Outline
Therefore, people should quit messengers and other similar apps for communication to protect themselves from degradation and the loss of moral values.
- Reason 1: The use of social media leads to the development of addiction among people.
- Reason 2: People who spend much time online tend to lose their ability to communicate with others in real-life situations efficiently.
- Reason 3: The use of online communication platforms is accompanied by developing a habit of wasting much time scrolling the news, which is harmful to life quality.
- Reason 4: Frequent use of social media leads to a lack of trust among the citizens due to the prevalence of fake information.
- Reason 5: Physical and mental health of the population is affected by social media as people are reported to have depression, unhealthy sleeping patterns, and damaged personalities.
- Reason 6: The risks related to the dubious privacy of people’s conversations online add to the worsening of their mental health.
The Internet has become the biggest breakthrough of the 21st century. Nowadays, it is no more a resource for entertainment; it fulfills all the spheres of a person’s life, from studies to communicate with people all over the world. Social networks, as their integral part, influence various spheres of one’s life and help citizens find new friends or get new knowledge. Still, some users state that society does not benefit from these online platforms since they adversely affect a person’s mind and mental condition. Therefore, people should quit messengers and other similar apps for communication to protect themselves from degradation and the loss of moral values.
Addiction to Improper Means of Communication
To begin with, social networks create a certain type of addiction. It is a sort of a ritual for people to wake up in the morning and immediately check their social nets. Updating statuses throughout the day is of no importance in real life; still, virtual reality dictates its own rules. The character of the TV program “BBC Ideas” Rupen G Kalsi notes that people nowadays look like zombies staring at their gadgets and waiting for somebody to text them (“Why People Are Choosing to Quit Social Media”). It is important to conclude that networking addiction has become a serious problem in the last few years, and people of different generations suffer from it. Quitting social media from this position will literally open a new world for them because they will see how good the atmosphere around them is.
Harm To Real-Life Communication
Moreover, the use of social media leaves no space for real communication. If one does not see their relatives or friends for a long time, they can text them, and it is an absolute advantage. However, this benefit is accompanied by significant drawbacks, which cannot be ignored. Excessive communication through messengers destroys the vibe of real-life meetings, and people lose the ability to talk offline. It is especially visible in children and relatives when they call each other every day but then have no themes to discuss when seeing each other. A study by Stanford University presented in the article shows that apps like Facebook, Twitter, and FaceTime “are not a replacement for real human interaction” (Jensen). Another example of communication failure of this nature is the habit of young people spending time with their phones at a party, which is a common practice. Therefore, the principal reason for deleting and quitting social networks from the perspective of essential skills is the need to learn to talk to others in real life instead of being someone’s online friend.
Considerations of Time
Then, it is necessary to point out that chatting and scrolling a news feed is a time-consuming process. People spend a great amount of time online without noticing it and, therefore, wasting a part of their lives. Studies show that nearly 30% of a person’s day is devoted to social networks (Lanier 45). If to imagine that approximately 8 hours every day could be spent on self-development, it becomes clear that people would be smarter and more productive in their daily life. “They were spending an average of a quarter of their waking lives on their phones—more time than any other daily activity, except sleeping” (Alter 4). The quote shows that, in fact, people can find a new hobby or master a new occupation and spend appropriate time on it instead of wasting it online. Quitting social media will free up a person’s schedule and allow them to do what they find interesting and motivating.
Community and Trust
It is necessary to mention that using social media can spoil the atmosphere in the community. First, post-truth, which means that people are apt to believe the facts they want to believe, even if they are wrong and scientifically unproved, is harmful. For example, politicians can use online platforms to form attitudes by accusing their opponents. Adequate people clearly understand that this information is forged to discredit them; nevertheless, some citizens tend to trust it. The same thing applies to social media since the evidence is replaced with personal beliefs, the news is distorted, and the opinions are formed under the influence of emotions (Cibaroğlu 3). Mass media resources publish many fake facts to spoil celebrities’ reputations. The more opinions an average user reads, the more blurred the real picture for them is. In this case, it is possible to say that people have to quit social media to learn about events only from reliable resources with an excellent long-term reputation. It is crucial to stop using a large number of social networks because, in this case, they cannot develop critical skills and sort out information to find the truth.
Physical and Mental Health
Moreover, the overuse of social media is a straight way to depression. The survey from the team of the University of Pittsburgh shows that a high percentage of people, who spend much time online, tend to suffer from this condition and other mental disorders (Jenco). It is not a surprise as the number of friends on social networks does not guarantee the number of soulmates in reality. A person can easily become upset and depressed when nobody texts them, and there is no one who can come to their place and have a good time together. From this perspective, the reason for quitting social media is obvious: this action will stabilize citizens’ mental states and help them obtain social skills instead of mental problems.
Social networks may also spoil a person’s character from the position of their communication with society. Today there is a great number of haters who find it funny and pleasing to write negative comments on the Internet and insult others. This tendency can make those who receive detrimental messages become rude themselves and reply in an impolite way. The survey presented in the article created by Daily News found that 78 % of 2,698 people show excessive rudeness online, with people having no qualms about being less polite virtually than in person (“People More Likely To Be Rude On Social Media; Affects Friendships in Real Life.”). Taking into account how influential social networks are, there is nothing special that a person can become spoiled and their character traits are damaged. If people stop using social media as a source to vent their anger, they will become polite and reasonable or, at least, will have the bravery to express their dissatisfaction in real life.
What is more, there is a connection between physical problems and the use of social media. Teenagers who overuse social networks tend to have worse sleeping are physically inactive and less satisfied with their life. “About 28% of girls who used social media very frequently reported psychological distress” (Jenco 7). This is a direct reason not only for teenagers but for people, in general, to stop using social media to recover regime and social life.
Privacy Concerns
Meanwhile, it is important to point out that social media resources can undermine people’s privacy. They cannot chat freely and discuss anything they want because there is always a risk that the dialog is monitored by various structures. It may cause mental problems or lead to the loss of privacy. “New technologies, from closed-circuit television cameras to large databases, have long complicated privacy practices” (Marwick 1062). If people decide to quit social media, it will be possible not to get the feeling of paranoia connected with the possible tracking of information.
Conclusion
To summarize, the necessity to quit social media is determined by the harm it causes to people’s morals and its effects on the degradation of the population. This action will be a big step towards setting up a good living pace, regime, and relationships with others. More importantly, leaving online communication platforms will broaden one’s horizons because one will start deeply analyzing every situation. In addition, there are many more pleasant things and events that a person can face in the real world than in an online one.
Works Cited
Alter, Adam. Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked. Penguin Press, 2017.
Cibaroğlu, Mehmet. “Post-Truth in Social Media.” The Archival World, vol. 6, no. 2, 2019, pp. 87-99.
Jenco, Melissa. “Frequent Social Media Use Disrupts Sleep, Physical Activity in Teen Girls.” AAP News, 2019.
Jensen, Helmut. “Social Media Destroying Social Skills.” The Prospector, 2013.
Lanier, Jaron. Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now. Henry Holt and Company, 2018.
Marwick, Alice. “Networked Privacy: How Teenagers Negotiate Context in Social Media.” New Media Society, vol. 16, no. 7, 2017, pp. 1051-1067.
“People More Likely To Be Rude On Social Media; Affects Friendships in Real Life.” Daily News, 2013.
“Why People Are Choosing to Quit Social Media.” YouTube, uploaded by BBC Ideas, 2020