Today, we will discuss the negative effect of social media on peer relationships, and friends, do you know those apps and websites that we use all the time, like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat? We call these apps social media. Social media is a huge online world where people from all over the world share things like photos, messages, etc. Not only this, people also talk about themselves and what is going on in their lives.
Now, think about how often you scroll through your Instagram feed or send a quick snap to a friend. Social media is spread everywhere all over the world, it is like a great hangout spot where everyone can interact, share fun things, and gather to be with each other. Social media has become such a big part of our lives that it is quite difficult to live in a world without it.
But along with the bad side of social media, there are also good benefits like we can make new friends through social media and connect with them no matter how far away they live. Through social media, we get to see our friends, and what they are doing and also talk with them face to face. Due to this, the person does not feel lonely. It’s like having a virtual window into each other’s lives.
So, in this blog, we are not here to bash social media. Rather when it comes to our friendship we want to explore the good and not-so-good sides of it. About which we will read further how social media shapes our relationships with friends!
Comparison and Envy
Comparison and jealousy are how social media sometimes makes us compare ourselves to others and feel a little jealous. It’s like When we look at other people’s social media profiles, it’s easy to think, “Am I doing the same as them? Am I as good-looking?”
A. Search for Comparison
On social media, it can seem like everyone is living their best life – great vacations and great photos. But generally, What we see on social media isn’t always true. People usually share amazing things in the highlights of their social media profiles. After watching them, we start comparing our normal lives with his highlight reels. Due to this people start comparing themselves with each other.
B. Discussing Jealousy
Feeling jealous is when we see something new that someone else has and we feel like wanting it. Social media can make us feel like this sometimes. When we see someone with a new gadget, a fancy trip, or even a lot of likes on their posts, we start thinking, “I wish I had that too.”
C. Effect on Self-esteem:
Constantly comparing ourselves can affect our self-esteem. If we always feel like we are not as good or successful as others, it causes us to doubt our abilities. Social media, in a way, can become a giant comparison game, and we may forget that everyone has a different lifestyle to live their life.
D. Impact on Peer Relationships
This game of comparison does not just exist in our minds; Due to this, we start thinking that our friend’s life is better than ours and we start becoming jealous of him. We feel that we wish we had a life like theirs, which is very difficult because everyone has a different way of living life. Due to this, our friendship gets affected and we try to distance ourselves from them.
It is okay to enjoy social media but it is wrong to compare your life with others because what is shown on social media is not necessarily true. Therefore, we should not spoil our friendship because of this.
Cyberbullying and Harassment
Cyberbullying and harassment is a very dangerous part of social media. This is one of the negative uses of social media. This is like when some people use the internet to harm other people or threaten someone by blackmailing. This is not good, and it can mess with our friendship.
A. Shedding Light on the Dark Side
Imagine you are playing on the playground and someone comes up to you and says nasty things to you or tries to hurt you. Similarly, consider social media as a big digital playground. Similarly, some people use social media to bully or harass others. They spread rumors against others and blackmail them or demand money. They might send hurtful messages, spread rumors, or even make mean comments on posts. Therefore we should use social media very carefully.
B. Discussing Negative Conversations
These negative interactions can be extremely difficult to deal with. Because rumors spread very fast on social media and when a person does not fulfill the demand of blackmail, then those blackmailers spread it all over social media. Once it is out, it is very difficult to control it, which affects our mentality a lot and many people become victims of depression due to this.
C. Stress in peer relationships
Now, this is where it gets tricky for our friendship. If someone is being bullied or harassed online, it can strain their relationships with friends. A person going through this may feel alone and at such times his friends may not know how to help him. This creates an awkward tension which causes a rift in the friendship.
Therefore, all of us need to be kind and take care of each other online. If we see that someone is being treated badly, we can stand up against him at such times and support our friends. Because just like in the real world, everyone deserves to feel safe and respected on the Internet playground.
Social Isolation and Lack of Face-To-Face Interaction
Let’s talk about how social media can sometimes make us feel a little isolated and affect our face-to-face interactions with friends.
A. Examining the Role of Social Media
In olden times, when there was no social media, people used to hang out with each other, talk, and spend their time well, but now after the advent of social media, it is very good for people to stay connected with each other, but sometimes, when we spend too much time there, it can affect us because after the advent of social media, people often like to meet less in reality, due to which their confidence starts decreasing and in future they face a lot of difficulties.
You see, instead of having real conversations, we may be limited to just sending text messages or liking each other’s posts. It’s like choosing the virtual world over the real world. Social media can make us feel like we’re connected, but in reality, we don’t get to know those people very well.
B. Study or Discuss Examples
Studies have shown that spending too much time on social media can make us feel more isolated. Imagine you’re at home scrolling through all these pictures of people having fun. This makes you think about how well they all are spending time together and you are alone at home. So it is important to strike a balance between online and offline interactions.
For example, think about a time when you wanted to hang out with a friend, but instead, the two of you just chose to chat online. It’s great to meet digitally, but meeting face-to-face creates a different kind of connection. It’s good to use social media to keep in touch but it’s even better to experience those real one-on-one moments with friends.
Remember, making friends online is wonderful, but sharing a laugh or a hug in person is also something special.
FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)
FOMO is like that feeling when you see your friends doing fun things, and you miss that time with them. After which you start thinking too much about it. This is a common practice on social media, and it can affect how we feel about us and our friendships.
A. Explanation of Continuous Exposure
Imagine you’re scrolling through your social media feed, fast forward, while at the same time, you see your friends having fun – maybe they’re at a party, a concert, etc., or just hanging out without you. At such times you feel you are not important to them. It makes you think, am I missing something amazing?”
B. Discussing the Impact on Peer Relationships
FOMO can infiltrate our friendships. If we always see our friends having a good time without us, we start feeling isolated. It’s not that our friends are intentionally excluding us, but social media can create the illusion that they are having more fun even when we are not there. This feeling can sometimes make us behave differently with our friends. This can make us very worried and some people prefer to be alone after this.
C. Discussing the Impact on Mental Well-Being
Now, let’s talk about mental well-being. FOMO can mess with our brains. because after that we start comparing our experiences with others. Which makes us feel like we are not moving forward or that our life is not that exciting. But it’s important to remember that everyone’s lifestyle is different, and we don’t need to follow the same lifestyle as others are doing to be happy. Therefore, we should live our lives according to ourselves and not by looking at any other person.
While social media is great for staying connected, it’s important to recognize FOMO and not let it control how we feel after that. Let’s enjoy our own experiences, support our friends in their needs, and remember that missing one thing doesn’t mean missing everything.
Conclusion
The negative impact of social media on peer relationships is infinite. Constantly comparing ourselves to others on these platforms can’t make us feel good, leading to jealousy and disconnection. The posts that people make on social media about their good lives are not necessarily true, hence we should not compare our lives with theirs. Often the new gadgets seen in their posts make us wish that we also had that gadget which creates jealousy among people and people start getting jealous of each other due to which the relationship between them starts getting spoiled. Therefore, always use social media well and carefully and always be happy.
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