SOCIAL MEDIA IS CHANGING OUR LIVES
Right now in the world, 20% of the whole earth's population is using social media. Right now that may not seem like a lot but from 1996 to 2021 social media has gone from 7.75 million to 4.48 billion users. This is because of the newer generations such as Gen Z and Gen Alpha. Currently, in the world statistics show that 64% of Gen Z use Instagram at least once per day. This social media use is also happening at younger ages like Gen Alpha. In 2023 20% of 5-year-olds will have a cell phone. While phones are a good safety device, these phones distract them from hanging out and talking to each other. This will also affect the 5-year-olds that do not have a phone. All of these statistics show that Social media is changing our world.
Social media is a very big thing in society and it can be used for very good reasons. Like, if you are far away from a family member or you are in an emergency. But, like everything social media has its downsides. It can be very interesting to scroll down on your phone to watch TikTok or YouTube shorts. This is because it can distract your brain and can cause forgetfulness and it takes advantage of the brain's systems making it hard to stop scrolling.
Social media can also be a tough place for teens mainly because of body image. Body image videos make young kids and teens depressed because their own bodies do not look like what they see on social media. It encourages them to stop eating and to do other dangerous things. This can make kids as young as 5 years old be in the hospital because they stop eating so they can be fit. Social media also drives away family members. It is said that only 20% of Gen Z takes a break for up to 2 weeks and the rest of them can nearly last a day without their phones.
Now that I stated all the bad reasons, here are some reasons why using social media can be good too. First of all, the phone can be used for important things like calling a loved one or for safety reasons. Overall, social media is a good thing for us humans to have. Depending on the way that we choose to use it, it can either hurt or help people. I think many people might use social media in a bad way, but it is not bad in and of itself.
Sources
https://explodingtopics.com/blog/gen-z-stats#gen-z-social-media
https://backlinko.com/social-media-users
Great job! You broke down the issues with social media very well and explain everything clearly. You were able to explain both sides of the argument well too.
ReplyDeleteHi Kabir, I really liked this blog post! I liked how you distinguished social media not being bad on it's own, rather that we are using social media in a potentially harming way. I also thought it was interesting how you focused on multiple aspects of social media (body image, taking advantage of the brain, and communication). Good job!
ReplyDeleteThe way that you formatted this blog really flowed well, you started off by giving a little insight to both sides of the argument in the first paragraph. After that, you began to talk more in-depth about both sides of the argument, giving light to everything and everyone involved.
ReplyDeleteWell done! I like how you used good statistics to back up your claims, and how you looked at both sides of the argument. However, one thing that you could work on is your argument. The side you were picking wasn't too clear, so perhaps that could be made clearer? Otherwise, great job!
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