face interactions simply because I feel like I’m ‘in the know’ of a friend due to their recent Instagram post(s) that I don’t think to make a phone call or send a text to meet up and ‘catch up’ in person.

With that, it makes me wonder; even if the disadvantages outweighed the advantages, would it really matter? Would it stop you as a person from engaging in these platforms? The answer is likely that it would not stop you from using social media. Whether we want to believe it or not, social media will likely unavoidably remain present in many of our lives; so, I feel it is important to find a healthy balance. Reading this article from Bustle I found several ways to try and balance. Here are a few take away points that have stuck with me:

1. Call – don’t text – a friend
2. Dedicate time for face-to-face contact
3. Section off specific times for surfing the web
4. Use a real alarm clock instead of your phone

These are only a few points that I plan to focus on but I’m curious what do you do to maintain a healthy balance, if any at all? Sound off below in the comments!

Facebook Post:
How do you balance your social media use? Check out this blog and let me know your thoughts: Social ‘ME’dia #socialmedia #healthyboundaries

Twitter Post:
Balancing social media life with real life – check out this blog and share your thoughts! Social ‘ME’dia #socialmediainsights #advantages #disadvantages #healthyboundaries

References

10 Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media for Society – (techmaish.com)
20 Social Media Advantages And Disadvantages (3nions.com)
10 Negative Effects of Social Media That Can Harm Your Life (lifehack.org)
https://www.bustle.com/articles/138551-7-ways-to-balance-social-media-with-real-life
https://i0.wp.com/www.techquintal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Advantages-and-Disadvantages-of-Social-Media.jpg?w=1366&ssl=1
https://content.thriveglobal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Smart_ways_to_break_your_social_media_addiction-1024×681.png?w=1550