Social media has started to play a major role in both our personal and professional life. A lot of people have even benefited from social media as it helps to connect with people all over the globe. It has made establishing connections pretty easy. Moreover, nowadays social media is also considered to be one of the best marketing platforms to expand businesses on the global level. The importance of social media in today’s world is undeniable. But it also has a dark side that nobody talks about. Here, in this blog, we are discussing the dark side of Sharing too much on Social Media.
We can all see the bright side of social media being widely noted. But how safe are social media platforms? Do they come with any dark side too? The answer is unfortunately yes. The internet comes with its own dark side and the same goes for social media platforms. Around 80% of the world’s population uses social media every day. People are on various social media platforms because they assume it enhances their lives.
The Dark Side of social media platforms – Dangers that you must be aware of
Everyone, especially the young generation loves using various social media handles like Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc, and sharing everything happening in their lives. But doing this sometimes can be extremely harmful. Check out these 4 dangers that show the dark side of social media.
Cyberbullying
There have been a lot of international efforts to prevent cyberbullying on social media but unfortunately, it is still on the rise. In recent times, there are three social media apps where cyberbullying can be seen happening constantly and they are –
- Youtube – 79%
- Snapchat – 69%
- Tiktok – 64%
Cyberbullying on social media platforms can occur in many ways. It may be through sending embarrassing messages, sharing harmful content, online trolling, making negative comments, etc. Cyberbullying is mostly done by anonymous profiles. They do not fear posting anything online as they feel that nobody would be able to find them and there will not be any repercussions for their actions. Cyberbullying has turned into a trend for the young generation and it shows a pretty nasty and harsh side of humanity. Cyberbullying is a serious problem because it affects the mental health of the victim and can even lead to depression.
Predators
Social media enables you to connect with people from every corner of the globe. This happens to be the best thing about social media platforms. But, let us flip the side and on the other side, you will see that this is also one of the biggest threats on social media platforms. There are a lot of predators looking for opportunities on social media sites to use people to their advantage. The young generation ends up trusting people very soon and predators can connect with them on public chat rooms, messaging platforms, and gaming apps to establish fake bondings.
Predators are currently on the rise. The reports of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) showed that 2021 saw a great increase in the number of online predators. It was because, during these two years of the global pandemic, most people had spent their time online. Predators are the most horrifying thing on the internet. It is scary that strangers could contact your child without you even knowing about it and endangering them.
Online Privacy
This generation of people is notoriously careless when it comes to online privacy. They easily share private details such as their address, habits, check-ins, and locations on social media showing it off to the world that they are living a chilled life. This trend of ‘ sharing everything as stories’ on social media might sometimes lead to the over-sharing of personal information. Social media platforms are filled with hackers and this might be helpful for them to steal information gleaned from social media cybersecurity violations to create fake accounts based on a person’s details, friends lists, and likes. In 2021, it was estimated that 43 million people in the USA had experienced doxing. This has even led to the misuse of personal details, harassment, and embarrassment.
Body Image
Social media platforms, mostly Instagram and Facebook are bombarded with photos and selfies of users trying to show their best selves and living their best life. But most of these pictures uploaded on social media platforms are often heavily filtered, edited, and photoshopped. But, when the younger generation, especially teenagers see these pictures they may start to question themselves – how they look, and how others feel about them. They become image conscious.
While using social media platforms, youngsters look through such picture-perfect images over and over again. The search for “perfection” can appear to be obsessive and unhealthy. This might even lead to various kinds of insecurities in youngsters.
Conclusion
Everything has its good and bad sides, and the same rule follows in terms of social media. If you ever feel that you have entered the dark side of social media or see your kids facing such issues, connecting with a private investigator is your one-stop solution.
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