Social media: Ins & outs

A lot gets discussed these days about the negative impacts of social media (like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc) and the vulnerability to mental health issues that they can induce.

- Reema Bansal

However, social media can also help in connecting with people in healthy ways. The most hopeful thing about social media is that it's us, people, who are using them; and as long as we can take charge of and manage our minds, social media won't harm, but will rather assist us.

Having said that, it's necessary to fully understand the impact these networking platforms can have on us, and how to leverage the benefits while mitigating the ill-effects.

I remember my first tryst with a social networking website, called Orkut, way back in 2004. I was pursuing a bachelor's degree in Delhi University and even then, we would often discuss in college that the platform was addictive. I remember a friend exclaiming that she felt like checking her Orkut account every one or two hours, lest someone had left a message for her. Next, Facebook came in 2006.