Is Social Media A Blessing Or A Curse?

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Within the space of a mere two decades, social media has transformed how people connect and engage. Since its mass adoption in the 2000s, it has remained a life-imperative for modern society—so much so that over 4.8 billion of the world’s population patronized social media platforms by early 2023.

This level of adoption serves as evidence of the many benefits and opportunities social media promises. However, incidents of data leaks, legal battles, and massive fines against companies that run these platforms have, understandably, stirred conversation about their hidden risks and dangers. Given the negative hype, it is natural to wonder whether social media is a blessing or a curse.

The Undeniable Benefits Of Social Media

For many people, keeping in touch with loved ones is a constant struggle with their exhausting schedules. Social media provides a convenient solution to this. It allows you to check in, share real-time updates, and rekindle relationships with those dear to you, even when they are continents away.

Moreover, social media is a vast resource of information that can help you stay informed about the latest news and trends, learn new skills, find business ideas, and build general awareness about day-to-day essentials. You can also share your expertise on these platforms to help others and develop your personal brand. Or you may even start an online business and promote it within your network. The opportunities are simply limitless.

But the most important benefit of social media is providing a voice to ordinary citizens. Thanks to it, anyone can create a conversation about topics important to them, from climate change to gender equality. You can connect with thousands, or even millions, of others from all corners of the world who share similar views and influence governments, businesses, and other stakeholders to make ethical and just choices. All these opportunities make social media an invaluable tool.

The Dangers That Lurk Beneath

Is Social Media A Blessing Or A Curse?

As with all other digital solutions, social media has its own risks. For instance, excessive usage can lead to social media addiction, a prevalent issue, especially among youngsters. It can result in social isolation and a range of negative mental and physical health problems related to sedentary behavior, lack of sleep, and other harmful consequences.

Bullying is another concern. According to the Pew Research Center, 46% of teenagers experience cyberbullying or harassment. These platforms also harbor various types of nefarious individuals, from stalkers and extortionists to hackers and scammers. Take, for example, social media fraud. Based on a recent study, 62% of users encounter scams each week on Facebook alone.

You can come across fraud in countless ways. A criminal, for instance, could hack into your account and take over your profile. They could change your information, post damaging content, or reach out to your network disguised under your identity and target them for financial scams. Excessive oversharing practices of users are a leading contributing factor to escalating criminal activities. This makes it easier to mine personal data that could compromise user safety.

But the dark side of social media is not only about scams and criminals. Even the platforms themselves could place you at risk. Remember, most of their services come free. But in return, they access your data—from your profile information to the content you share, search for, and engage with. The posts you like, comments you make, and communities you join provide valuable data for these businesses to monetize. They can use it to their advantage and even share it with others in exchange for money.

There is also a risk of this data reaching the hands of criminals. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and almost every other platform have faced hacking attacks and data breaches. Last year, Meta faced a fine of $276 million for a data leak of 533 million Facebook users. Ultimately, by losing control of your personal data, you can severely compromise safety.

Ensuring A Safe And Secure Social Media Experience

Is Social Media A Blessing Or A Curse?

The dangers of social media are irrefutable. But today, it is impossible to entirely disassociate yourself from these platforms. It is why a safety-first approach is necessary to continue to enjoy their many benefits long into the future.

Here are the essential steps for you to adopt:

  • Educate yourself about the types of information that could compromise your safety. Remember, anything you post digitally is sharable, even if you have only shared it with a closed network.
  • Be mindful of how you express views and opinions. Sensitive topics, such as politics and religion, are best avoided. At the same time, be respectful towards differing viewpoints.
  • Avoid responding to negative, rude, or obscene comments and behavior. If you feel harassed, block the user and inform the social media platform.
  • Never allow strangers into your social network, and avoid friend requests from anyone unfamiliar.
  • Verify details before engaging with product promotions and business opportunities shared or advertised on social media. Check the user’s profile, reverse search their email address on Google, and look up their contact number on PhoneHistory to confirm their identity.
  • Avoid downloading attachments or clicking on links shared by others.
  • Never provide your account login details to anyone.
  • Assign a unique password to each social media account and use a password manager to manage them securely.
  • Set up multifactor authentication in addition to your regular password.
  • Install a reputed virus guard on all your devices.
  • Make use of privacy options provided by the platforms. For instance, disable data tracking and sharing to prevent the sites from collecting your personal data.
  • Be familiar with privacy policies to understand how each social media site tracks, uses, and protects your information.
  • Frequently delete cookies, search histories, and other data your browser tracks.
  • Log in to your social media profile one device at a time. Never keep yourself logged in to the same account on multiple devices.
  • Close accounts you no longer use. But ensure you delete personal data first.

Final Words 

The uber-popularity of social media platforms is driven by several factors—from the ease of connecting and staying in touch to learning, finding information, and driving awareness.

But every social media site has a dark side that presents substantial risks and dangers. Bullying, extortion, stalking, hacking, and scams have all escalated over the years to a frightening level. So, minding your safety on these platforms has become imperative as you navigate the many benefits they stand to offer.

Vansh Sharma
Vansh Sharma
A researcher holding a magnifying glass who loves drawing an analogy and creating content. Vansh is no less than a dramatic arch in movies that adds freshness to what is being delivered. Letter V of Viebly has a brain like Monica Geller, who likes placing things in a well-formed structure. He loves being in trend (would say talk of the town); hence, he follows every trending affair and writes about it! His vision is like an old rum during winter that keeps you warm.

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