𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒍𝒊𝒑 𝑺𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑶𝒇 𝑺𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝑴𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒂 #We219

A popular network in my country once said "Data is life," and I agree with them.

Having data has made it much more easier to access social media at the snap of our fingers, and in all honesty social media has played numerous roles in our lives however, they have their pros and cons.

Before we talk about the pros and cons, I find it right to first mention some social media I know about, we have telegram, Instagram, Facebook, X (formerly twitter), Youtube, Linkedin, Reddit, WhatsApp and the list is endless.

A lot of people have just a few of them while others have almost all of them, for me, I have just a few of them and I have reasons for it.

First of all, Social media has made it easier for us to access the world and be in the know with what is happening around the world even without crossing borders. It has also made it easier for people to connect with their friends home and abroad and some have also earned a living through the use of social media, like the content creators and skit makers, even fashion designers and graphic designers.

I am a fashion designer and I have been able to get a lot of client online just showcasing my handiwork and the process of making an outfit. I do this by recording the DIY process and then post on my Youtube channel, WhatsApp or Instagram account and that has drawn a lot of clients to me. Funnily, I haven't still met them in person, but we are still in business, how you may ask? I know each body size mere taking a look at their picture they sent me, then I make the outfit in their size, and send a dispatch rider to deliver it and that's been working well for me till date.

My cousin who is a content creator earns handsomely from his tiktok and Facebook account by creating content and gaining massive engagement on his page.

I on the other hand, have acquired a lot of knowledge through social media, I love to learn new things so most times I am on Youtube, learning new designs from online tutorials I come across and that has helped me to hone my fashion skills.

How about the cons of social media? I personally find cyberbullying irritating, as many people have hidden behind their keyboard to be a threat to other people's life, which has led many people into depression and even suicide.

The way some bloggers misinterpret information is something negative about social media, which has misled many people today and destroyed so many reputation.

Fraud is another negative aspect of social media, we hear of catfish accounts, impersonators (people claiming to be what they are not just to rip people off their hard earned money), and even murder their victims afterwards. Just last week I was almost scammed, but I was wise enough to take a quick action, someone pretended to be my uncle, after hacking his WhatsApp account, he began to ask me for money, ever since I've known my uncle, he has never asked me for money, so I paused a moment to find out the truth, I reached out to his wife and that was how I knew his account had been hacked, I immediately blocked the scammer to stay safe and informed other members of the family about it.

Some even take delight in tarnishing the reputation of their victims by posting nudes on their accounts and all forms of derogatory things, while others even blackmail their victims and the list goes on.

One thing which is common among the youth today is "Addiction," some people have been so addicted to social media that other aspects of their lives begin to suffer, no more me-time and family time, you find them on their phone 24/7 just surfing the net aimlessly, some even press their phone while walking on the street, while driving, and this has made them lose out on enjoying the moment and even endangering their lives.

I don't know if it's just me that wonders "where do our deleted content go to?" I still wish to know, because I feel our database are quite not safe on the net, by mere sharing our location can get us into trouble if it gets to the wrong hands, so I think it's very wise to think twice before hitting the share button on either our pictures, what's on mind or where we are headed. More to that, I am very mindful of the friend request I accept, if I don't know you, I won't accept your friend request and i ensure I have my privacy set to family and friends alone and not the public, some people think I am too secretive, but the truth is I am only trying to take preventive measures and only trying to stay safe.

In conclusion, I will liken social media to a knife, if we make good use of social media, it has great benefits, but when we are not careful with it, it will cut us and hurt us.

So I think it depends on how we make use of it, for me I hardly post personal stuff on my social media account, I only use it to face time my loved ones if need be and then have a good laugh on some memes I find.

I have also set a timer in each of my social media account, once that time elapses, I'm done with it for the day until another time, that has helped me to be more productive and focused in life and keeping everything at their right place.