What are the pros and cons of not being on social media?

[Lisa_12345]

I doesn't really admire social media , I was on insta 2 years back used it for an year and then deleted it as it was really addictive. But then it's been more than a year now I have never felt like going back on insta and I don't like people getting to know much about me so I prefer anonymity and even I am least interested in others life. I sometimes feel very lonely and that maybe I am missing out on a lot of things.. but I just hate creating social media profiles not sure why.. what would be your opinion on this? do u see any problem with my behavior, would that affect how others see me?

[HopefulGuy94]

In fact , as we know , it is a thing which people easily admitted to. And it really affects our communication with other people even with our family not talking no expressing ourselves and then problems occur. The fact that people do not use it in good ways , if we use it for learning other people's cultures , point of view , meeting people in a friendly way and so on it is okay it depends on the person who use it I mean , but since the people cannot know any limits it is also bad thing and dangerous places like real life , unfortunately , we cannot even know people near us if we even know them well. And here is the place which is kinda not real but reflects the real life mostly. But no need to be addicted. Thankfully , me , my family , and the people around me do not use it excessively to adversely effecting our daily life , just at the optimal level usage comes into question. Actually no one even needs to use it. I have some familiar family members who have not use it so far is also the ones who are really happy. I am kinda new to here , too , just for expressing my thoughts , sometives giving and getting advises , making mind if something happens while I am questioning on in routine life as categories exist here and stuff like those. I only had used facebook before except this website and deleted it years ago and also have never ever used internet or social media till I was searching and focusing on my thesis at the university. Hope one day we will become people who use it when it is really needed.

[Anonymous]

I had used social much less nowadays and overall it’s a good thing to get away it.

Here are the cons of social media:

- huge time waste
- can damage friendships and even relationships if your not careful.
- you see a fake view of the world.
- people might cyber stalk you and/or you cyber stalk others. For example ex likely has their own profile. People waste their time and energy checking up on you or vice versa.
- political debates…. smdh. I won’t get into what a scourge this has become over the years.
- you risk posting or saying something you will later regret. It’s also can be taken out of context but it’s too late once you post. People can screenshot tweets, posts, comments, etc. People have been “canceled” for saying something stupid over 10 years ago.

Here are the pros:

- you can keep you with family and close friends.
- you can get news in real time
- possible to be a influencer if you are really good at something and show it off
- good for staying in touch with distant relatives or old friends that you do not see often.
- Can help promote your business or further promote your identity if you are a public figure (aspiring actor, musician or athlete)

So basically you need to be very self disciplined when you use social media. People who express their emotions get in trouble (this included me 12 years ago).

[TransAm85]

When MySpace was invented almost 20 years ago, I was 19. Of course everyone loved that and we chatted on AIM, downloaded free music off Limewire, and YouTube had just came out also. But we didn't have these fancy phones and no1 was obsessed w/selfies so it was mostly texting. Time passed and it all got old. I think the people who live on it that are my age have no life or are very insecure. I check FB here and there to be nosy w/people from high school/college and some like to post shit every frigging day! Pics of their kids, selfies, their job, w/their spouse, wherever they go, what they eat for dinner... wtf? Teaching that to ur generation is pretty stupid. It's like showing u the computer/phone is the only way to socialize/communicate. That's not right 😕

[Aerissa_Jade]

Not being on it, means more focus is done on building up real world social networks.

In my case for example, I'm pretty friendly so even if dating a guy doesn't work out, I have already met his friends and expanded my social network. The whole friend of a friend of a friend really works.

I know lots of people all over the place, not including GAG. Now am I close to them, naw... but I do have 6 or so, I'll help you bury a body type friends that we are that close.

Plus social media, people get obsessed on following news and hearing bad things. Better to focus on yourself than worry about things you have no control over.

[aWes0MeNeSs]

There's no problem with not wanting to be on social media at all! In fact, I think it's much better than being addicted to it as so many are.

I don't think there are a lot of cons to not being on social media besides maybe not being as easy to reach for people who don't have your contact info. The rest can be looked up and even my front page on Google on my phone tells me news in real time. I don't think you're really missing out on much, at least not anything that real life experiences can't trump.

The pros are that you waste less time, don't have to read other people's drama and garbage, don't have to deal with the insecurity of comparing yourself and your life to what is really filtered/edited photos and a facade of someone's life that isn't accurate (as people will only post what they want others to see, making their lives look much more idealized than they really are).

I'm very inactive on social media these days, myself. Real life is more important and I get really tired of seeing the same thing over and over (i. e. Johnny Depp and Amber Heard- who cares?).

[Freyke]

The cons for me is that I can talk to people worldwide. I can get information on something from all around the world. I can learn something from a guy from Germany on a skill I wanted to learn because he just explained it so well. I can find likeminded people on the social media for something that I love. Like drawing. I can do all that... if I was on social media. The con is that I miss out on all of that.

The pros is what you miss out on. Arguments over stupid things stupidity gets praised. Useless posts. Selfies of the same pose over and over again. Posts of someone telling their day is going bad only to not want to talk about it when people ask what's wrong, but they went Out of their way to post it. People get insecure because they love comparing themselves to models, the how do I look section is what I call a market where you rate food. Getting meat from the butcher and you rate the quality of the meat. People worry too much.

The reason I am content with my life is because I stick to those cons when I use social media and look over the things that we Should miss out on, because let us be honest, we are not missing out on anything important there.

[BCRanger10]

PROS- Keeping in touch with friends and family
- Finding support, jobs, and resources
- Being able to have debates and discussions
- The absolute most important thing though... memes!

