Dec 16, 2021
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“The Good and Bad: How Social Media Affected Me as a Gen Z Individual “
Social media has a large impact on our lives, affecting everything from our mental health to our physical health, as well as our behaviors, attitudes, values, and preferences. Social media, like everything else, has advantages and disadvantages. I'd like to share how social media affects my life, specifically how it affects my mental health and relationships. I used to feel inadequate about my own life back in the day. I became ungrateful and dissatisfied with everything, including my accomplishments. What I saw online about people living luxurious lives and being able to get their desires only fueled my insecurity. Then it got to the point where it was affecting my mental health, which is one of the many negative effects of social media on our lives. We all, or at least the majority of us, have this experience. The good thing is that as time passed, many realizations and significant events occurred, causing me to change and appreciate everything, from small to large accomplishments, in every aspect of my daily life. Social media became a tool for me to vent my frustrations, raise awareness, communicate, and have a good laugh —since my friends and I are unable to go out as much as we used to. I frequently see posts that aim to raise awareness about issues (e.g., mental health, bullying, and so on), which is a good thing because people are now more aware of and concerned, including me, about issues that were previously unacknowledged. I always share this type of post in the hopes of making a difference in someone else's life. We are now more involved in the online world, particularly in times like these. We're all stressed out about how things that used to be done in an office or school are now done inside four-sided walls, with no coworkers or classmates to engage in personal interaction. Our situation affects almost all of us, from children to the elderly. But I'm hoping to make an impact with the help of social media. It has a positive impact on me because it has made me more responsible and has taught me how to behave appropriately on social media. What used to make me feel insecure is now a way for me to make a small difference.
“The Good and the Bad: How Social Media Affected Me as a Gen Z Individual”
Nowadays, social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are the most commonly used tools for communication, interaction, and connection among individuals, especially Gen Z. It is inevitable to use social media since we’re now living in an advanced technology that’s why these kinds of platforms are existing. So we don’t have a choice but to embrace and accept these changes. But with the existence of these social media, it has greatly affected and influenced us, both in good and bad ways. As one of the Gen Z individuals, I personally experienced the goodness and badness of these social media platforms. In this time of pandemic, everything we do is now online, even the classes are now being held online, and with the help of social media, we were able to communicate with our friends, classmates, and teachers efficiently. Social media has made communication easier than before for everyone.
Social media also has its downsides despite all the benefits that we get from it. Most of us rely on information in these social media platforms where we easily get fooled and believe everything we see is true, people are now getting confused about what’s true and not. We didn't even notice that we were being manipulated and the truth is, not everything we see online is not what it seems to be. Social media has made a real change in this generation and is being used as an instrument of false information that poisons the mind of the user’s without them knowing. It’s sad that many people, especially Gen Z, are getting more anxious, depressed, and are less comfortable taking risks. They keep comparing themselves to what they see, and they even start to question their self-worth which slowly destroys their well-being. It also optimizes connections between people, which is potential for addiction. But all of these still depend on us, on how we control the use of these social media platforms only when we are knowledgeable enough to know what’s the truth, and be more vigilant to prevent ourselves from any kind of harm that we can get from social media.
“Digital Divide in the New Normal”
We can't deny that when the COVID-19 Virus was originally discovered in the year 2020, most of us expected it would be over in a week or a month. Previously, the internet and technology were not always used, and they were only required for amusement, research, and communication. However, everyone has been touched by this crisis as a result of the sudden interruptions, disturbances, and upheavals in our life and because we are living in an unprecedented era, the activities we used to perform daily have altered. We have been forced to adopt the "New Normal" and rely heavily on the internet to reduce the risk of Coronavirus transmissions, such as work-from-home settings, new blended learning settings, lockdown and quarantine, and even online selling or the demand increase of buying from an online food or grocery delivery. Thus, there will be a boundary between those who have internet access and a large number of people, particularly students, who do not have sufficient access to technology due to the concept of the digital divide.
The term "digital divide" refers to the disparity between one group's demographics and geographic location. Students are the most affected by this problem, and in other nations such as Indonesia and the Philippines, access to contemporary information and communications technology is not yet available to everyone, especially those who reside in rural areas or on distant islands. According to Statista data from last year, just over 80 million Filipinos have internet access, which is quite unfortunate because it means that many people have been left behind owing to inequalities in access to and use of knowledge, information skills, and experience. As of now, we don't know when this crisis will end, so the only thing we can do to solve it is to assist individuals who are having difficulty using the internet and to share our digital media skills on how to use it safely. As a result, the Digital Divide should be addressed because technology alters people's lives and opens up new possibilities and prospects for a better future.
“Media and Government: A Love-Hate Relationship”