Oversharing Online (Week Two Discussion)

         It is truly inevitable in today's day and age; social media is synchronous to owning essentially any piece of technology. Some might be able to have their only social media accounts be things like Google accounts for work and such. However, most of the time, owning a phone or computer means having some sort of social media. It's not based on generation either, social media has existed for a long time, starting in the latter half of the 1990's. So, all in all, everyone who has learned how to use a computer or phone, likely learned how to use, Facebook, Instagram, Myspace, Tumblr, or some form of social media, right afterwards. But the big question is always whether or not there's any benefit to these sites? What are the downsides? Can they even be considered healthy? or would we be better off without them?

    

    

        The first question to ask would be if there are any benefits or drawbacks to specific sites. The best example of any benefits to social media can be seen through google. Google sites like Gmail, Classroom, Workspace, etc. allow for seamless communication in the workspace, classroom, or even on a personal level. These sites all have the benefit of efficiency, easier communication makes work, school, or even planning dinner, easier for everyone involved. However, for most people, these sites aren't really considered 'social media', more a tool akin to texting and phone calls. What about other sites? Facebook and Instagram are two very popular social media sites, both focused on sharing bits and pieces about your life. Both allow you to share photos and stories, they make friends who moved away feel closer, and they allow you to keep up on the lives of people who you may not interact with often. On the other hand, they oftentimes make people compare themselves to others unnecessarily, they are often areas of hostile discourse, and lead to less privacy overall. These often lead to mental health issues like depression and heightened symptoms of previously present mental health issues. (You can read more about the benefits of social media here https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7785056/) 

        Since we had already discussed the benefits and drawbacks of social media, it's important to discuss if the sites share a responsibility towards the mental health of their users. In this case, opinions are going to change person to person. My opinion is that they definitely share responsibility of the mental health of the users. Obviously, the companies don't particularly care if users become addicted to social media, as having more engagement is not an issue for them. However, they need to do right by their users and try to somewhat promote a healthy balance of mental health and media. This likely won't ever happen however, as the companies in control of these sites only want the highest level of profits. 

        Overall, I think social media is a great creation in many ways. You're able to keep up with people hundreds to thousands of miles away seamlessly. In fact, online classes like this one are made possible with a lot of resources that originated in social media, especially these blog posts. I do however think that the relationship with social media today is trending towards an unhealthy zone very quickly. Overall, we all need to do our best to maintain a healthy media and life balance, and that responsibility will always rely on us, regardless of how much blame lies on the companies.