Negative Essay: Social Media, Friend Or Foe?

Social Media, Friend or Foe? As human beings we are like pies and we have needs that must be met to be wholesome and delicious but with social media we are like the decadent pie you see that looks good from far but in reality it is far from good because once someone has tasted a slice of the pie, they quickly realize it’s ingredients have spoiled beyond belief. Social media corrupts our mind, our health and our skills of interaction and relationship building. Our capacity for empathy is stunted and our need for human connection is diminishing by the fallacy that social media is “social” when in reality it only keeps us trapped and blinded to the fact that real human connection can only be made by live experience and expression of emotion as

Maslow’s theory doesn’t end at the social need but the remaining needs are affected and cannot be reached if we haven’t met the previous needs. One level above the social need is the need for self-esteem and this leads to confidence, achievement, respect for others and by others. This need greatly shatters the idea that social media should be a part of our lives because social media is only preventing us from obtaining these things that make us proper and empathetic human beings. There is only a false sense of confidence. Everyone only puts their best side or tells lies on social media and this creates false confidence because of all of the attention received to this person or story that may not be real but that undeserved attention becomes addicting so that person continues to lie. Ultimately this leads to a sense of entitlement and it promotes a lack of respect and acknowledgement for other human beings. There is complete disregard for other human beings on social media, everyone is only fulfilling their own selfish and narcissistic needs. Respect and achievement on social media are just bogus lies that we buy into because of how easy it is to get likes for meaningless things. This feeds our ego and dumbs us down so much because we are being rewarded for being thoughtless. At the top of Maslow’s list, we eventually reach self-actualization and this leads to creativity, lack of prejudice, spontaneity, problem

Stephen Marche argues in his article the importance of social interaction and then acknowledges the loneliness that is caused by social media. “We meet fewer people. We gather less. And when we gather, our bonds are less meaningful and less easy.” Social media forces us to become like the hermit crab because we actually become less social despite what we believe social media grants us by allowing us to share and perceive thoughts, feelings and pictures. We filter everything and the things we share teach us what our peers like and dislike so we adjust ourselves to conform to the false appreciation of others and this causes us to lose our own