By Abdullah Sabih

KUWAIT: Social media has had an undoubtful impact on society in the past few decades. The lives of many people revolve around it and have been affected by it in one way or another. Without a doubt, it is a boon to mankind, without which the prospect of a modern world would have been left unfulfilled. But as the saying goes: “There are always two sides to the same coin.” Social media has also proven to be a bane to society in quite a few ways. It was created solely for the purpose of serving as a platform for people to connect with each other. But as we know, in today’s world it has outlived this purpose and acts as an epitome of confinement and entertainment for many people as well.

Keeping up with our loved ones and with the rest of the world used to be quite a challenge before. But this void has been filled by social media platforms. “Social media made it possible for me to reconnect with friends from my childhood days. We reunited after 25 years through Facebook and refreshed our memories by reminiscing the good old days,” said Mujeeb Akhtar, an engineer working at KNPC.

He also believes that many creative people, like himself, are given a platform to share their skills and interests with the rest of the world through social media. It has also become an educational tool as it gives institutions and students a wide range of educational resources and courses to expand their knowledge and accessibility to learning. A student, Raeha Nigar Kidwai, had this to say: “Social media educates people on certain topics by watching things on their feed which can benefit them - for example, politics or just the economy in general.” These are just a few of the many benefits of social media that are often overlooked when we focus only on the negative aspect of it.

On the other hand, social media brought in its wake many undesired consequences as well. According to Yousuf Khan, a student studying in Kuwait, social media is a thing meant for adults as the younger generation can get addicted to it quite easily. “It does have a lot of positives, but the negatives usually tend to outweigh the positives. Also, there are people who are doing all kinds of things, such as cyberbullying, to make it unsafe, which makes it look like more of a villain than a hero,” he argued.

Cyberbullying is an issue of great concern that is being overlooked by many. Meanwhile, another student in Kuwait spoke about the negative impacts of social media: “A lot of youngsters are exposed to 18+ content or end up talking to someone not near their age, which is inappropriate. Also, a lot of stuff on social media isn’t real; it only shows what people want you to see, not what’s actually going on behind the screen, which can have negative effects on others wanting to ‘perfect’ themselves because of what they’re being influenced by.”

According to a new study by Harvard University, self-disclosure on social media platforms lights up the same part of the brain that also ignites when taking an addictive substance. “Without a doubt, social media is addictive and people now live more of a virtual life,” said Akhtar. “Also, a lot of unverified information is available, which is not healthy for the human mind to process, causing social chaos. The best way to utilize it is by maintaining a healthy balance between its pros and cons.”