Social Media is taking over the world and changing our society! - Essay on Social Media (Digital Media)

Social Media is taking over the world and changing our society!

With the rise of Internet usage all over the world, more and more people are daily connecting with it and particularly with the social media sites. It has become a part of our everyday lives and almost every millennial is connected with these media sites and uses it on regular bases. Some of the most popular social media sites are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and so on. We are kind of addicted to them and check on other people's lives through posts and stories or just use it as an entertainment or news/other info gaining source.

The statistics on these media sites are really staggering. According to some sources the average time a person spends on social media sites per day is about 142 minutes. That's more than 2 hours daily spent on these sites. About 500 million people use Instagram stories on daily basis. Over 92% of the brands have presence on social media for marketing and to gather people's attention for their brand.



People care more about the likes, follows and comments they get on their posts and stories more than anything else. Everyone wants to look cool and happy on social media, they want to show the best of their lives. If Internet and social media didn't exist we wouldn't even know about these popular people and celebrities. The usage of Television is becoming less prevalent now and is kind of becoming a traditional source of media just like newspapers and radios. Research and other statistics shows that people get more depressed and unhappy when they use social media too much because when they look at other people doing better than them, they feel bad. Many people say that social media is harming younger generation's mental health. High usage of these sites may lead to poor sleeping patterns and also cause anxiety. Social media is changing our society in a different way.

The term viral is more prevalent now than ever before. Memes are something that we see daily on these sites. The best thing about social media is that we can connect to people all over the world of different culture, thinking and life style. It has broken down the barrier of communication with people living far away. Many people also making a living through these sites, if you get successful and famous here then you can make some good amount of money too. Social media has a great effect on Journalism too, now people get real time (live) updates of what is happening all over the world. They can share their opinions instantly and it gets noticed by other people. When social media didn't exist, if you had an opinion and wanted to share it with other people only a few could get it but now things have changed. Now the entire world can see it if your opinion gets shared with the masses. Social media helps us to connect with like minded people and have easy contact with them.

Personally I can't imagine my life without social media now. Some people will not like this but I am so attached to it now. There are currently more than 3.5 billion people on social media. The numbers are increasing more than ever now because access to the Internet is getting cheaper and more widely spread. Like when Reliance introduced Jio internet in India, prices were reduced to such an amount that other Internet service provider had to do the same in order to stay in the market. This boosted the number of people using Internet and social media in India. Whatsapp and Facebook messenger has more than 60 billion messages sent per day.

Youtube is also considered as a social media site, but it is video based and recently they introduced the story system so channels can post stuff as stories and people can watch and react to them. People can like videos, share them, comment just like any other social media site. Many people have become successful by uploading regular videos on Youtube and made a huge fan base. Some are making millions of dollars per year. Justin Bieber wouldn't have become popular and known if Youtube didn't exist. Many people have become online celebrities through these sites and now living a great life. There is also a lot of competition now and only some people get recognized and gain success. It takes a lot of hard work, patience and dedication to gain success on this platform. This is something I am trying to do as well.

Some people say that if you do not have an online presence at the current generation, you do not exist. You are asked for your Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook account names for contact than your phone number. This is what millennial do. Social media is a controversial topic and people love to discuss about it. It can be both a blessing or a curse to the person who is using it. It is changing the way we see relationship with other people. One of the best use of social media is to create awareness among people and it gets reached to the masses quite easily if shared well enough. Like the Global Warming topic and Save Earth is in trend these days and it is really something we all should look forward to.

So yes, social media is really changing our society and is taking over the world as more people are being connected to it ever day. It is up to us on how we use it. But we should not get addicted to it as it may cause some really serious problems. Too much of anything is bad.

Thank you! 

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