In the article, “The Furor Over Facebook” (Upfront) I learned that social media is harming the mental health of several people, especially teenagers. It makes them feel worse about themselves and further puts them in a negative mindset such as Iris who was looking to improve her body positivity on Instagram but was instead offered dieting options. The article adds that Facebook knows that the media is causing harm to teenagers, but they simply don’t care and tried to profit off of the damage they are causing instead of helping. Teenagers, typically girls, base their appearance based on influencers on social media and follow diets in order to achieve that certain body type. This is something that further damages their mindset as they may start to have body dysmorphia.
It is shocking to see how much we have allowed technology to revolve around us and influence our mood. We are addicted to social media and don’t seem to care if it is addictive or if it causes more depression or anxiety in ourselves. It lessens the face-to-face communication skills we need in life and instead forces us to become awkward. Furthermore, it also causes many teenagers to lose sleep, which is harming them in the long run. Additionally, it is upsetting to see how many girls feel pressured to starve or change themselves because they feel as if they don’t fit into society’s mold.
Do you believe that people are revolving themselves too much around social media?