Overuse of Social Media

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         When you hear social media what is the first thing that will come up in your mind? What first thing that will come up in my mind is Facebook or any other social media that I use. We all know social media is very helpful nowadays, but as we all know, everything has an advantage and disadvantages. We love to use Social Medias, not all but many of us love to us it. And because of that we tend to overuse it. Before we go on in our main topic, we must first know what social media is. Social media based on what I researched is the collective of online communications channels dedicated to community-based input, interaction, content sharing and collaboration. Websites and applications dedicated to forums, micro blogging, social networking, social bookmarking, social curation, and wikis are among the different types of social media. Social Medias are too mainstream nowadays. Especially in social networking. If you don’t have one, you will not be updated in what’s happening around you because almost all of the people around the world have a social media account.

             Social Medias are helpful in many ways. By social media, you can easily catch up with your friends through their statuses, photos, and videos they post. It can also help is to communicate with our friends or love ones in abroad. Social media is not just important for your personal life, it is also a great tool for businesses or anyone trying to develop their personal network or look for a job. Social media can also entertain us especially when we are bored or we are stressed. These online social media have gained growth and popularity worldwide which has led to attracting others to use it. Social media has its perk. Whether it’s being updated with what’s going on with the population, sharing your thoughts or keeping contact with your friends and family over the globe, it has evolved and become popular form of communication. But is it worth it? Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, etc.  are time consuming and nearly addictive. People find themselves staying up late making changes to their profiles, posting new pictures, or tweeting. Even I is guilty about this. I always challenge myself not to use social media but I just can’t help myself. It is fun, entertaining, and addictive. I believe that I’m not the only one who is guilty in this said topic. Many of us experienced to overuse social medias.

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            This sometimes done at the cost of sleep. Sleep is one of the most important things to kids, teenagers, and adults in their health. Facebook, Twitter, etc........... will still be there in the morning. What someone ate for their lunch or what they plan to do for weekend is not as important as getting a sufficient amount of rest. Lack of sleep can cause many problems including bad concentration, muscle aches, and memory lapses, not to mention long-term effects such as obesity, diabetes and being more prone to illnesses. Previously, we use computer in accessing the internet. But nowadays, we have many gadgets that we can now use to surf net such as tablets, laptops, phones, etc…. because of this, we can now easily surf the internet and use the social media. We don’t need to go to computer shops anymore because we now use cellphones which is handy. Most phones can now host applications which allows us to have access to social networks 24/7, especially when we are at our schools or for adults in their works. Many people update statuses and tweets while in the middle of the lessons or in works. Although it may not seem like a big deal then, for students, it distracts you from what you’re learning and you may miss out later on hen struggling to understand what was taught to you. Not to mention it is also against the rules and teachers find it disrespectful when you’re using it in his or her class.

           As a worker, it can also distract you to finish your work. It can also lead you to your loss of job when your boss finds out that you are using one while at work. While social media seems to bring people together and connected on the other hand creates social isolation in regard to BBC News report. As the people, specifically the youth, tend to spend many hours on these sites, they rarely have face-to-face interaction. According to various studies, scientists’ evaluation determined that social isolation can lead to emotional, psychological, physical and mental problems which include anxiety, depression, and somatic complaints among many others. Because of overusing, we tend to surf and surf that can lead us to poor spelling and grammar, exposing underage to online predators, allowing spread of misinformation that is perceived as fact, decreasing productivity as those who are supposed to be working studying, playing outside, exercising, etc… spend time in the sites to chat, provide a perfect platform for bullying and providing details that can increase risks of identity theft. Why does overusing social medias leads us to poor spelling and grammar? Is it possible? Yes, it is possible. Base on my experiences, this statement is very true because in the internet, there is a thing called, “internet slangs” that is always used in social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Internet slang (Internet shorthand, Cyber-slang, net speak, or chat speak) refers to a variety of slang languages used by different people on the Internet. An example of Internet slangis " LOL " meaning "laugh out loud".In my experiences, there is one time that I am making an essay and accidentally used an internet slang on it like “don’t me” etc.. which are grammatically wrong. Think about it. If younger ones are used to social networking and they see this every time, they will think that this is a correct grammar even though it is not. Sometimes spellings are also changed. 

