Social Media and Society: It Controls Everything

 By definition, society is refers to "a group of people who live in a definable community and share the same culture". Personally, I don't agree with the 'same culture aspect' of the definition, but the rest of it I agree with. One thing about society is that it constantly changes, and it changes more times than we see. Big or small, constant changes to society are always made, and it's influenced by the world around us. Essentially, society controls the way we think and do things. I like to think of it as a pair of eyes that are silently watching. In ways, society can be good; it can promote positive change and redirect our way of thinking. However, society can also alter are ways of life by distorting truths and living ways of life that are taught to be good, but actually aren't. Social media is also a gigantic influencer of societies. 

Think about it: social media is shared to everyone. It's a way to spread messages to mass populations. It's a way to promote big brands or ideas. We use it to honor people, to celebrate things, even to degrade people (unfortunately). We use it for basically everything. Honestly without social media, I feel like society as a whole would be a little more kind-hearted and wholesome. Here are some topics that have been distorted one way or another because of social media and society: 

Body Image

Body image is one of the most distorted and viewed topic on social media. Throughout the years, body image has changed because of society viewpoints and focuses. We have made many strides to try and eliminate the bad connotation to body image, like using "body positivity" for example. But if we're being honest, by using different sized mannequins in a department store and creating "plus sized" sizes really do it justice? I personally don't think so; because at the end of the day, everyone still favors the skinny or hourglass figure for females, and the jacked six-pack physique for males. People are still going to judge, no matter the changes made to this topic to support inclusivity.

Mental Health and Health in General

I've seen a lot of information on mental health and physical health on social media ever since I can remember, but I've seen it more prominently once the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Now I know the main reason was because we had to quarantine for almost a whole year, but my opinion of this is that it would've been nice for the same amount of awareness to be spread before this worldwide situation. One thing I wan to change about the way we view mental health is the way we spread the idea of self-care. Online, we see self care as "reading a book" or "having a spa day". Nobody ever talks about the actual tolls that people endure when their mental health negatively affects them. As someone who has suffered from horrible mental health issues in the past, I've learned that self-care is so much more than taking a "personal day". Simply getting out of bed when you don't want to is a form of self-care. Washing up in the morning is a form of self-care. Even accepting that all you did today is make your bed and make a small meal for you to eat (when you swore to yourself you didn't have any energy for the day) is not only self-care, but also a major accomplishment for someone with mental health issues. This is what I want to spread awareness of: there are many forms of self-care, and it should be regularly talked about in a good way.

Politics and Activism

This is probably one of the most distorted topics, if not the most, on social media and in society. So many stories and views are taken out of context for the public's pleasure. Furthermore, so much activism is being spread all over media, and that's a good thing because it's leading to change...right? Well actually, it's not, though people think it is. A new concept has been developed known as "slacktivism", and this is when social media is used to express concerns and thought regarding a specific topics, but not actually doing anything to promote change. It's only limited to pressing the like button and nothing else. It's one thing to spread awareness of an issue, but it's another to spread awareness and work towards making a change, and social media can only go so far with it. 

These are just a few of the many topics and issues that social media and society greatly influence. It sort of brings the meaning "we write our own stories" into life because that is what we are essentially doing. In the next few years, things will changes, and newer issues will gain attention, forcing society to switch their attention. Meanwhile, social media will be trailing right behind, waiting to implement it's views on it.