Where Do We Draw the Line in Social Media?

Social Media has become part of our daily routine. Some of us even use it as a work platform. But it can bring some side effects.

So, where do we draw the line when it comes to the benefits and disadvantages? In this slogging thread, we covered topics such as the pros and cons of the use of social media, how they affect our lives, as well as how we can control some issues that can come with them.

This Slogging thread by Sara Pinto, Jack Boreham, Mónica Freitas, Khamisi Hamisi, Favour Amadi and Abeer occurred in slogging's official #technology channel, and has been edited for readability.

Where do we draw the line between the advantages and disadvantages of social media?

Sara Pinto, great question! The lines are drawn when social media starts to become harmful mentally. It can be advantageous to connect with pals 24/7, but eventually, as I've found out, it can have a bad mental impact in the long run. Taking a break after that is best.

Sara Pinto A bit in line with what Jack has said, for me, the line is when it becomes addictive. When you start feeling constantly drawn to it to the point where you stop what you're doing to check your socials, that's problematic. Sure, there are tones of perks: you can stay in touch with people, it's a great source of inspiration and information, it's entertaining and even aesthetically pleasing, but it can suck you in. You lose track of time, and you're just numbing your brain.

Sara Pinto Where do you draw the line?

Mónica Freitas Jack Boreham I have to agree with both of you. We surround ourselves with an enormous quantity of information that, at some point, may become harmful. And it leads to all kinds of issues, from "the fear of missing out" to the way we view ourselves. It's disturbing how we still let these situations slide without sometimes considering it a real problem. What action do you think it could be taken to avoid such situations?

Limarc Ambalina Khamisi Hamisi Allyson Blinkhorn Favour Amadi Daniel Guzman What do you think?

Sara Pinto I'm not sure that there's something you can do to prevent it because it is up to each individual to choose how they want to spend their time, how long they want to stay connected on social media per day, which accounts to follow, and so on. You can warn people about the risks and create support groups, but these will only serve to cushion the fall.

Mónica Freitas What about ways to manage what appears to us and not the time maybe? Not in a controlling way, but by supporting good methods, as you mentioned. For example, regarding the impact it has on our physic, we could promote inclusivity by using different photos, and so on

Sara Pinto Mónica Freitas , Social media can be crazy. Obsession is where you can draw the line. People get obsessed and eventually get attached to whatever they see. A friend posts a meal they are having in Dubai, or having a holiday in Italy yet you cannot go there. You start getting obsessed with that person. Obsession is where social media becomes dangerous. Everything else comes after that. Depression, misery, lonelyness, anger, and so on.

Now, imagine there are 10 or more people you are obsessed with. It can be athletes, artists, self made millionaires, and so on. You feed off their lifestyle because you think yours sucks.

Khamisi Hamisi I agree with you 100%. It almost becomes like a competition in your own head about who has it better, wanting to show it off, and the people posting might have the same issue. It becomes a vicious cycle. Unfortunately, even though it talked about it more each time, I don't these issues aren't correctly acknowledged. Simply saying "get off your phone" won't do it

Social media has a lot of advantages and one of which is how fast news is moved around the world. It's crazy that without social media, a lot will be happening around us and beyond and we will go about our lives oblivious of this.
This i think it's also disadvantageous because I am of the opinion that as human beings, we're not meant to consume that much news. Social media doesn't just bring news to your hands, it aggravates it. It causes panic and idk. I'm still trying to find a balance Sara Pinto

Favour Amadi I agree, everything is so easy to reach: news, friends, info, and so on. But at some point, it can become overwhelming. I think we start to get a need to always be on top of everything, even if it won't help and only disturb. Do you think social media can be one of the main sources of anxienty?

It definitely has been for me Sara Pinto. It has also made me feel helpless and useless in some cases.

Favour Amadi In what ways do you think we can avoid these situations?

I think one can limit the time spent reading bad news, filter what you can and constantly remind yourself that because it's happening there doesn't mean it's coming to you Sara Pinto

Favour Amadi That's a good idea!

IC Do you know any way to avoid the bad outcome of social media? Such as anxiety and fear of missing out

Abeer Where do you draw the line?

Sara Pinto Misinformation. Social media has a lot of good and bad but the spread of misinformation is in my opinion the biggest issue. I remember during the elections, many people had no clue what they were talking about as they continued to regurgitate obviously false information spread on social media. When Covid first hit, many people were misinformed about how dangerous it was. Many people believed posts on social media, and calling it a hoax or saying a certain tonic or vitamin is all you need to be protected. So many people died due to it and misinformation about it still continues to spread.