Social Media is Tearing Us Apart

Social Media is Tearing Us Apart

Different people have different perceptions about globalization as a concept. If people in big global cities were asked about globalization, they would most likely connect their response to “growing forms of connectivity fueled by exploding information and communication technologies.”This term was used in the English language around the 1940s but didn’t actually get used in everyday life until a half a century later (Chapter 1 Globalization: A Contested Concept). People’s personal experiences allow them to shape their own definition of what “globalization” means; For example, when I think of globalization, I immediately think of social media. The presence of the Internet and other social media platforms is a critical component of our society today and is continuously growing at a strong rate, as seen in the below graph. If you ask yourself right now when that last time you went on the Internet, you’d probably respond by saying “right now.” I believe social media, a key component within globalization, emits extremely negative effects and is one of the reasons that globalization has been tearing society further apart. The effect of social media leads to mental health disorders, screen addiction and isolation, and violence, all of which rip our society further apart.

One of the countless negative effects of social media is the development of mental health disorders. The discovery of several studies shows that there is a direct correlation between social media and depression, anxiety, sleep deprivation, eating disorders, and even suicide. Social media particularly targets adolescent youth, which means that young children start viewing images of models and photoshopped images of the “perfect” skinny women at a very young age. Growing up seeing these photos allow them to believe that all women, including themselves, should look like the models they see on Instagram because that is the definition of beauty. This is problematic because less than 5% of the population portray the actual model figure, and the pictures of the models are so incredibly Photoshopped that the models themselves don’t even look how they are portrayed in pictures. Cindy Crawford, a worldwide famous supermodel, once said, “I wish I looked like Cindy Crawford.”This just shows that the perfect woman doesn’t exist as the beauty ideal is constantly changing. This whole idea is extremely problematic because young girls at home who are on social media platforms attempt to mimic how these models look. This is where they run into mental health issues. They become depressed because they are not satisfied with their own, real body figure, which commonly results in eating disorders like anorexia. They starve themselves to try to become skinny like the models they see online, and may even go to the extent of throwing up the food they ate to achieve skinniness. According to CNC, the suicide rate in the US has increased a huge 25% since 1999 and Dr. Nassir Ghaemi wholesomely blames social media.

As a result of all of this, social media users feel the need to Photoshop their images before posting them online. Especially focusing on young girls, they try manipulating their bodies into appearing skinnier. Common edits also include whitening their teeth, thinning their noses, enlarging their breasts, and enlarging their eyes. They falsely edit their body so they could resemble the models they see online, which is challenging, as the models don’t even look like themselves. The typical idea of being white, skinny, and blonde is an image that young girls strive to look like, but what they don’t realize is that beauty comes in all different shapes and sizes. However, most girls may not even realize this because all the photos they see posted online are completely photoshopped and are of models. It is clear that social media is harming society, leading to dangerous disorders and death.

Social media has become such a prominent aspect in today’s culture that people’s habitual social media usage has increased to a point of an unhealthy and dangerous addiction. A huge issue with this revolves around texting/checking their phone and driving. According to AAA, 94% of teen drivers recognize the dangers of texting and driving, however, 35% of them admit that they text and drive anyways. Consequently, 21% of teen drivers have been in fatal accidents due to being distracted by their phones. Therefore, not only can the Internet and social media addiction lead to death, but it commonly also leads to isolation. Many youths scroll through social media for hours, preferring to be alone and on their phones rather than interacting with other humans, like family or friends. Especially at young ages, learning to be social and communicating with others is crucial to later future success, and the fact that children rather sit on their phones than interact with each other is undeniably problematic.

While most of us are aware that social media could be a useful tool in areas of connecting people across the globe, it could also make people’s lives miserable and dangerous. Social media releases personal information to everyone, whether that is to friends or to complete strangers. There is a creepy amount of access available to anyone who wants to see your pictures, personal information and history, regardless if the account holder arranged their settings to “private.” The issue of stalking and blackmailing has been an increasing issue as a result of social media. The easy access to information and even current locations of where you are allows stalkers to easily find you. This is obviously a huge issue. 

In conclusion, social media’s negative effects have life-threatening impacts on people’s lives, especially on young children. Although social media is very strong at connecting people across the globe, its negative effects are much more serious. A few out of numerous cons include mental health disorders, an addiction that leads to isolation, and dangerous stalkers. The majority of these effects could potentially lead to deaths, too. Social media has become such a crucial part of our society today, which is why I view it as apart of globalization. Thus, it is evident that globalization is slowly tearing society apart.