       

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             Overusing it can lead us to danger. Especially to minors. They usually surf and overuse social sites that can lead them to online predators. Online Predators are defined as adult online users who seek to exploit vulnerable children or adolescents for sexual or other abusive purposes. Online Predators are sexual predators who use Information and Communications Technology and the Internet to locate, target and victimize minors. Scary, isn’t it? The fact that there are persons who do this, can you let your child or our little brothers and sister especially for girls be victimize by these online predators? With this, I suggest that we must not let younger ones to have an account in social networks. Or if they have already, let us teach them to use it limitedly for them not to overuse and also for their safety by these predators and also for their health. Third, as they we scroll and scroll in social sites, we often say that we are updated. Yes we are. We also learn new things because of this. But, how sure are you that what you read is a fact and not a mere misinformation? If we are informed correctly, we are prepared in times of emergency. If we easily believe in the information in the internet we will be deceived and will do things that can be dangerous to us. There is one site that is very popular to students, it is the Wikipedia. If you will inspect it, you will see that there is an edit button in it. The information in Wikipedia can be changed so if we research, some of our teachers discourage us to use Wikipedia in searching information. Instead, we may use other sites or books that will help us or give us information. Also in social sites like Facebook, Twitter, etc… there are many facts and news that are leaked on that sites. I discourage you to not to always rely in these facts because it may be fake. Fourth, overusing social media can decrease ourproductivity in work, study, etc…… does a student want to be punished by a teacher or called in the guidance or principal office because of an offense? Of course not!If a student is violating a rule, this might happen. Because of the addicting social media, we students tend to use our phones while we are in class. Some students can’t wait for the class to finish because in the fact that they are unconsciously addict in social media because they are overusing it. We must always remember that this can affect our studies and it can be disrespectful to teachers.Also in work, if we are caught using Facebook in work by our boss. What do you think will happen? Fifth, overusing social media can provide a perfect platform for cyber bullying.Cyber bullying is one of the most popular thing in social media. Many are victimized by cyber bullying. This is a very serious thing because cyber bullying can also lead a victim to its death. Can we just please stop cyber bullying? It’s a sad thing that social media can make a big impact to our life. Some says that they can’t live without it. And next. Which for me is very dangerous. The identity theft. This is a very serious matter. Identity theft, the fraudulent acquisition and use of a person's private identifying information, usually for financial gain. If we are not careful in social sites hackers can use our personal information for their own gain which can let them use your money in your bank or even worst, use you name in their illegal transactions that will make you become the suspect even if you’re not. We must not share our personal information or post a picture of our ids or passport. Always think before you click.
            We constantly check our accounts, to know if there have been any changes or not. Out of the habit, using social media can really pull time any time quicker than you would imagine. Sometimes people start caring more about staying updated with what is going on that than about grades or life. Me, myself and I stay up late because of social media. And I can really say that it is very distracting in my studies. I often think to deactivate all of my social networking sites because of the fact that it is distracting me in my studies but I just can’t do it. Especially in Facebook, because sometimes our projects, research and assignments, Facebook is a tool. For example, conducting a social experiment, posting our projects like a film or pictures that must be shared in social media. Social media is also important in keeping in touch with my classmates when there are meetings, or practices for school’s activities. I stay up late because of scrolling in Facebook and then in the mornings I wake up annoyed at the lack of my sleep and wanting to blame whosoever set 7:30 a.m. as an appropriate time to attend school.

   

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           I have also read an article about FOMO or fear of missing out. It is a real thing and it’s adversely affecting teenagers on social medias. In that article, it is said that according to recently presented findings, the “pressure to be available 24/7” and the perceived necessity of “responding to posts or texts immediately can increase anxiety.” And despite the fact that kids these days are more reachable and plugged in than ever, it comes at a high cost, with scientists finding feelings of “anxiety around missing out.”
            And surprisingly, as I continue to read that article, the team at the University of Glasgow found that teens who were extremely active and also emotionally invested in their digital lives reported worse sleep quality, lower self-esteem, and higher instances of anxiety and depression when compared to their peers who cared less or at least spent less time in social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Youtube, etc….. In particular, teens who spend more time on these sites in the vening were observed to be particularly susceptible to their negative effects.

      

