By Joshua Corcuera
Imagine a world without social media — without Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and so on. How different would life be? To begin with, it is even difficult to imagine a world without these social media sites especially that billions have been connected through this form of technology. Certainly, lives would be significantly affected when people cannot suddenly connect to social media. It would be difficult for people to communicate in real-time, while information can only be disseminated through traditional means like newspaper, radio, and television — and so does misinformation.
With this in mind, people would be inclined to think that social media is a greatly beneficial tool that made lives easier and more convenient. This is because, without social media, way of life would seem to go back to several decades ago. Though this is true, we must not forget that a coin has two sides and that we must look at the other side as well. It is essential to discuss the fundamental contributions and challenges brought by social media to society and what can be done to address the problems plaguing social media.
The good brought by social media
The benefits brought by social media to society are obvious. It is clear and compelling that platforms like Facebook and Twitter both serve as a medium for real-time information dissemination. People do not necessarily have to buy newspapers to know what is happening to the world since news outlets utilized social media to spread news as it happens. There are even some households that are not much interested in television anymore because live streaming can be done in social media apps.
Besides the quick dissemination of information, another apparent benefit brought by social media is communication. In the past, people would have to write letters and send them by mail to the person they were writing for. The delivery of such letters from sender to receiver would take days or weeks. Today, however, people can communicate with anyone from anywhere in real-time thanks to the internet and the social media apps — such as Messenger — which enable this to happen. As a matter of fact, people can chat with one another while seeing each other’s faces through video chat. Thanks to social media, communication and information dissemination have become easier and more convenient.
The bad brought by social media
In regard to social media, the other side of the coin is often overlooked. Going back to the two fundamental benefits mentioned earlier — communication and information dissemination — there are corresponding challenges as well. Though social media apps enabled news outlets to spread news to an enormous audience in real-time, so does false information and fake news by trolls. Worse, there are many people believing in fake news especially when it aligns with their views.
Moreover, social media platforms can be used as a tool to sow bitter division in society especially in politics. As we can see, people from both sides of the political spectrum are being pushed further away from one another partly because of social media. This can be observed in the rise of populists from the far-left and the far-right in several countries around the world. While for communication, there are concerns that one’s personal information and private data can be leaked and can be used by some for personal gain. Altogether, social media also has its dark side — one that seems scary because society never encountered how to resolve such a digital problem before.
What needs to be done in our social media platforms
It is essential for social media platforms to address the concerns hounding them given its scary side. To be fair, the challenges mentioned earlier — fake news and problems on protecting privacy — are being responded to by social media platforms. Facebook, for instance, has partnered with independent fact-checkers to flag content whether it is true or false information. While security of private data from malicious subjects is being strengthened at the same time.
However, the problems plaguing social media continue to affect people severely. Fake news peddlers are still posting misleading content with thousands still sharing and believing in it. While cybersecurity becomes a contentious issue during elections just like in America where Russian state-sponsored hackers are alleged to interfere to cause division. Even here in the Philippines, Facebook found and removed several accounts — which posted content demonizing activists and the opposition — last September for coordinated inauthentic behavior.
Clearly, there is more work to do for social media platforms to get rid of the problems they face. It is essential to prevent oneself from falling victim to social media problems such as fake news and sharing content that promotes hatred. As of now, people must be aware not only of the benefits brought by social media, but also the challenges it poses to society. More importantly, social media platforms should initiate stronger responses to alleviate the problems they are currently dealing with.
