Nowadays, people use social media to keep in touch with others and be aware of the news. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages.

The increasing use of social media in different ways is one of the fundamental changes

that is

irreversibly transforming society. A vast majority of people are known to be using various social platforms to remain connected with their loved ones, and many use the internet to keep abreast of the latest updates.

This

essay will delve into the positive and negative aspects of the phenomenon and outline which factors matter the most. The prominent advantage provided by social media platforms is instant gratification. At the click of a button, the world is on your doorstep. Being a social animal, the feeling of connectedness is the innate desire for all human beings. Being able to fulfil

this

need is the crucial driving factor for the success of all Social media platforms. Bridging

this

gap has immensely helped family members, especially grandparents, to connect with their loved ones. People upload pictures of their life-events on Facebook, share their opinions on Instagram, and voice their concerns on Twitter. It is through these interactions that readers get to know about the latest trends and opinionated views of what is happening in the world.

For example

, the latest article published in a leading tech magazine cites that majority of the new mobile applications being developed are those that cater to human interactions since the masses flock to these websites for FOMO: fear of missing out.

Conversely

, the attractiveness of Social media is leading us to a significant chasm in everyday human interactions

that is

critical for the human race as a whole. People are content with scrolling through life updates of a friend/ family member and getting influenced by fake news published on

such

websites. The conventional concept of meeting in person and celebrating together is dying its slow death. People have stopped reading news from the verified sources which strictly follow publishing regulations, but are blindly regarding news on Social media as the truth. To illustrate

further

, the recent riots in NYC were caused due to the spread of fake news on Facebook. The follow-up news coverage detailed how

this

could have been avoided if the people stopped behaving in a Social media herd-mentality. In conclusion, it is fair to say that the internet and Social media platforms have undoubtedly provided a common ground for loved ones to stay connected. Still, at the same time, it has

also

given rise to fake relations and fake news. It is

therefore

imperative that people using these websites do so with a pinch of salt as the cons outweigh the pros to a fair extent.