Have you ever experienced the true world of social media? The words themselves make some shudder and many ecstatic. There will never be an answer to whether it's beneficial or not...
The world has advanced. The word “iPhone” and “Samsung Galaxy” has become a trend. It’s like the same feeling to people when the world cup starts but the question is, why smartphones? Why not other phones? Well, it’s mainly because of two words, “Social Media”
Picture yourself at home, on your phone, on facebook and having a fun time scrolling. Do you really think that you are achieving or gaining something from it and did you know that the people who have the time to care about you, are just being ignored by your lazy and antisocial behaviour. Are you aware that a human spends about an average of 3 hours a day on social media? The implication isn’t that social media is unbeneficial” but the people who are trying to be active with you shouldn’t be neglected. Maybe you or your friends are being mature on social media but there are others who aren’t. Cyberbullies, trolls and scammers are like the dons of social media.
Youngsters, generally from the age thirteen to sixteen, are tormented by these cyber bullies on social media, however there are few who know how to deal with such dilemmas. Michael Hamm, researcher in pediatrics at University of Alberta, cited that “parents, need to be addressed that there child is being cyber bullied.” Alerting parents play a big role in these aspects. Remember, social media is much more distinctive than the real world and we should use it with caution.
Philip Haryanto, an 8th grade student, conceded strongly, “Social media is something that should be handled maturely. It needs to be utilised cautiously. There are many hazards involved, and I think that the most effective method is to avoid it entirely. I don’t have any experiences of any severe cases but I am acquainted with people who have and it was abhorrent and wistful. It is best to use social media when matured”
Cyber bullying not only affects us, but also the people amongst us and that is what caused desolation. “Once cyberbullied, it will be a rough experience to accept and prevent”, added by Philip Haryanto.
When surveyed, 8th grade students at UWCSEA reported firmly that roughly fifty percent of the people who they knew, have been cyberbullied and went through that atrocious process. Most peers, when surveyed, also responded that the first thing they would do is to alert their parents, but if we rely on our parents so much, then why do we use social media? This justifies that social media is meant for the matured and cyber bullies purposefully target young adolescents because they know that they can’t fight alone.
As we know, social media is a good way of spending free time and hanging out but we should be aware of its dangers. Sometimes, children can get influenced by the methods of cyberbullying and can start to do it which can be inimical to many. At the ages spanning from thirteen to sixteen are very crucial as that is when our brain starts to develop, and function better and faster and if we are influenced by these practices, not only it affects others, but if affects us the most and is precarious to our body.
Again, social media and the real world are complete two different things and both have its dangers and safety. It is like comparing cyber bullying and terrorism which again, is two bizarre and different things. If cyber bullying approaches to you, either block the account or let your parents know as soon as possible but, could cyberbullying be a lesson to teach youngsters not to use social media?
By: Aditya
"The Scientific American." Social Media, Cyber Bullying. N.p., 23 June 2015. Web.
Nice article! I liked how you talked about the dangers, how we sometimes use our phones for the "benefits", but end up being attracted to things like cyberbullying. I guess at the end of the day what it comes down to is how we are using our technology. If we use it responsibly, for what we should use it for, technology will be able to help us. To accomplish this responsibility though is a massive effort, a task in which we want to show freedom for others, but at the same time have some limits. I am constantly wondering how we can achieve this- your guys' thoughts?
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