The danger side of social media

In this digital era, social media has become an essential aspect of our lives. This aspect can be seen by the rapid rise in the number of, for example, Facebook users in the last decade (Clement 2019). Facebook, but also other social media companies, have established ecosystems where users are connected, and consumer needs are matched with providers. Moreover, these platforms enable users to produce, share, and consume information and content (Clement 2019). The value of these platforms grows when the number of participants in the network increases, which is called network effects. Social media has become even more fundamental since the Covid-19 crisis, people depend more than ever on these platforms to stay connected with family and friends (Van Erven 2020). These elements demonstrate the positive side of social media, however, are these platforms as bright as they seem?

Research has shown that users spent approximately three hours a day on social media and 18% of the users have the need to check their accounts every several hours (Leong, Hew, Ooi, Lee, and Hew 2019). The increase in social media usage has led to users not being aware of their addiction. This problem has arisen due to the design of these social media platforms. Elements such as the endless scroll and ‘like’ buttons, have been created to keep users on the platforms and therefore contribute to the addiction (Baxter 2018). As social media firms are earning high profits, the health of their users is declining. At the beginning of 2020 the Netflix documentary “The Social Dilemma” came out which highlighted this problem and suggested that changes are necessary as social media can, among others, danger people’s health.

Currently, there are no specific regulations, besides GDPR, for this type of conducting business. However, the question is whether regulation is the right solution for social media addiction. As regulation can limit technological development and platforms can become less appealing for users (Baxter 2018). In my opinion, some type of legislation is needed, and social media firms need to be held accountable to some extent. They need to think and implement potential solutions to reduce the amount of usage. This could be done in a couple of manners, for instance by monitoring and informing users. Moreover, to take action if addiction signals are shown. Health should always be more important than conducting business.

To conclude, awareness needs to be raised about social media addiction and the manner it originates. However, as in the near future digitization will increase, it appears like social media will remain fundamental in society. Do you think that firms should be allowed to conduct business even though it affects people’s health? Moreover, should governance legislate, or do other solutions need to be found?

References:

• Baxter, P. (2018). Does the rise of social media addiction warrant regulation? Experts have their say, Verdict. [Online] Accessed at https://www.verdict.co.uk/social-media-addiction-regulation/
• Clement, J. (2019). Facebook users worldwide 2019, Statista. [Online] Accessed at https://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide/
• Leong, L. Y., Hew, T. S., Ooi, K. B., Lee, V. H., & Hew, J. J. (2019). ‘A hybrid SEM-neural network analysis of social media addiction’. Expert Systems with Applications, 133, 296-316.
• The Social Dilemma. (2020). The Social Dilemma” – Take Action. [Online] Accessed at https://www.thesocialdilemma.com/take-action/
• Van Erven, R. (2020). In The Social Dilemma klinken de geïnterviewden als klokkenluiders, NRC. [Online] Accessed at https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2020/09/18/in-the-social-dilemma-klinken-de-geinterviewden-als-klokkenluiders-a4012664