We all know how wonderful social networking is—how we’re all in touch with each other and updated on each other’s lives.But some problems have come about because of all the sharing and connectivity too.here are some of them:
1. Life envy – All of a sudden, you find yourself wondering why your life isn’t as fun and fabulous as those of your friends. Whenever you check Facebook, Twitter, tumblr, or Instagram, they’ve uploaded photos of themselves at a party having the time of their lives while you… are still in your pajamas at three in the afternoon on a Saturday.
2. Friends are reduced to likes – Instead of seeing who liked your photo or status update, you’re checking to see how many did. It doesn’t really matter who liked what you posted, but how many likes you were able to get! But then again, once someone really special laughs at a joke you just told him, he’s all that matters, right? Or at least he should be.
3. False information can spread like wildfire – According to Facebook user Anne Santos, “Some people are careless in sharing news without checking the facts first. I remember how so many people posted that a famous singer was dead and it was not true!”
4. People are less sensitive – It’s easy to comment on someone’s post when you aren’t right in front of them. It gives you more bravado, something you might think twice about if you were having an actual conversation. This has been the cause of many fights, or the reason for blocking and hiding friends.
5. Oversharing – When the wife of Maria Tuason’s (not her real name) cousin started posting flirty messages and photos on the Facebook timeline of another man, everyone was shocked. “That’s how we found out that they were no longer together,” she shares. “It was quite scandalous because even their lola asked to see the photos on Facebook!”
6. Your life is on hold as you go online – How familiar is this scenario to you? You and your friends or family members are having a meal together, but no one is talking. Everyone is on their phone checking their feed. You may like or comment on each other’s photos and status updates while sitting right across from each other, but talking is not really the priority. Having wifi is.
7. Nowhere to hide – Before, if you wanted to stay away from your ex, all you had to do was avoid his regular hangouts, but now, even if you block or unfriend him, he may still pop up on your feed through a common friend! This can be a good thing if it forces you to deal and move on, but it can be a very harrowing experience.
8. Stalking becomes easy – If you want to know more about a person you’ve just met or heard about, all you need to do is search for them and go through what they have posted on their social networking sites. Because of this, how many people haven’t been hired because of what they’ve posted on their pages? How many students have been sanctioned because of pictures they’ve uploaded that schools do not approve of? Boundaries are not what they used to be.
9. It’s harder to diet! – Majority of photos posted on Instagram are of children, pets, and food. Food, glorious food. Food that will make you crave and binge. Food that will destroy your diet. Tania Cruz (not her real name) has stopped checking her Instagram feed because she can’t stick to her diet with all the photos of mouth-watering dishes staring her in the face.
10. You feel lonely – It may not make sense, but as social networking brings us together, it can make you feel lonely too. As you see everyone’s connections and friendships, how people comment and like everyone else’s posts and not yours, how people get in touch with you only when they want you to like their photo so they can win a contest, and so on. Or what if you see a photo of all your friends at a get-together and you had no idea about it?
The best way to beat all these problems? Have a good sense of humor and remember the purpose of social media. It’s meant to make your life and relationships richer, not the other way around. The good news is, it’s all up to you and how you choose to deal with it all—and it shouldn’t be to gripe about it on Twitter.
By Olivia Yao
