It would be incorrect to say that we are in control of our relationship with technology, the better way to phrase it is that technology is in a relationship with us. It is impossible to be a member of our society without using technology. Technology has been integrated into our lives and has been hugely beneficial. However, there have been unintended negatives. We crave human interaction, we need it to survive, and we need our human interaction to be in person, not online. So when most teens are spending more time online than with other people, it can cause some problems.
Technology is the cause of numerous mental health problems, social media being the driving force. Social media has connected people and raised awareness of inequalities. However, there are more cons than pros. We are the first generation to grow up with social media, we don't know the long-term effects, but some are starting to come out. Since social media has become more and more popular, depression and anxiety have been seen in more young adults.
Personally, social media has been more harmful than good, and I think the most significant impact it's had on me is body image. Before social media, you would see models in magazines, looking perfect. Their hair was perfectly done, and their teeth were perfectly white. Now it's not just the models on display; it's everyone. Social media has created an impossible beauty standard, an edited one. When influencers or celebrities post on social media, they edit the picture beforehand. They edit their body, makeup, lighting, and add on filters. They post a heavily edited picture, but no one can tell that it is edited if done correctly. Most people think they look like that all the time. When influencers edit their bodies, they add curves and make their legs, arms, and stomach skinnier. Social media has created a culture where you have to look perfect all the time, and if you don't, you can edit it.
The beauty standard was created because people would edit their pictures to look a certain way. It has gotten so far out of reach the people who created the beauty standard don't even fit it anymore. They, too, have to edit their pictures to look how they want. I use Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok. Every day I see pictures of influencers and people I know, and I don't know if they are edited or not. This is not a healthy environment. There is no answer to stop this. It is too late to take away social media. Too many people use it, and it is many people's main way of communication. However, we can change how it is used.
A few years ago, some celebrities got in trouble with the law because they would post a picture with a product, and in their caption, they would tell people how much they loved the said product. They would do this without informing their viewers that the post was a paid advertisement. So now the government made laws preventing this and forcing every paid advertisement too explicitly say it was paid for. We need to do that with edited photos. I think it should start with celebrities and influencers, when they post something they should have something that says this picture was edited. I think it would be super helpful, especially in young girls, to see what edited pictures look like.
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