Oversharing Online

 Hi everyone, 

1. Do different social networking sites offer different benefits and drawbacks?

    I am very excited to talk about this topic since social media is a part of all of our lives in one way or another. It doesn't really matter anymore if one has a social media account, because even if they don't, they are very likely to hear about it around their friends, in news or on TVs. Social media is a source of a lot of information or ideas that we get on daily basis, both positive and negative. Therefore, I personally think that social networking has many pros and cons. 

    In my opinion, all social media and each social networking site has its own benefits and drawbacks. I think there is rarely any social media that has just positives or just negatives to offer. Hence, no matter what social media we use, we will be exposed to both of these. However, we are the ones who are responsible for what is showing on our feed. For example, Instagram is a platform that can very easily represent a lot of negatives that surround us in the society. But, we choose who we follow and if we focus on following only our close ones or celebrities with positive influence, we can make this social media a better place for ourselves and our mental health. 

    One big benefit that most of social networking sites have in common is communication and staying in touch with people from our lives. I am from Serbia, but for the past 4 years I've lived in United States. Most of my family, friends as well as my boyfriend still live in Serbia and without social media I wouldn't be able to stay in touch with all of them as easily as I am with social media. Social networking gives us a great chance to connect with people all around the world and thanks to it I was able to meet a lot of great people who are still in my life. 

    I am also well aware that there are many negative sides to social networking such as cyberbullying, hurtful comments, addiction, mental health issues and so on. 

    I personally think that it's very important to be aware of both sides and to find a good balance, and that relates to everything in our lives. Too much of anything is bad for you. 

    2. Do social networking sites have any responsibility in promoting mental health in their users? If so, how might they go about doing so?

    Yes, I believe that social media companies have a duty to protect the mental health of their users. This should be the case because people are the ones using their innovations and if there was no people social media wouldn't work the way it works. I think it should be in their best interest to protect the users and their mental health that can be affected by seeing the content that these social media platforms provide. I've noticed that a lot of social networking sites are trying to advertise mental health and its importance. This definitely improved in the past few years compared to when social media first started. For example, I think that social media can protect their users by immediately deleting any negative/harassing/body shaming content or comment. On the other hand, we can do better job of spreading awareness and information on how to maintain your mental health while using social media.