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How to Reduce the Risks of Social Media

Black and White photo of girls on their smartphones

There’s no denying that social media has brought us closer together, made communication that be easier and well, social media marketing can be very effective. Yet being in this more connected world, are people - particularly children, lonelier than ever before?

I know as someone who works within social media marketing I should be beating the drum for social media and I can't deny that for some brands it’s a great way of connecting with their target audience. Yet it’s important and responsible to really analyse the risks of social media and the impact it can have on our happiness.

Many people who I’ve spoken to have said they log on to Facebook and then instantly feel quite low afterwards because they may see images of people in far flung places or appearing to have a great time and can feel that their own life isn’t that exciting in comparison. Yet how many people are actually depicting their lives online accurately? So many photos are now staged because we know they will be paraded all over social media so we want to look our best and feel wronged if an unflattering photo has been splashed everywhere. It’s like parazzi for normal people.

What you see online isn’t always real but how do we tell children that? Once a child gets a smartphone then social media is easily accessible on the go, making it easier to document their lives and then becomes a more dominant force in their lives. A like on social media can feel like an actual like and the more you get the more validated you can feel. Then this constant loop is created of post/picture - how many likes did I get?

Often children and adults alike can feel as though they’re chasing likes and post photos of themselves that they know will get a reaction and feel deflated when an image didn’t get any likes. It doesn’t help that brands are cashing in on this need to look good online. Retailer Primark are encouraging people to buy their makeup to create “instagram worthy” pictures. The pressure is mounting, not only are you having to look a certain way in your daily life but in your images on social media. There is actually a term “social media depression” which has been coined as a result and is very real.

Social media has also given rise to bullying. Bullying is seeping out of the playground and into a child or teenagers bedroom through trolling or bullying on social media. It doesn’t always end as the school day ends, bullying can keep going long after the bell has rang for home time.

What should we do to be more balanced and keep the negative effects at bay?

It’s important that we do switch off now again. Even having a digital detox and deactivating your social media accounts for a while can be refreshing. Yet the pressure is mounting for school children to be online and have a social media presence. If you’re not online, you can feel like you’re missing out.

If you’re a parent then perhaps look through your child’s ‘friends’ lists together and ask them how they know different people and make sure they only have true friends on their social accounts. Check their privacy settings and see if they’re happy with the friends they have on their social media accounts and change settings of who can see their images. Encourage open conversations about how your child is feeling and regularly check their social media profiles.

Social media can be a great way of communicating and keeping in touch but it’s so deeply ingrained into our culture sometimes we need to take a step back and think about why it’s playing such a big part in our daily lives and if it really should be.

Where do you think social media is going next?

 

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10 Digital
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