Social Media and Social Responsibility

    Social media is an unavoidable part of our lives. For better or for worse, we can not escape either the direct or inherited effects of social media and the way it affects our societal views of beauty, trends, and even the way we view different political, gender, and even job roles. As we become more familiar with these different social networking sites, it becomes more apparent that different social networking sites offer different benefits and drawbacks. For instance, TikTok within itself has different drawbacks and benefits than Instagram. Although both social sites offer similar comedic relief, gym posts, and even promotional posts for the most recent fads, I think the main reason they offer different drawbacks and benefits is due to the formatting of the sites. The same goes for even Twitter versus a site like Facebook. All of these sites present the media in different ways, whether it be based on photos, videos, or even short typed posts, they all resent in different ways which leads to different delivery and interpretations of the same kinds of media. 

    The idea that different social networking sites offer different benefits and drawbacks ties into the question of whether or not social networking sites have any responsibility in promoting mental health in their users. In my opinion, while I do believe that there is a societal corporate responsibility in promoting mental health and ways to a better self-image, there is no guarantee that these posts will even be seen or heard in the grand scheme of social media. Although Unfortunately, many influencers make money off of being skinny with perfect hair and skin, and since they are so popular in the algorithm, they will outweigh a self-love post every time since that is what society as a whole values. So although I do agree that social networking sites have a responsibility in promoting mental health in their users, it is up to the users if they will listen or not. 

As I mentioned in my previous post, I will be doing a song of the week at the end of my posts! This week's song of the week is Doses and Mimosas by Cherub to kick off this spring term! 

Cherub - Doses and Mimosas: https://youtu.be/E45fogGN_Y8