While social media can bring us all sorts of joy and happiness, there is all sorts of collateral damage. The woes and terror brought on by the internet age only lead to a place of horror. Most of us have decided to embrace it, even if it leads to our private lives being in a public place. There is simply too much room for failure, be it jealously or unmitigated hate. If anything, we have at least gotten to see plenty of what makes much of humanity a waste of space. Even though we all deserve our place to play, this creates too many crushed toes. These are the 10 worst parts of social media.
10 Worst Parts of Social Media
1. It’s Too Positive
If you want to share something positive, you may get some positivity back. The problem is that your positivity can be misused. Another issue here is that positivity, especially online, is a lie. If you are negative and want to share some frustrations, people will feel a right to abuse this. If you can be honest but critical, you are giving a positive person an excuse to be the negative person they always were. The problem is that they will take it out on you with projected ridicule and hate, even if what you say is true. Social media is generally positive in the sense that this is all anyone wants to share. There is nothing wrong with a positive message, but the hypocrisy and needless adherence create a struggle. This can ultimately end with more negativity in the real world at the end of the day.
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They want to share simple solutions to complex problems that obviously require more resolution. Unfortunately, the people in charge do not want real world solutions to every day issues. Memes are a good example of this, as they serve as the epitome of online garbage. The memes people share are negative, but the same person hates you when you are having a good time. Most memes attempt to share or at least shroud with a positive and helpful message, but the point is ultimately negative. Social media simply gives humans the ability to be the contradictory jerks they have always been. You can certainly find out who your true friends are, even if you met them online. They think they are anonymous, justified, and protected, but they really are not.
10 Worst Parts of Social Media
2. It Pits People Against Each Other
Going on a social media website like Facebook is like driving a car with an abusive relative in the backseat. There is stress involved, you are willing to show it, but no one can ultimately see it. You are forced to interact with people, but you cannot see any of them while driving down a timed collision course of doom. Everyone is yelling and screaming for you to do one thing then another. There are reasons why they can find disgust with you without you even saying a damn thing. This happens anyway, but it can occur even faster when people are behind a keyboard online. How else are we going to win the war of ideas without the bad ideas being there in the first place. It is not like anyone knows you or is keeping track of you or your profile in the first place, right?
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Never-ending news stories that have everyone at each other’s throats is commonplace. Some people even make false claims and do this to intentionally stir up controversy. On top of this, you have problems with fake news that end up contriving further needless disagreements. There is a chasmic dichotomy created by this impulsive need to put others down, but it is really just a part of the fun. The competition is what drives us, even if it makes us look like fools. Humans will take this even further once they have been found out. At this point, you may as well defend yourself tooth and nail until the very last drop of blood. Since social media is about sharing your opinion and other thoughtless ideas, it is no wonder. The competition is steep, even if it only involves how you are looking in that silly selfie.
10 Worst Parts of Social Media
3. It Creates an Impossible Standard
You have probably heard this plenty of times, but it is worth saying again because of it’s truth. Social media can create standards that are just too hard to meet for the average person. There are suicides, insecurities, and even drug problems caused by social media use. A normal person wants some attention, but how far this so-called normal is willing to take it can create problems. People want to look good, but this is hard when every other person thinks that they are ugly. This is perpetuated by the glossed up appearances of a select few social media celebrities. Although they are attractive, they were simply at the right place at the right time. While these standards are generally okay to follow, they should only guide you in moderation. If not, the endless need for success can lead you down a path of self-destruction and harm.
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Most people who look or have it good were lucky to begin with and had the money to back it up. If you are willing to spend time with makeup or other fashionable things, then you may be alright. There is nothing wrong with success, but the way you get there is more important. The issue for many is that it becomes an obsession that never stops taking control over your life.
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You will never reach a place of satisfaction, and unfortunately, it involves more than just looks. Having a personality, showing your good side, and keeping a good public image are key. If you decide to share something raunchy, you may be excommunicated from public life. There is always going to be someone out there doing life better than you, so why even bother. Most of the time, the successful are truly miserable simply trying to keep up with the standards created by societal others.
