Fanni Pető
Nowadays a lot of people use more and more social platforms. It can be good in many ways, but what is on the other side? Is it always just nice and fun? Unfortunately I do not think so. But why can social media be dangerous or even harmful? What or who affects the users in a negative way?
Many people, especially teens, try to live up to expectations that are too high. They usually try to compare themselves to others, just because they think other people who they see on social media are skinnier, more beautiful, wealthier, or have the “perfect life.” And when they are feeling down, some unkind people make it even worse. They usually write comments like: you should do something about that, you are just lazy, you are just feeling sorry for yourself, instead of working on the things you want to change.
First of all I think other people should not write rude comments to teens who already feel bad. And second of all, it is not as easy as they think. Maybe these people have health problems which are why they cannot lose weight. And also it is nobody’s fault they were not born into a rich family where they had everything. I think these are the main things that affect teenagers and give them the wrong idea of what they’re supposed to be.
And the worst of all: beauty. It may sound ridiculous, but this is a serious problem among teenagers. Because it is also nobody’s fault if they were not born with the face that today’s beauty standard demands. Unfortunately a lot of young people compare themselves to fake models that social media shows them. This can led to a lack of confidence or even worse: self-harm. Because yes, sad to say, but teens can hurt themselves because of others; they can feel they are not good enough, which, in this world, can cause them great mental pain, or maybe depression.
And most of the people out there not only do not help; they make things worse through their lack of acceptance. People like that usually make hurtful remarks about others’ looks: their faces, their bodies or even their clothes. Not only that, but sometimes they even make offensive comments about their personality and behavior, based on a few seconds of one of their videos. And if the people being insulted try to defend themselves, what is their answer? “Why do you expose videos like this if you can’t stand the criticism?” But their words go beyond criticism into meanness. Because remember: words can hurt people, you don’t have to physically hit them to cause even permanent anxiety, lack of self-confidence, or other mental problems in the other person’s soul. It is very painful that some people do not feel the strength of the words they say.
Since a lot of things going on today make little sense, I do not think that your life will be better if you make rude or hurtful comments to or about others. It won’t help you with your own problems. By embarrassing others, you only drag yourself down. So why not stop it? Bullying is the most vulgar and stupid thing you can do. It is bad for you and painful for others.
It is very sad that instead of helping and supporting each other, people just insult and pick on each other. And this is exactly what we need to change! Let’s try to help and support each other, let’s try to stand up for the weak, let’s try to make this world better and better.
If we want to change this world into a better place, we should stop bullying on the internet and we should start being more accepting, because this is the best solution to one of the biggest problems of our day.
Instead of dealing with other people on the internet, let’s spend time on our human relationships: friends, family! I believe that everybody can change for the better, so let’s get together and make this happen!