With the advancement in technology, social media has blossomed over the past two decades. Globally, social media has gained so much fame and growth that people are willing to learn more about these platforms and their effects on the community. Almost everyone in the community is connected to one or more social media platform, of which teenagers, young adults and the youth are the leading and are fanatical to a point where they social network even while sitting among their friends. In light of this, researchers have found out that these social platforms impact the lives of the youth morally, physically, emotionally and mentally. Are Facebook friends becoming more important than the ones we meet in our daily lives? 

Similar to technology, even social media has its ups and downs. But if not used with the incentive of business or professional goal, then the negatives weigh in. The benefits of social media are that it helps an individual stay up to date on the events taking place around them or globally. It also helps in staying in touch with family, friends and colleagues that also reduce the chances of physical meetings, which is the case now due to the pandemic. The youth can indulge in making their professional pages on these platforms to broaden employment opportunities.

The new abbreviations, short forms and slangs are also known as the new 'millennial language' hinder the language capability of an individual often confusing them if they're new to this.

But, on the brighter side during the lockdown and quarantine majority of the people have utilized this time to work on their fitness. Many social media influencers have launched fitness programs to help the youth and I must say that the results have been great. I tried a 7 days fitness challenge by Cloe Ting who is an influencer and Youtuber and looking at her stats her videos have gone viral across the globe.

Before the pandemic, long hours that were wasted could have been channelized into acquiring an education through online tutorials and materials. Social media also provides a good platform where cyber theft and bullying can take place which increases the risk of identity theft. Personal information can get stolen as it is stored in certain locations that are easy to access for hackers. Such platforms can also spread wrong information or fake news which can aim at tainting people interest groups or political/religious groups which can cause beef between the concerned parties.

Nowadays, communication is just a click or swipe away. The concept of dating apps may seem very exciting and experimental but in comparison to a real relationship, it has its disadvantages. Not only dating apps but social media as well, impacts the personal and emotional connect that one shares during face to face communication or interaction. Certain drawbacks of social isolation can often be depression and anxiety. Technology seems to have overpowered our lives and has been instrumental in the formation of a new lifestyle or way of living. Online dating is gaining popularity and is quite loved and loathed. Dating sites such as Tinder, Bumble, OkCupid have made it much easier for people to meet. Swiping right and left through a million options, initiating emotional and promising conversations and then deserting each other like half-written novels, seems to be quite an emergent trend.  This could be mentally exhausting and draining. Dumping unsuccessful and unpleasant dates and interactions can have an emotional setback and impact. “I’m into old school love, this generation wouldn’t understand” a line that has been heard several times. This refers to the patience, respect, understanding people had and have in successful relationships, unlike today’s extremely self-centred and impulsive relationships.

Recently, in the Zomato case that took place on the 9^th of March, Hitesha Chandranee accused the delivery boy of attacking her over delayed services. She then immediately posted a video of herself explaining the same on her Instagram handle which went viral in a couple of hours. Why are we talking about this incident? This shows the power of social media. How fast the word spreads, how easy it has become to make people aware, a new way of seeking justice. But in this case, the power was misused as this accusation had caused the delivery boy to lose his job. This happened because it was only Hitesha who posted the video telling her side of the story and not him. The number of reposts and comments that the video received was shocking which even reached out to Zomato India.

Last year when the pandemic struck it had shaken up not just the economy but every citizen. One set of citizens were the migrant workers who suffered immensely. To help them, came forward Bollywood actor Sonu Sood who is also known as a ‘messiah’. He arranged several buses and flights to send migrant workers back to their hometown with utmost safety and precautions. His Instagram handle is one of the most engaging ones where he connects with several people who require urgent attention and help. He often shares his newly launched programs and schemes on his account to make people aware and help them out which is why he has been loved by all and also has an ambulance service named by him.

I feel it depends on person to person that to what degree she/he wants to be dependent on social media. Moreover, there is nothing in the world that comes easy and it’s up to our conscience to decide what we want to learn and how we balance things out.