10 Worst Parts of Social Media
4. It Reinforces Selfishness
If you friend someone on a social media site, you may begin to notice their selfishness pretty fast. It is not to say that everyone is horribly selfish, but everyone can display it to some degree. You will begin to see just how selfish or selfless someone is when you decide to post something. They may begin to ignore your posts, especially if you happened to miss something they posted. If push comes to shove, then someone may just ghost you or flat out tell you that you suck.
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The common excuse is that they cannot see your posts, but they can and just do not want to like them. This can be for good reason, but more often than not, they have no good reason. The bad explanations come from a place of misery, and they may occasionally come out to explain it. Sometimes, there is something good to take from their constructive criticism. Other times, you are told by them that they just do not like people’s stuff normally. Their pride comes before the pleasure, and it can lead to some hurt feelings.
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Naturally, they just do not care about you enough to appreciate your effort, and it is usually easy enough to find out. This can come from a place of jealousy, but some people choose not to hide their ill will. If they are good enough manipulators, you can see the reasons being displayed right in front of you. You will be blamed for your shortcomings, and all of a sudden, they are the victims.
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While they are sitting there being showered with praise endlessly for no good reason, you are being shafted. Maybe it was for that controversial post you put up and took down six months ago, but you are now blacklisted. You can be trying your best to get a business going for yourself by adding a business page, but it goes unseen. There are times where social media sites can close your posts away from the public, but this is no excuse.
10 Worst Parts of Social Media
5. You Are Easily Blocked
It is not brought up too often, but social media sites play a role in what gets seen and what does not. You can share something spectacular in your life, but Facebook or Instagram will not display it. Maybe they will tell you that you were blocked, or you will keep sharing without ever knowing that you were banned. Reasons are often not shared, at least when it comes to the real reason why you are unseen. These websites can shadow ban you for no good reason at all.
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Blocking or banning has always been an issue, and while some of it is justified, most of it is not. It is a slippery slope that ends up making more online trolls than eliminating them. You can put a lot of effort into a business page but can end up with little feedback. Maybe it was the someone falsely reporting you or the website accidentally claiming you for spam.
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In the end, you could end up on the wrong end of the stick because of unabashed bad luck. There are very few second chances when it comes to social media. While that sophomoric idiot is posting a selfie with another inspirational quote to justify the picture, you get shafted. You are sitting there with nothing to show for anything while sitting in Facebook jail. It works the same way it does it real life, as once you are out, you will likely go right back in.
10 Worst Parts of Social Media
6. They Abuse Privacy
Believe it or not, social media sites abuse your privacy left and right. Websites like Facebook in particular are very well known for their breaches of privacy. Other sites like Google are even worse, but YouTube and Google are not social media sites. This does not mean that social media or these marketing companies are not worth mentioning though. Every single website on the internet is digging into your personal information. There is no place to hide, and if someone wants to get a kick out of your nude photo, they will. If someone wants to dox you, they certainly can with a simple hack of your device.
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Even when you do not know it, your metadata is being datamined by a number of people and programs. Everyone has sight of what you do and there are AI programmed algorithms making it public. Although you may have a VPN, strong firewall, and virus protection, you can still be found out. All it takes is a simple click and someone can expose you and all of your strange habits.
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Everything is captured and saved, even if you decided to delete it off of your phone. Google can track where you are going and what searches pop up for your next. It is even the reason why my website is having a hard time gaining any friction, as every little detail is scrutinized. When someone tells you that everything on the internet is permanent, it certainly is. It is just a matter of how much someone is willing to dig it all up.
10 Worst Parts of Social Media
7. It Allows People to Exaggerate
If you want to go to a place where accountability is unheard of, then social media is your domain. Even if you know a person in real life, they will still lie about what they have or have not done. It is not any worse than an anonymous internet troll leaving flame war comments in a YouTube comment section. Lying is the norm on social media, and everyone is — to some degree — culpable. People will share pictures of their lives and make sure you get the best parts of them. No matter how hard you try to question it, there is always a slant in favor of perfect. If someone is looking to prove how cool or badass they are, then they can exaggerate their accomplishments.
