In the last five years, various social networking sites have taken the virtual world by storm. Now we have more friends on these sites than real life. Facebook and Twitter have reshaped our lives, sitting at home we can share ideas, feelings, pictures and details of our lives with people living in different countries and get instant feedback. Through all of this we are getting awareness about the current happenings in the world. Nothing is private anymore. People use the internet to connect, gain information but more importantly, to please people. “undoubtedly, these social networking sites… portray a larger then life attitude and prove beneficial in all walks of lives, be it for a student, a professional, a retired person as well. But more often than not, the social mob calls for a safe reminder. Having all things considered, you better cherish or else simply perish!”
We’re living in a time where the world is open to us. We can contact anyone around the world at anytime, we can share elements of our lives, all within the comfort of our homes. Social media has made it possible for individuals to discuss important topics, widen their knowledge and discover new things. Young people around the world are now more valued then ever in their countries politics, this could all happen because of social media. We have everything we need on one device, our whole world revolves around our phones and everyday they are getting updated and new apps are being made so that we don’t need to carry anything with but these amazing devices, “They said women want big bag, I held up my phone and said, thats my life right here.”
However there is a lot of stigma about the internet; Social media has allowed us to hide behind screens and has limited our social face to face interaction with the world, you can have the feeling of being social without being with anyone. We can also have ‘friends’ without building up proper relationships. The internet has taken over our lives; its a distraction in todays society. we can can’t enjoy the world around us for an hour without retreating back to our ‘safe screen world’. “Several experts, including Dr Bijal Chheda-Varma, a psychologist at London’s Nightingale Hospital, who has seen in first hand, a marked increase in females teen patients with eating disorders, self-harming issues, depression and anxiety, believe the amount of social media interaction among adolescents is to blame. “Dear Susan, recently i spotted a text on my 15 year olds daughter’s phone where she was talking to a male inappropriately and swearing. I have confiscated her phone, but she also chats on her laptop. I feel like i can’t stay on top of who she is talking to because she delete everything if i ask to see it. How can i make sure she’s safe and encourage her to open up to me?” This i an article from a popular magazine, it is indicated the scary side of the internet that we have no control over. We can be anyone we want online without anyone stopping us. We can send instant photos that don’t last more then 10 seconds, it is a lot easier to share everything about ourselves without realising the consequences.
FlorenceValentine 