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            I already mentioned the effects of social media in our mental health like the anxiety. But how about to our physical health? Can it affect our physical health? Does overuse of social media affect our physical health? Yes, it can. Overusing it can affect our body. Some physical effects of social media are, weight gain, poor posture, eye strain, and poor circulation. We can really weight gain just by surfing and surfing the net. We tend to become lazy and as we surf the social media we don’t do productive things anymore like taking a walk outside. Because of this, we easily gain weight. It is very risky because gaining weight can lead us to many diseases. Also to our posture. When we don’t move often, our muscles and bones will be affected that can also affect our posture and will weaken our muscles and bones. The muscle ache that you feel is a sign especially when you use your gadgets often. Also in our eyes. When we feel a headache from using our gadgets often, one of the causes is because our eyes are tired from the light of our certain gadget that we are using as we surf and surf. It is very dangerous to our eyes because our once high definition view will become blurry because of abusing or overusing of social media. It can also affect the circulation of our body which can be a cause of us to be weak because the oxygen and nutrients in our body are not distributed well.
            As we all know, gadgets like computer, tablets, cellphones, laptops, etc…. has an active radiation. Do you know that if we are exposed to gadgets every day we are also exposed to radiation which is very dangerous to us. Because it is said that a high dose of radiation are used to destroy cancer cells. But the side effect is, it can also damage healthy cells and tissues in our bodies. We can have skin problems, fatigue, muscle pains, etc…. that is how dangerous the radiation is.
            There is also a type of services of social media which is the virtual world. Examples of this are the online games that are popular to teenagers. There are many gamers worldwide. Although online games are not bad, because it can entertain us, and we can also meet other people because we can be connected to other people by playing games, it doesn’t mean that we must play and play every day. Yes we can socialize by playing but it is said that because of these games, many students are always absent because they often go to computer shops instead of playing. Sometimes, a player can stay late at night or they can play until morning because they are addicted to a certain game. And that is bad really bad to our health. Lack of sleep can weaken our immune system which can lead us to diseases it can also make our headaches and eyes strain because of the overuse.
            Social media covers many. It can be, bookmarking or news sites, blogs, or micro blogs, social networking sites, shopping sites, multimedia sharing, and virtual world. We can see here that how social media is very wide. Yes social media can be helpful to us. But overusing it cannot help us in many ways.
            Also take note about his one, drugs, cigarettes, alcohol, etc… is not only the thing that is addicting. Social media can also be addicting. I have known many people who are addicted to social media. They can’t be calm if they don’t check their accounts.
            Now that I come up to this topics, we will now know some of the effects or of overuse of social media. Social media is useful and it is not bad at all. I use social media for me to entertain and for my study and connecting to my friends, classmate, and family. Social media clearly portrays both positive and negative effects in our lives. It is a  decision of an individual to make whether to continue to use the sites or not. Social media is highly addictive and it can lead us to be distracted in many ways.
            Back to the days that social media are not that popular, it took very little to have fun. Simple outdoor activities such as patintero, tagotagoan, tumbang lata, habulan, basketball, volleyball, etc……. can make us happy. Things changed drastically once the social media presented to teens. Social media has given us more ways to express ourselves. Although social media is the top form of communication even above cellphones, it has brought us many risks. Social media has chabged a lot in recent memory, affecting communication methods among us kids, teens, and adults, social, physical, and psychological behavior.
            My conclusion about the this topic is social media is not that bad but we must limit or balance ourselves in using it. Think about the time you wasted in scrolling through social media, instead of you doing some productive things like learning to cook, helping household chores, exercising, walking your dog out, studying, doing your assignments, etc… you are there sitting or lying in the bed that keeps on scrolling and scrolling until you get sleepy. Time is gold. We must not waste it. We are not only wasting our time but we are also shortening our time because in overusing social media, you can acquire diseases easily.
            Social media can be helpful. Social be media can be unhelpful. It really depends on the user how they use it. Social media can help us in our education, politics, and awareness because of information, social benefits, and job opportunities.
            Just because of this, social media is very popular. So many people tend to abuse or over use it. If we overuse a thing, it will be damage. But, if we overuse social media, it is not n=the social media that will be damages. It is us that will be damaged physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Overuse of social media can make us addicted to it. That we will come to the point that we will say that we can’t live without it.
            In many cases, it is clear that social media have become not only part of people’s lives but the things their lives revolve around. We see people checking smartphones every two minutes, looking for at least tweet or status update. It is important yet difficult to retain the attitude that these sites may be useful, but that’s all they are- tools, not lifestyles.
            Actually me myself is guilty, as I make and type this document, I am distracted by social media. So I really finished this in a long time. If haven’t scrolled and lurk I finished this earlier.

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            We should limit ourselves in the time of using social media and create some valuable time or other meaningful things, especially studying for students like me. While it is true that social media allows us to develop our identity because we choose our own profile picture, lists our likes and dislikes, it does not necessarily mean that we have not given more than enough information needed. If we use social media, and technology every day, it can have a bad effect on our overall health. I agree with this claim because anything we use or do on a daily basis may eventually turn into an addiction which we later tend to overuse.
            In short, social media have been overused and it has a negative effect on our overall wellbeing and majorly studies. Because of this, therefore, we should try to limit the amount of the time we spend in social media ad dedicate it to other meaningful things in our life most especially our studies and careers.