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In today’s internet age, social media is an inevitable tool to live our lives in the way we like to. According to recent research, about 4.80 billion people worldwide use social media which is nearly 60% of the world population. As the number of internet users is growing day by day, we can see visible growth in social media users too. By looking up these vast numbers, now the time has come to think about social media impacted society.
Nowadays, social media became a mandatory part of our everyday life. Our way of living and thinking has changed with the use of social media. We can’t spend even a single day without using Facebook, Whatsapp, YouTube, Twitter, WeChat, etc. Social media platform impacts our personal and social life significantly. Here, we will discuss the various perspective on the impact of social media on society.
1. Positive Impacts
Every new thing has some pros and cons. Social media also have some negative and positive impacts on society. Here are the main positive impacts:
1.1. Getting Connected With Friends and Relatives
Various social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp play the role of a bridge to connect us with our friends and relatives.
Due to our busy scheduled lifestyle, we don’t get time to visit them personally as frequently as needed. But through social networking sites, we get their updated information and communicate with them by mobile phones from our homes.
Moreover, we can wish our friends birthdays, anniversaries, and other special days through social media. As a result, our relationship with our friends and relatives becomes stronger. And it also diminishes the communication gaps.
1.2. Getting Updated With Current Trends
We can get updated with the current trends of the new generation through social media. To keep yourself up-to-date it’s most important to follow the latest trend.
You can easily get to know what latest fashion is going on around the modern world, and how people live their lives in your neighborhood or remote country. It’s only possible through social media sites.
Furthermore, social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter highlight their trends to encourage engagement and discussions for social media users.
1.3. Social Media As a Medium of Education
Online learning is like a blessing for the students of the new-age education system. Specially YouTube took a commendable role in this segment. You can easily get your required class based on any topic on YouTube free of cost at the ease of your home.
I have learned so many things from various social platforms to upgrade myself. My son, studying at an intermediate level, takes his tuition classes through YouTube regularly. Like us, enormous people nowadays take this advantage of new-age learning methods and gain some specialized knowledge.
On the whole, social media is a better platform to get mentorship to learn new skills and make preparation for your future career. Here is the meeting point for the educators and students.

1.4. Social Media As a Place of Job Search
Social media has become a significant meeting place among job seekers and employers. You can make your profile on LinkedIn and search for your preferred job. Employers also look for ideal candidates on social media profiles, such as LinkedIn or Facebook.
Some social media platforms help us to find our dream job. Most companies post their job vacancies on social platforms. Most employers now prefer to make their hiring decisions based on a candidate’s social media presents.
On the other hand, some fraudulent job posters put on their trap on social media by the name of job opportunities. They ask for some money from the candidate for the name of registration, and later on, give nothing. So, you should always keep an eye to search a company’s background before applying for a job.
1.5. Social Media As a Marketing Platform and Business
Online platforms now became a compulsory part of any business. The new entrepreneur begins their marketing strategy with social media presents and promotions. E-commerce industries incorporate social media sites for ads and promotion of their products to reach the target audience.
Businesses are capable of directly connecting with their customers through social media platforms. They get to know the customer demand and requirements and apply those changes in their product and services. This way it helps to build a new marketing strategy.
Surprisingly, social media marketing is more responsive than any other marketing channel. It helps to grow a business tremendously quicker than before. As social media advertisements are less expensive, most of the company prefer this platform to explore their business.
In brief, social media has a significantly well positive impact on today’s marketing and business world.

1.6. Social Media As a Place of News Updates
A piece of hot news rapidly spreads through social media before any type of news media, TV channel, print media, or digital media. You can get the latest news updates on your surroundings and global events on various social platforms.
You can get real-time accurate news with pictures on Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, and Twitter. Some news circulates so many times that it becomes viral on social media. Throughout this, you can get updated and make yourself aware of current know-how across the globe.
1.7. Social Media As a Place of Meeting New People
Social media is a place to meet new people and communicate with them. Sometimes they become a good friend forever.
You can get the chance to meet people from various fields and share your point of view about everyday life with them.
In addition, teenagers hang out on Instagram, Snapchat, and other social media platforms to get in touch with their new friends. They try to learn more about them through these channels and get closer to a new relationship.
1.8. Social Media As a Community Building Platform
Social media connect people from different beliefs, cultures, and backgrounds linking them in a common track of thoughts. To unite them, social media develops different communities.
For example, those who love to write something joined a writer’s community or those who like painting or drawing can join Artirt’s forum, game lovers associated them with a gamer’s community, etc. As a writer and artist, I also linked myself with many writers’ and artists’ communities on Facebook and Instagram.
On these social media community platforms, they can easily share their ideas and thoughts with a broader audience and get increased connectivity with social interaction.

