It is a platform being used by millions to enhance knowledge or to entertain themselves. Its easy availability has made it more accessible to not just the younger generation but the older generation as well.
Impact on communication:
The impact it has on teenagers is immense. While it increases the oxytocin level in our brain aka the "the love hormone, " it is also known to increase anxiety. Impact on Communication It has become so much easier to stay connected with everyone irrespective of the time and place. Making a WhatsApp call to your cousin living in Canada is easy and cheap than making a normal international call. Missing your children studying in a different state or abroad is also not a problem any more as you can video call anytime. Important conversations don't need to wait anymore for people to meet in person. No more need to use cash to get your notes photocopied or printed when you can just get a pdf. The usefulness of social media on communication is immense but it also has its downside. It has limited our communication skills and is making people incline more towards introversion. People prefer to talk through chat instead of having an in-person talk. Sitting behind the computer screens gives the opportunity to think before saying anything and this, in turn, has reduced the spontaneity of responses. This has also led to an increase in online bullying. Anonymous negative, hateful and disturbing comments can be found everywhere. Such outlandish is one factor that contributes in the development of depression and anxiety disorders.
Focus and Concentration:
In today's world, it is necessary to keep oneself updated about the news from around the world. Apps are there to keep us notified and focused on all the events happening around us. The apps are made in such a way to catch our attention and keep us focused on the events happening around us. This is not the case when we are doing something productive. To focus we need to be attentive to what we hear and see.
Outdoor Activities: Some places are just too far away to travel but necessary to buy things. Online shopping can be done for any minor to major thing. Online payment had made it, even more, easier to buy. Even a sudden craving for chocolate or noodles can be fulfilled with Zomato or Swiggy. Everything has become accessible even if it's in the USA. All these activities have also made people lethargic beyond a point. Instead of playing outside in the sun, children prefer to be inside their homes and pass time in any way possible. The need and motivation to go outside has decreased. Why bother going out when you can get everything in. This has to lead to Vitamin D deficiency in the younger population. The main source of vitamin D is sunlight and people are hardly willing to do anything in the sun. Apart from this, there used to be a thrill to gain new knowledge, to find new facts and stories. Finding answers in plenty of books in the library had a passion for its own. Now that's not required since everything is available readily. Even though it has definitely made life easier especially for students. But it has again lead to a decrease in our retention. Why learn anything when you can find it within a second any time you want.
Accessing all Information as Truth:
All information regarding how to cook, make things or what symptoms are associated with which disease and what medications can be used can be found on Google. Even online doctors and expert opinions are there to help. Celebrities or bloggers post about a healthy diet and their exercise regime which influences millions of people to follow as well. Learning has become easily accessible. It has made taking classes affordable and within the person's comfort. This is all good until the advice taken are medical in any form. If people started believing everything they read and use this platform as a replacement for a true medical professional, results could be catastrophic. What might seem like good advice could actually be dangerous for someone? Medical procedures need to be done only after proper physical examination by a professional.