Daniella Therese P.

Garcia March 15, 2024

8 - Mendel
The importance of social media awareness

Why is social media awareness important?

In our generation, social media has become an important and useful tool in our daily
lives. It helps people stay connected with other people, share ideas, and have access to
information,news,etc. It also gives us an opportunity to interact with the people around
us; moreover, we have the ability to express ourselves creatively and freely. Social
media vastly impacts our ability to communicate. However, we still need to be mindful
and aware when using social media. Being responsible is an individual role in our
society.

Firstly, social media awareness means understanding the various issues that surround
media usage. Issues such as oversharing information: when we share information and
updates with any media connections we built, it can be advantageous, but it can also
bring many risks along with it. Oversharing information is a risky thing to do. It can be
harmful in various ways. Whenever you share personal information, you expose
yourself to a risk where numerous people can steal your identity. The information that
you’ve shared, such as your full name, location, and birthplace, can be used in any
dangerous activity. Be mindful of what you share on social media, especially in these
times when you don’t know who you can trust.

Secondly, cyberbullying is a very serious issue and has terrible effects on individuals’
mental health. According to research in 2022, 46% of teenagers experienced
cyberbullying, which had devastating effects on their victims. The 2019 Youth Risk
Behavior Surveillance System revealed that 16% of high school students experienced
cyberbullying in the previous year, with 73% experiencing it on social media platforms.
Not only on social media can you experience cyberbullying, but also in online
messaging,email,online gaming, and chat rooms. Cyberbullying victims go through a
range of negative emotions, including fear, shame, and rage. It also has an impact on
their mental health, leading to suicidal thoughts and feelings of depression.

Lastly, Most teenagers in this generation are addicted to social media. It is where a
person feels extreme need to use social media. According to the World Health
Organisation (WHO, Citation 2017), 10–20% of children and adolescents globally suffer
from mental health issues. According to estimates, 50% of all mental illnesses manifest
by the time a person is 14 years old and 75% by the time they are 18 years old (Kessler
et al., Citation 2007). Because of the amount of time spent on social media, it may have
negative effects on their daily activities because they only put their attention into using
the media and also lack the time to do their physical activities, which leads to health
issues.Being addicted to social media can also have negative effects on our mental
health and can increase the risk of having depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and
loneliness.

In addition, these are just some of the examples why we should be aware in using
social media,