Argumentative essay about the use of social media in contemporary society.

Student’s Name Professor’s Name Course Number Date The Use of Social Media in Contemporary Society Social media is one of the most critical innovations in the world and is appreciated in contemporary society. Governments use social media platforms to communicate with their people, businesses have social spaces for informing their stakeholders, families have formed groups to interact with each other, and many people have social media accounts. However, social media companies have a dilemma balancing censorship and freedom of expression. In the past decade, there have been a lot of reported issues and controversies on social media usage. Unauthorized leaks, viral content, privacy breaches, and biased logarithms in social media platforms are common. This argues that social media is destructive to modern life with a specific focus on mental health issues, the spread of misinformation, addiction, reduced productivity, erosion of privacy polarization, and social division. Prolonged social media use has been increasingly associated with various mental health challenges. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2023), more than 3 hours of social media use doubles the risk of poor mental health outcomes. Teenagers and young adults are constantly battling with anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem due to unfair standards set in social media. Their frequent engagement on platforms creates an ideal life by curating images and posts, encouraging one to compare unrealistically with others. Such a propensity for unfavorable self-comparison engenders discontent and inadequacy, leading to lower self-worth. Moreover, social media can expose young users to cyberbullying. Cyberbullying triggers social anxiety and enforces depressive feelings because victims are living under constant fear within their private social spaces. Social media has an impact on the mental health of adolescent girls (Choukas-Bradley et al. 1). For young girls who are still developing their self-concept and body image, constant exposure to these unattainable standards can create a pervasive sense of inadequacy and push them toward unrealistic aspirations. This may interfere with their sleeping habits and further affect their mental health. Ultimately, excessive social media use can be a significant factor in adolescent mental health struggles. Social media have emerged as one of the leading conduits for the quick flow of misinformation and fake news that can potentially influence public opinion and decision-making. Since anything can go viral on digital platforms, the wrong information usually travels faster compared to fact-based information, and this reaches a massive audience in just a moment. Such fast distribution might be powerful enough to impact society, from elections-related issues to public health. For example, Donald Trump alleged that the U.S. presidential election in 2020 was rigged in favor of Joe Biden (Infobase). Misinformation about candidates or voting processes can influence electoral results, while fake health information about vaccines or treatments will cause individuals to make poor decisions. This is exacerbated by algorithms that favor sensational content for engagement, amplifying misleading information at the expense of vetted sources. This means that social media could hold an excellent level of significance in influencing modern perceptions, thereby creating perhaps severe consequences for individuals' beliefs and broader societal stability. Social media addiction is a growing concern in modern society, impacting productivity and well-being. When people cannot limit their time on social media platforms, their daily responsibilities, relationships, and productivity will be affected. Social media addiction has several negative impacts, including poor life satisfaction, damage to mental health, and chronic headaches ...