The gift and curse of social media

I don't know about you, but I have been shocked by how fast technology has advanced in my lifetime, especially in the last 20 years. Things such as the Internet, smartphones and social media sites now have a huge impact on the everyday lives of, I imagine, a vast majority of the people in the world. One of the things that technology has impacted the most is the way we communicate with each other. Of course, some of these impacts have been positive; however, in recent years a darker side to these changes is becoming increasingly obvious.

To be honest, in the early days of the Internet and social media sites such as Facebook and Skype, I could only see them as something positive. Especially when I lived abroad for a year in the mid-2000s, it was such a blessing to be able to video chat with my parents and share photos of my adventures on Facebook, which was still new at the time. Had I lived abroad a few years earlier, these things wouldn't have been possible, and I would have only been able to email and talk over the phone, which is a very different experience to actually being able to see my parents.  For me, at that time, advances in communication technology were really a precious gift. If only things had stopped there, but technology never seems to stand still. It seems to almost be part of human nature to keep trying, keep inventing new things, keep advancing...even when this might not be a good thing to do. Unfortunately, it seems to me that communication technology is proving to be an example of this, of taking what started as a good thing too far.

I think one of the main problems with current communication technology, especially social media, is that it has made the world too connected, and we have access to, and can be accessed by, too many people. Increased connections is a benefit in many ways, for example, being able to make new friends who have similar interests and exploring different cultures and ways of thinking without having to travel anywhere. However, it has opened the door to so many problems and these problems seem to be continuing to increase to the point that it could be said that they now outweigh the positives.

Let me give an example. On a very basic level, most social media services allow people to comment on other peoples' posts and comments, which means that the voice of basically anyone from anywhere in the world can reach you. This is true for the general public, and even celebrities too. In the past, we were only able to access a limited number of people and their opinions, so this is a massive change.

Now, this increased connectivity could be a good thing, I mean it is pretty special to be able to easily connect and talk with people from all over the world. However, we know that not everyone in the world is nice, and by giving everyone a voice on the Internet, it means that nasty voices can be heard loud and clear and can harm people. It is common now for online bullying to take place, including threats of violence, which can take a devastating toll on the victim's mental health. In addition to the impact on mental health, the trend of online bullying could damage freedom of speech, as people may not feel free to share their real opinions or speak against popular opinions for fear of being bullied, losing their job or even being attacked. I am sad to say it, but the increased connectivity provided by advances in technology, which could have been such an advantage, has unfortunately proven to be deeply harmful for people and for freedom of speech.

Belinda