1.9. A Platform to Express Political View
Now you can express your political view in so many popular social platforms like, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
- Most political parties post their political manifestos on social media before an election to inform their supporters and the general public of their party’s views and promises.
- Moreover, people also can highlight their concerns and certain issues to their respective political leaders through this easy-to-use medium and get them resolved.
- We can easily get the news and thoughts of our political leaders on Twitter regarding some events or agenda faster than any news channel.
In this way, social media becomes the most influencing mode of the campaign for political parties to reach a greater mass and penetrates their thoughts.
1.10. Sharing Anything With Others
Social media posts and shares are the trending figure now and become the must-do activities of new generations.
- Now you can share any small celebrations, big events, visiting a place, dining at a restaurant, social events, and personal know-how with others on these hot digital spaces.
- You can easily get to know where your friends are jamming around, what your relatives are going to plan today, and what next release coming for your favorite actors.
- In addition, posting selfies are becoming so crazy that someone doesn’t hesitate to take life risk to get extremely rare shots.
- Sometimes it brings life threats to them and some unwanted incidents also happen.
Always try to share positive vibes in these social communities, so that it becomes a thread of inspiration and influencing to learn good things in life. Share your artworks, noble thoughts and ideas, social welfare events, and campaigns against social stigma. It will spread a positive wave through the people associated with you and your community.
2. Negative Impacts
In today’s world, social media takes an essential role in our daily lives. Though social media has so many positive impacts on society, it has some negative sides also. In this segment, we will explore some points:
2.1. Impacts on Personal Relations
Having busy all the time on social media isolates a person from his family members. Your wife and kids are deprived of valuable time from you and may get frustrated or depressed. It may cause a long-term issue and barrier in your personal relations.
Social platforms connect new people and assist to build new relationships. Sometimes it may become a boomerang for you. If you are a married person and an extramarital relationship developed unknowingly through social media it can ruin your personal life.
Sometimes, new people may build a relationship with you purposely for their selfish reason or to get some work done by you. So you should be cautious when making new friends on social platforms.
2.2. Negative Affects on Social Life
When we use social media for long hours on a daily basis, we forget to communicate with people nearby. It makes a distance from our surrounding people. Our social activity also reduced comparatively. Slacktivism is gradually killing off real activism for the use of social media sites.

Social comparison on social platforms reduces our self-esteem and tends to cause social anxiety and mental health issues inevitably. It also changes our unexpected social behavior, especially for the young generation.
2.3. Getting Wrong and Misleading Information
Many times we get wrong and misleading information from social media that we believe to be true. We just present a hot topic or incident for the sake of excitement without verifying its truthfulness from the prime source.
In fact, such false information about any health issue may be dangerous for us and it can cause adverse effects. Some people blindly believe online content and apply them without proper verification.
Misleading information regarding some social issues may hurt a particular community and it may affect communal harmony. So, always try to raise an issue with proper research and documentation.
2.4. Circulating Fake News
“ A powerful planet will come closer to the earth tonight and its cosmic effect may blust your mobile phone. So, keep away your phone from you at midnight.” When you get this type of text on your WhatsApp, you blindly believe it and immediately forward it to your nearest one. But don’t you think it should be verified by a reliable source before circulating such news? This type of news spreads very fast in the social media community.
On the other hand, some people present fake political news purposely to make a bad impression about a specific political party among the general public. They think that, getting this news the supporter of that political party will come to their side and vote for them.
Fake news about a celebrity personal can down their popularity and demand among the public. It can damage their image and as a result, it can downgrade their business too.
The Icy Tales team talked to Julia Olivas, Digital Marketer at Company Visions, about combating misinformation and fake news. Here is what she said:

“To combat the spread of false information and promote media literacy, effective strategies include promoting critical thinking and media literacy education.
Providing resources and educational programs that teach individuals how to evaluate sources, fact-check information, and identify misinformation empowers the general public to become more discerning consumers of news and information.
Additionally, media outlets and fact-checking organizations should prioritize transparency and accountability through clear labeling of opinion pieces, distinguishing them from factual reporting, and providing transparent information about sources and fact-checking methodologies.
Collaboration between media outlets, fact-checkers, and social media platforms is also crucial. Working together, they can develop and implement mechanisms to quickly identify and flag false information, limit its spread, and provide accurate and verified information to the public.
This collaboration involves promoting fact-checking initiatives and tools to make them easily accessible to the general public.
By combining efforts and resources, we can effectively combat the proliferation of false information and ensure that the general public becomes more discerning consumers of news and information, ultimately promoting media literacy and a more informed society.”
We interviewed Alison Pittaway, Journalist and Editor at MindScribe Media, on this. Here is what she had to say:

