Social media has been a huge influence on our lives for the past few years and has changed how we communicate, express ourselves and share our opinions. Yet, despite its many positive aspects, social media also comes with many unsavory topics. There are problems that seem to haunt every platform like privacy issues, cyberbullying and fake news spreading. These problems can cause feelings of insecurity while also discouraging people from using social media in general. In terms of media richness, social media types rated highest in media richness are photography, word of mouth, video, and print . Each of these has its own way of reaching out to consumers.
Another issue with social media is how it impacts the self-esteem. There have been many reports published by a variety of news organizations which have concluded that social media negatively impacts our self-esteem and mental health. The way we share our lives via digital technology leads people to compare themselves to others who post seemingly flawless images on sites like Instagram. These images often make users feel insecure or inadequate in comparison to their peers. Generally, social media platforms have become a breeding ground for mean comments, criticism and bullying on other users posts.
Through the years, social media has grown into a changing environment we inhabit. One issue affecting this development is cyberbullying. Cyber bullying reaches people from all ages and it can give rise to a number of mental health problems among children. Some of the effects include anxiety and depression, lowered self-esteem and suicidal tendencies among other things.
In an article on *Social Media Examiner *sites like Twitter and Facebook are not liable for your security. It goes on to say that there is no way to keep your personal information safe while using social media sites especially when they have over 2 billion active users. Social media users have been reporting illegal activities on some platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram among others.
Most Effective Ways To Overcome Social Media Problems :
1.Carpooling services for busier times.
There are services that have been designed to help people find carpool partners when they need to go long distances during busy traffic times like rush hours. These services can be found easily online and they all work the same way. You create a profile, share the details of where you plan to go and when then allow other people on the website to contact you with their offers if they are going in the same direction. The best part is these services are free of charge.
2.Organize your photos regularly.
The easiest way to deal with social media clutter is by organizing your photos regularly. You can set aside some time to go through all your images and select the ones you think are worth keeping. Delete any image you don’t like and then give them a new location in your photo library or a new album.
3.Become aware of the risks.
When using social media sites or any other public place for that matter, you should be aware of potential dangers that may arise. There have been cases where people have been robbed, sexually assaulted or even killed while using social media at home or in public places such as cafes and restaurants. This is why it is important to stay alert when using social media through phones, laptops or PCs so that you do not fall prey to criminals looking for easy targets.
4.Report bullying on Facebook.
Social media platforms have a huge role to play in the fight against bullying and cyberbullying. Facebook is a great tool for use when you want to report bullying or any other abusive behavior on the web. You can file reports on different social media platforms and you should be prepared to provide the details of the post or comment that prompted you to report it so that they can identify it easily.
5.Find healthy online communities.
It can be hard to find supportive communities online for people suffering from mental health problems such as anxiety, depression and low self-esteem among others but there are ways you can find them easily online. You can join online communities or online forums, use search engines to find existing communities and use the search box in your browsers to avoid troubles finding the right one for you.
6.Realize that social media is not a competition.
Social media sites have become a competitive place where people show off their achievements, photos and articles about them. These actions will only make you feel bad about yourself when compared to other people’s posts that are of a higher quality than yours. This is why it is important to realize that social media is not something like a competition . You should never compare yourself with others in your same field of interest or industry so you can fulfill your desires in life without comparing yourself to others.
