Technology plays a big role in everyone's lives nowadays. Growing up in an age where almost everyone has an iPhone and social media, it is so popular and easy to get caught up in rumors and false information. For example, it is not difficult at all to post whatever you want on the internet including lies. People are one click away from posting a tweet on Twitter that is not even true or a false Instagram photo. Anything from fake news, to a fake birthday shoutout can occur on a daily basis. This shows that the internet does not prevent people from posting information, which means that anyone can do it. This is important for people to know because my iPhone is where I get most information needed. I use my phone to check the weather, the time, internet and even the news. On the social media apps I use the most, Instagram and Snapchat, there are also ads that pop up there. These ads range anywhere from a specific clothing website that I just ordered clothes from, to a snowstorm coming up, to news stories. This shows how much information is on one social media app at a time. For instance, many people think that Snapchat is only for sending pictures back and forth and chatting, but in reality, there is more to that, as news ads pop up and other important information on the internet. Most of all, in general, social media definitely affects a lot of girls who are my age. It is so easy to look fake and edit yourself in photos, but people looking at the photo do not process this and they just think that these women are "perfect", which makes them have super high beauty standards for themselves. Therefore, people become insecure after scrolling through photos of models on their feed. This is the main reason why depression and mental health issues are so high nowadays. I don't think people understand how much time they spend on their phones, and when I am on my phone, I am mostly on social media. This means that without realizing, I am constantly comparing myself to other girls I see on the internet, which is never good for mental health. I also notice that when I go on my phone, it is usually to distract myself, take a study break, or distress. Little do I know, it makes me more stressed if I am constantly comparing myself to others on the internet, which is really upsetting knowing that millions of other girls are doing the same thing.
Although there are definitely lots of negatives with technology, I think technology is very helpful and useful for some things as well. I am thankful for technology because it makes it so much easier to communicate with others. Especially during the Corona Virus and quarantine when I could not see my grandparents and some other family members, I was able to FaceTime, text, and call them whenever I wanted to! Not only during COVID-19 has technology been helpful, but since my siblings live far from me, I am easily able to communicate with them quickly through our phones. For instance, my brother who is six years older than me was in college halfway across the country from me the entire time I was in high school. This meant I did not spend a lot of time with him since he was so busy and didn't come home often. Instead of calling him every single day, I was easily able to Snapchat him to keep in touch and updated with each other's lives.
With this said, I strongly believe that social media has both negative and positive impacts on people's everyday lives.
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