“Given the widespread circulation of fake news, misinformation, and political propaganda, developing critical thinking is paramount in today’s social media age, and it should be taught in school from an early age.
Educational initiatives should focus on media literacy, teaching people how to analyze news sources critically.
The public must become more discerning consumers of news, and media outlets should be more transparent. Individuals should be encouraged to question the news source, context, and authenticity of the information they consume.
Don’t take information at face value without questioning its veracity. And read widely; the more sources you consume, the more likely you will get a more accurate picture. Never pass the information on unless you can answer “How do you know that?” with credible facts rather than opinions.”
2.5. Fake Job Opportunity on Social Media
Nowadays, popular social platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn are full of thousands of fake job opportunities offering higher salary packages than ever. They just provide a WhatsApp number to contact. You cant find their office address or any other details in the job posting.
When you contact them, they just ask for money from you for registration or other purposes before providing any job. After getting money they become silent and unreachable.
Therefore, be aware of such types of job postings on any social media and also tell your friends about the fact.
2.6. Fear of Missing Out
Fear of Missing Out or FOMO is now a well-known phrase in the world of social media. When you see other people’s success or growth on any social platform FOMO is created in your mind. It is one type of inferiority complex.
Research reveals that FOMO has a very adverse effect on our mental and physical health. It brings dissatisfaction, depression, and social anxiety. An increase in negativity, feeling lonely, and mood swings are the by-product of FOMO.
In brief, FOMO, or feeling left out becomes one of the most extensive negative sides of social platforms on society.
2.7. Addiction to Social Media
Social media sites provoke you to scroll as long as possible by their algorithms so that you watch more and more ads and they can make more money. If you make it a regular habit, someday it will be more addictive than alcohol, cigarettes, or drug.
Moreover, many people spend hours checking their status or notifications on social media. Sometimes they scroll through short videos without any purpose, just for pass-time. They don’t even aware that they are already addicted.

Suddenly you get to know that you are addicted to social media when at a point in time you are unable to check it out due to some reasons. So, be cautious about this concern.
2.8. Impact on Physical and Mental Health
Overuse of social sites can leave a negative impact on your physical and mental health. Sometimes, it becomes the cause of depression and anxiety.
Long-time use of the mobile phone to hang out on social media at night may create a sleeping disorder. Less sleeping time makes your body restless and tends to serious health issues.
On the other side, social media highlights the best part of one’s life. When you see that, you compare yourself with them and unknowingly lose your self-esteem. A deep inferiority complex fills your mind with dissatisfaction and you get depressed.
This is one of the worse impacts of social media on society. The time came to seriously give attention to this concern.
2.9. Privacy Issues and Cyberbullying
One of the most significant negative sides of social media is cyberbullying and privacy issues. Your personal information on social sites is not in the safe hand. Hackers can easily hack your social account and access all your personal information for misuse.
Furthermore, cyberbullying is a big concern on social sites today. Cyberbullying means someone gains people’s trust by sending an image, text, sign or signal, audio or video, and then terrorizing or blackmailing them.
According to research, a child becomes the victim of cyberbullying every 7 minutes. Many of them can’t even tell the issue to their parents. Besides children, many adults are also the victims of cyberbullying.
In this case, the most vulnerable thing is that cyberbullying hurt people so deeply that it left scars on their minds and they can even end their lives by themselves.
3. Preventive Measures Against Negative Affects
To avoid the bad impacts of social media we have to take some preventive actions. Here are a few steps:
- Set a timer or make a schedule to use social media for a certain time only.
- You can use ‘do not disturb’ to keep away from the notification alert of social sites.
- Activate the parental control option so that your child could not access your social media.
- Keep an eye on your child’s social media activity so that you can warn them before falling into some negative side of it.
- Stay away for sometimes from social sites.
- Be limited to some social media apps only or remove them from your home screen.
Wrapping up
As has been noted in this article, social media has both positive and negative effects on society. We got to know through this discussion with its all pros and cons.
Either we can use it for our benefit or to harm society and ourselves. It depends upon our control and use. Lastly, technology and digitization are made for the development of mankind, not for destruction. We have to handle it carefully with caution and awareness so that it makes our life easier and smooth.
Guest Author: Saket Kumar
Last Updated on by Saket Kumar