Social media makes individuals more narcissistic as it establishes the standards of what is considered beautiful. The presence of millions of selfies forces persons to compare themselves to what they see online. Furthermore, the studies show that narcissism develops more rapidly among people who frequently post and update socials (McCain & Campbell, 2018). Today, individuals are more cautious about how they look, how others react to them, and how aesthetic their environment is.
It is difficult to identify the exact age of when a child can begin using social media because many games or video channels have chats or other places that provide a similar experience as social. The terms of platforms like Instagram and Facebook have the rule that children under 13 years old are prohibited from creating accounts. Consequently, people who are not teenagers yet can be considered too young for social media.
I would quit social media if I had another channel of frequent contact with my closest friends and family. In the modern world, it is odd not to know about the recent updates of others around you, and socials are vital for information exchange. However, I would stop using most platforms or unfollow most accounts to decrease society’s trends and standards pressure on my life.
Sure, most people who witnessed the socials early development and have already spent a few years using online platforms have an experience of publishing personal information and then regretting it. Although I was able to delete images or posts I did not want to stay on the internet, most of my followers have already seen them. People need to assess the benefits and drawbacks of their publications and think about how they portray themselves online.
I am fine with a piece of my content going viral because publishing it means that I made it available for every internet user. Moreover, popularity in social media can be monetized today, and accidentally gaining it allows start earning. Although I might not like the exact photo or video of me, I understand that I intended to share it, and the consequences are my responsibility.
Reference
McCain, J. L., & Campbell, W. K. (2018). Narcissism and social media use: A meta-analytic review. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 7(3), 308.