The social media menace : Do you see an exit? 

Social media and its invasion into the lives of the youth brought about quite a lot of pleasant and unpleasant incidents during the recent past. Scrolling down Newsfeeds in Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and numerous other sites keep people out of boredom, according to their perspective. Although used wisely or unwisely, social media has started to become a burden for many young people due to its addictive factor. Are all those ‘friends’, requests and relationships for life? Or are they all fake similarly to some of their profiles?  A few young people spoke to the Daily Mirror Life about how effectively should they be used.

Ayomal

“We heard many incidents such as suicide cases because of social media. But as the name suggests it is a social network. So this means there are more strangers than those who actually know you. The user should use it wisely and on the other hand it has helped us expand our network. Making it a burden or an interesting application solely depends on the user.”

Nivantha

“Obviously there is a good side to it. Especially for those who lack socializing skills, these social media sites have assisted them to move a step ahead. Since there is a limit to everything, the use of social media also has a limit and the youth should understand this.”

Sujeeva

“It can be used for both the good and the bad. There are quite a lot of unknown people out there and when it comes to accepting friend requests and keeping in touch with them, the user has to be very careful. You cannot match your life and dignity to the number of friends you have in these sites. So the users have to use it very wisely.”

Sheranya

“There should be a limit to its use. It has helped people to share the latest news and keep others posted about the latest that’s happening around the world. So it is not just about friends but about knowledge too. Those who only live by friend requests and chats should explore what more these sites have to give them as well. If used wisely, there seems to be no reason for people to take their life just for a social media site.”

Ishmini

“Social media is not only about getting to know people and socializing. Our parents ask us not to not even look at strangers but social media sites have gulped down this trend. So we start making friends overnight and ultimately fall in trouble. The extent to how it will help you develop your socializing skills and knowledge solely depends on how you use it.”

By Kamanthi Wickramasinghe
Photographs by Nisal Baduge