CONS
- Toxic, hateful, and hostile environments
- Getting caught in a bubble
- Parents have a harder time keeping track of who their kids' friends are
- People don't communicate in person as well
- Addiction
- Relationship issues and complications
- Children can be exposed to immoral content (pornography, LGBT grooming, etc.)
- Stalking and bullying

And that's just what comes to kind for me right now.

[Screenwriter]

Social media is a powerful and positive tool when used. When abused, it is a waste of time and can lead people to bully others.

Think of how great Youtube is: You can learn how to fix or create practically anything in instructional videos by a million DIYers.

Often you can get support on helpful sites and learn how to or if you should get interpersonal help to solve a problem. But there are nasty actors, or trolls, who pop up and exist on sites to cause sick drama.

Facebook and other sites connect you to friends and families. It's all in how you use it.

[BCA6010]

The ONLY benefit of social media is to be able to stay in touch with friends and family you can't see regularly in person. There's some more merit to concepts like YouTube and Rumble and niche hobby forums for sharing independent investigative journalism, how-to videos and hobbies and such, but that's about it for the exceptions. The long term psychological and societal devastation of particularly young kids and teens growing up in a non-physical reality with disposable, meaningless relationships, as well as older adults in positions of power living in an echo chamber is already proving disastrous. It will likely take an entire generation or more to reverse it.

[MuddyMole]

People tend to lump a lot of stuff together as "social media".
If you take Facebook, for example - messenger and whatsapp are incredibly useful, and the marketplace is really the only place for classified ads these days (craigslist/gumtree are not popular here).
But all those other sections of Facebook - watching videos, posting pictures, dating, jobs, etc - all a complete waste of time (the idea that some people actually rely on Facebook as a source of news and information is terrifying).
Twitter, TikTok and Instagram are basically just like the worst parts of Facebook.

[Rei02]

Pros: keep contact with family and close friends and feel reassured about it.

Cons: One can become obsessed and paranoid with someone.
Not moving on, keeping the past.
Obsessed with not having a lot of "friends"
Neurotic about not being accepted by someone as a "friend"
It can encourage jealousy, insecurity and even break ups with couples.

[MrNameless]

Main con with social media is that it can be such a time sink and it can make you feel like you are missing out when others talk about how much "fun" they are having. I think social media can wreck people's self esteem and make them look more for self approval and attention seeking.

Pro? You an connect with people you haven't talked for years and it can be free.

But if you already have someone's phone, i would just text them,

[MrNameless]

You do feel more connected with what's going on with the world with social media..

[dustybiker]

What about joining some form of class irk?

Don’t see any cons. Created (under force, a friend was moving) an insta account and never found the appeal. I follow people who I’m interested in. Only think about it when a notif of update comes in which is all I want. Don’t even have to open the app to see it, so its not like I’m even on there to get addicted. I’ve seen horrible things on there I can’t unsee. I’m happy sticking with limited contact.

[Anonymous]

The pros of social media is that I do learn different life hacks for cooking or cleaning. I watch videos of my fav sports teams or athletes I admire. I keep up to date with the news or read inspiring quotes. But other then that social media is fairly toxic. It does waste time. If you get involved in political topics, many people don’t care if they are rude because they are going based on their nonsensical thinking. When I say nonsensical, I don’t mean it doesn’t form to my beliefs. It’s just that they don’t look at the other side of the spectrum and remain ignorant. The cons outweighs the pros in my opinion.

[Reaper1985]

to much time interacting with social media on a regularly basis can negatively effect a persons mental health. other then GaG I only have a Facebook account to keep in touch with family/friends who live far away which I check roughly once or twice a week at most.

[Massageman]

Pretty much following the crowd. -
It can be helpful to stay in touch with people, or to find people who are interested in niche areas.
But, there can always be too much of a (good?) thing. Addiction occurs not only with drugs, but with time-wasting non-useful communications.

[007kingifrit]

i have been off social media 7 years. life is good. i am more informed, calmer, i have more free time, and you learn who your real friends are.

social media causes anxiety and emotional damage. there is no place for it in your life, it should really be illegal especially under 21

[Pudsmucker]

Pro Social media has helped me make great connections to Old Friends from years past.
The con is people don't like your opinions they like to silence your opinions they disagree with your opinions. He gets to the point where they want to bully you. Bullying causes other issues.

[boredguy007]

What have others to do with you not being on social media. Its your choice anyways. But you get news faster on Social Media than on news channels these days. People talking about you not being on SM dhould not bother you. So ehat its after all your choice about not being. Or you could jus add some people and rather stay anonymous with a name whuch doesn't associate to you directly.

[Confidentandchill]

I really dislike it, I enjoy seeing friends in person more and feel weird just looking at their posts and pictures. I maybe log onto my Facebook for a total of ten minutes a month.

[Jamie05rhs]

Social media is mostly just a tool to keep in touch with your friends. It's not required to have it. If you don't feel like having a social media account, you totally don't have to!

[VV3ZZY]

Pros: stay informed with the local news, police, and events.

Cons: tons of ads and annoying shit.

Like the "Stories" that keep using the same annoying sound bites.

[zagor]

Supposedly some companies won't hire people if they don't have a noticeable social media presence.

Personally I wouldn't want to work for a company with such dipshits.

[EdwinLivingston_]

Pros :
No wastage of time.
No addiction.
Matured thinking.

Cons:
Missed chances of new or old connections.
Less update of new trends and news.
No social media fun