By tightening its grasp on newer generations, social media continues to inflict its negative effects on not only teenagers, but also on those who work in the corporations responsible.
Facebook software engineer Daniel Fisher said he works at “one of the most hated companies in the world” and said that this affects him and his colleagues.
“Unless you’re working for the government, there are not a lot of other day jobs that you could have where everyone has an opinion about the company that you work for,” Fisher said. “I get the sentiment from everybody, including [myself], that things would be a lot easier if the social reputation of the company was better.”
According to Fisher, the use of social media has changed how people perceive the world.
“A lot more people were using Instagram and that definitely changed perceptions that we’d always had,” Fisher said, referring to his teenage years. “Everything had to be the perfect picture, or your Instagram was the perfect collage of photos. That kind of distracts people from showing their good in life.”
Fisher said that every piece of content has been “engineered to go viral” and that “everybody wants to be an influencer.”
Social media corporations, such as Facebook, work with influencers in order to make a profit off of their advertisements.
According to Fisher, at the end of the day, everyone is just trying to “make a living.”
“Corporations are out there to make money, that’s the way it goes,” Fisher said.
According to a Pew Research poll, 97% of teens use the internet daily and 35% of them admit to using social media “almost constantly.”
According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, numerous studies have shown that teenagers who use social media constantly are linked with having higher chances of depression, anxiety, body dysmorphia, eating disorders and other mental health disorders.
Junior Savannah Smith said social media plays a part in body image issues.
“People are judged and become very self-conscious,” Smith said.
Junior Giana Vesci feels as though social media can be distracting, especially during conversation.
“I’ll be talking to people and then they’ll be ignoring me and on their phone,” Vesci said.
While social media has the potential to harm and create untrue realities, Fisher believes that there is good within social media.
“There are a lot of really good things that can come from being connected in a world where you were previously not connected,” Fisher said.
Fisher said that certain aspects of social media allow for him to feel connected to his friends and family, which is something he enjoys.
One of the apps Fisher uses is Threads, a Facebook creation.
Threads allows for public group conversations.
Fisher sees hope within Threads due to its collaborative nature and believes that it will help “bring out more positivity within the world.”