During the early 2000s, social media experienced an upsurge in popularity with its first social media app, My Space. This app marked the beginning of many online personal applications that have persisted to the present day. In 2023, social media plays a significant role in the world. Presidential statements are made on social media, protests and awareness campaigns are conducted, and donations are facilitated through platforms like GoFundMe. The current world’s communication is centered around social media, including personal apps such as Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and the like. These platforms have replaced traditional modes of communication, with people spending a significant amount of their time interacting with others online. This shift has significant effects on mental health, including issues like self-esteem, which can contribute to depression and social isolation. It can also lead to awkwardness in real-life social interactions and cause individuals to place their self-worth within their social media status.
According to the National Institute of Health, “online social networking has caused profound changes in the way people communicate and interact.” The online space also provides entertainment through apps like YouTube, Hulu, and Netflix, which serve as modern alternatives to traditional television shows or in-person plays that people enjoyed in the past. This shift in entertainment consumption has led to the rise of short-form content, including short videos found on platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts. These short videos typically last from 20 seconds to one minute and often feature split-screen displays with brain-stimulating content alongside the primary video. This content includes simple mobile games, “oddly satisfying videos,” and occasionally features activities like cooking or building. Content creators sometimes split long-form content into multiple short parts to increase views, but this can lead to disparities in views. For instance, I once searched for part 2 of a long-form story split into parts, and the difference in views was striking. The original part 1 had 2.1 million views, while the second part of the story had only a fraction of that audience.
While social media offers numerous benefits, it also contributes to social decline, especially among today’s youth. For instance, during Halloween, I observed that half of the trick-or-treating kids would approach me to receive candy but stand silently without speaking, appearing too shy or socially timid to interact with me or my parents. The negative effects of social media are evident, but it does have its advantages, particularly in terms of finance, business, and online job opportunities. We can buy houses and have fun online. However, without moderation, excessive use of social media can weaken our ability to maintain genuine human connections.
