Photoshop, scams, predators, and hate speech. This is just the surface of social media’s detriments. The truth is, the anonymity associated with social media leads to bullying, lying, crime, and violence. When hidden behind a secret account, users will face no consequences for their actions online.

Charleston County School District has filed a lawsuit against TikTok, Meta (owners of Facebook and Instagram), Snapchat, YouTube, and their parent companies. The topic of social media has been prevalent in today’s society particularly regarding whether or not it is negatively affecting the mental health of its users.

Social media has created a new job field entirely. Up and coming influencers make money through their outreach in the form of creator funds and partnerships with companies for advertisements. Not to mention, these platforms have been crucial in raising awareness to certain social issues. There have been countless times in which the internet has banded together on a specific issue to make change. For instance, news of the murder of George Floyd echoed across the entire globe partly due to the uproar of advocates on social media platforms. Social media also helps small businesses gain supporters since the majority of these platforms follow algorithms which show users content they would be interested in that is also local to them. Through this, people can easily discover stores, restaurants, events, etc.

However, it is crucial that the consequences of social media be weighed properly in comparison to its benefits. The reality is that social media does more harm than good, especially when it comes to young, developing minds. Photoshop and filters have led to unrealistic beauty standards and have certainly played a role in increased disordered eating among teenagers. In fact, some social media sites admit to having a default “beauty filter” or something similar to increase user
engagement.

Roughly 300,000 social media accounts experience a cyber attack per day. Social media has been one of the biggest targets for internet scammers and has led to many people falling victim to fraud.

Social media is also incredibly dangerous for users’ safety. If users are not careful with what they post, predators or criminals in general,have the ability to find their location and could potentially harm someone. The amount of hate speech and cyberbullying that is commonplace on social media sites. There are entire comment sections filled with the most degrading insults and blatant prejudice. There are accounts made just to spread misinformation and hate in the name of whatever moral or political agenda the owner follows.

So, economically speaking, social media is amazing for providing a whole new job market. The argument can even be made that the advocacy and unifying qualities of social media has led to an increase in social justice especially in the favor of minorities. However, at the end of the day, social media is a disease. It is an addiction that is just as harmful as any other. There is no amount of benefits that could ever outweigh the negatives. It is crucial that, collectively, society acknowledges the drawbacks of social media and continue to make steps towards improvement.