Social media is a part of your everyday life, with more platforms available than ever before, offering different services and ways to engage with one another.

What is social media?

Social media is a platform or website that allows users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.

This would include Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Pinterest and so many more platforms we use daily.

What affect does it have on our lives?

Social media has become a part of our daily lives, we check it first thing in the morning, and before we go to bed. It is now a source of news, entertainment and communication with the outside world.

Positives

It has opened the world of communication, we can engage with people from all over the world, join debates and have our voice heard. We can create and share content with millions of people and use it to make real change in the world.

Negatives.

While this can be a great thing, it can also contain personal opinion, fake news and damaging material that can reach millions of people in minutes without really knowing the source of information. Each social platform is designed to maximise our engagement, creating a game in which we earn likes and shares, awarding us with numbers that have no real value apart from what we as individuals put on them.

Why is this important? 

Social media platforms are apart of our lives and we will see more in the future. I found myself on social media hourly, checking for comments, likes and any engagement on my posts.

I remember feeling a buzz when I had a great engagement, but lows when I didn’t. Social media is a game that has no finish line, and when I changed how I saw the platforms, my mental health improved and I was happy.

Social media is just a tool, and its important to remember its definition.

“Social media is a platform or website that allows users to create and share content or to participate in social networking.”

It is not about likes, about spreading fake news or hate. Its purpose is for users to create and share, using platforms to make positive changes and connect to like-minded people.

What affect does social media have on your life? Would you use social media if you didn’t get likes? How has social media benefited you? #TellYourStory with MyNeedToLive