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No matter where you go online, someone is selling some form of snake oil. Even if it is obvious that most of what makes people’s lives special is fake, the fabricated reality seems to stick. The news you watch is no different, as drama is what makes news even close to palatable for most people. There is more and more of this going on, in spite of what the average person is telling you. If being politically correct is your game, then you may find this a disruption to your personal task. If we are all hip to this, then it ultimately means very little; exaggeration is part of the fun. Although, it still makes mulling through the facts a little more difficult.
10 Worst Parts of Social Media
8. You Can Get Cancelled
Nowadays, getting cancelled is fairly common and represents the power the majority has over the minority. It acts as the buzzword that people can become hysterical about for the needed controversy in their lives. This is a product of people being at odds with each other, and it only gets worse from here. Even if you are not aware of it, you can be insulting someone who can end up ruining your career. Although you said something in jest with good intentions in mind, it does not matter. If someone took offense to an insulting claim, you struck gold in disaster. As you can see, this only makes it worse for everyone involved. It ends up putting the power of ruin in everyone’s hands.
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We all go online to escape, albeit not always to our general favor. It does not help when someone wants to find a creative way to ruin our day. Do some people deserve to be cancelled? Sure, but there are better ways to do this without seeming like an overly offended angry mob. The general philosophy is to give people a chance before the party in charge does it’s biding. It is not up to you if someone loses there job, but it has become more like this every single day. While it does help to change someone’s behavior, it will often lead to them doubling down. All this means is that the person will end up feeling scrutinized for no good reason. This strengthens the us vs. them mentality with personal defensiveness, and this is found on social media daily.
10 Worst Parts of Social Media
9. It Enables Stupidity and Addiction
There is already enough dumbness that happens in person, but this does not stop people from doing it more online. If they are not already making fools of themselves, they will certainly make the mistake of doing it on the internet. Unfortunately, stupid is what stupid does — the idiocy translates from the real world. Things like addiction to the dopamine of “likes” and peer pressure to do mind-numbing activities is normal. Stupidity is ordinary online, and on some occasions, it’s applauded. The problem is that this inherent crudeness gets taken way too far, but at least you can see who agrees. People will even make it a competition guised as a challenge to prove oneself. If you are looking for attention, the internet is the place to go for millions of strangers to see you.
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Sulking around on social media is almost like walking around without your pants on. Everyone can see just how much of a idiot and jackass you are, but they have a hard time seeing your face. You are likely to run into at least a few people out there who appreciate your plainly hidden goofiness. If you want to revel in the madness of your supposed political affiliation, then you can do that as well. There are endless opportunities to be the idiot, and at least it is online. It is not like you are doing it in person where all of the danger lies. There are opportunities to explore new things, as the stupidity can prove useful in lesson. Even if, you can find out who the truly stupid are by seeing who does little to learn from it.
10 Worst Parts of Social Media
10. It is Scary and Full of Creeps
If you want to know the scariest place on Earth, then look no further than your phone or computer. Your internet device is not really a place, but this place is essentially everywhere. You carry your phone, but the phone and it’s content represent everything that surrounds you. It is all in one convenient place to ruin your day. It is like the dark net if the dark net where the default setting on everyone’s smart device. Social media makes this even worse because of the lack of preventative measures involved. Everything online has a social account, and you are welcome to share your ideas. You can receive death threats, or you can have people stalk your account waiting for your next move. It is the kind of antisocial behavior that is expected of you.
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Facebook and Instagram are notorious for this kind of behavior in particular, but all of the internet is involved. Even if it can be worse on other kinds of sites, it does not make this less of a valid point against social media. No matter where you go, you can be followed because of a simple leak in your IP address. Someone can dox your location or send your nude picture to the press for humiliation.
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It does not matter, because even though we are online, people will still be people. We are just seeing the worst that was always there. If it was not there, then social media and marketing companies made it worse. The internet is vacuous now, and it serves to only sell your personal information for profit. In the end, you are probably better off removing your Facebook account, throwing out your computer, and hiding in a dark room.
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