Social Media: Popularity Skyrocketing, Self-Esteem Crumbling
February 25, 2020
Social media is home to millions of users. There are pros and cons to all different sorts of social media. There are pros such as sharing a photo with your friends or a humorous video you made with a friend. But, there are serious consequences that come with it, like addiction, depression, and stress.
Social media has grown since it was invented. Snapchat, Tik Tok, Instagram, Reddit, Twitter, Youtube, Facebook, are just some of those good apps you know and love. The app that started the social media trend is a media program called SixDegrees, launched in 1997. It was big and the fact that it was the first of its kind prompted many fellow social media software to come in the future. EVERYBODY was using it. After seeing how well the program did, others started using the software too. Here’s a list of the social media apps from oldest to newest.
- Six Degrees, 1997
- Facebook, 2004
- Reddit, 2005
- Youtube, 2005
- Twitter, 2006
- Instagram, 2010
- Snapchat, 2011
- Twitch 2011
- Musical.ly, 2014
- TikTok, 2017
The 3 apps with most users are Facebook (2.3 billion), Youtube (1.9 billion), and Instagram (1 billion) and they continue to grow every day. Social media affects people mentally and physically. It can make you depressed, or weak from being a couch potato and not exercising. Even worse, cyberbullying on social media can affect people severely. These statistics show the effects of cyberbullying on social media.
- 9% Began abusing alcohol or drugs
- 14% Developed an eating disorder
- 20% Started skipping class
- 24% Stopped using social media altogether
- 25% Engaged in self-harm
- 26% Deleted their social media profiles
- 26% Had suicidal thoughts
- 37% Developed depression
- 41% developed social anxiety
Social media cyberbullying can lead to depression, which can lead to issues such as stress eating disorders, social anxiety, and self-harm. But that’s not it. Some parents don’t limit phone time and it leads their children to be continuously on social media. This is called addiction or overuse. Some apps encourage this addiction, especially Snapchat. There’s something called a “Streak”, which is when you and whoever you are snapping keep snapping each other using special emojis. Kids everywhere are trying to break the record of 1,640 days of constant snapping, almost 5 years of constant social media!
Although social media is a good working business, you have to be careful. Think to yourself, “Is this smart?”, “What if the effects are bad?” And always think twice before Snapping that snap or posting that image or dancing that TikTok. As always, remember, “Think before you act.”
Works Cited
“51 Critical Cyber Bullying Statistics in 2020.” BroadbandSearch.net, www.broadbandsearch.net/blog/cyber-bullying-statistics.
Public Affairs. “What Is Cyberbullying.” StopBullying.gov, 4 Dec. 2019, www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/what-is-it.
