Technology is developing day by day and we have to be fast while trying to adapt to all these changes. First, it was cameras. Then it became smartphones just in a century. In the meantime, there were people becoming famous just by a click on our cell phones. Everything started to happen faster, and we didn’t even realize how deeply technology entered our lives.
Social media doesn’t only affect adults, its actual target audience is teenagers. It influences a whole generation. It affects how we eat, how we dress, how we talk and even how we think. Many daily life activities are now shaped by trends we see online. Teenagers especially feel pressure to fit into these standards, even if they are unrealistic.
Social media makes our lives easier because we don’t have to try to learn or decide on everything on our own. There is always someone out there to teach and decide for us. What to wear, where to go, what to think. But is that all good? Depending too much on others’ opinions slowly takes away our ability to think independently.
Not using our brain as we used to do isn’t something worth trying. It limits our thinking, deciding and designing abilities. It limits our creativity and the things we can do. We let social media put limits on us and it becomes harder to focus, even on simple tasks, because of the five-second videos we binge-watch every day.
It doesn’t only limit us, it also changes how we see ourselves. It destroys natural looks, natural bodies and most importantly self-love. Teenagers grow up with the idea that beauty is everything, and that idea is painful. “A little bit of hunger isn’t much” becomes normal. Bullying starts with social media because nothing ever seems enough.
However, technology itself is not completely bad. Social media can connect people, spread awareness and give opportunities to those who wouldn’t have them otherwise. The real problem is losing control. We forget that most things online are edited and staged.
In conclusion, digital impact is powerful and unavoidable. It can help us or harm us depending on how we use it. Learning balance is the most important step, because technology should be a tool in our lives, not the thing that controls who we are.