My views on social media

My views on Social Media

By Laura Parkinson 

The collage of pictures represents various interpretations of social media. The pictures presented are part of a web research and my own hand drawings to highlight some of the key aspects of what social media is, in the present digital world. 

I have included the work of an artist who painted typical interpretations of social media on a blank white canvas in a street art exhibition in Copenhagen because I found them very interesting, they included:

•“Social media has taken over our lives”

•“Stay connected 24/7”

•“Talk but don’t actually say anything”

•“Take a photo of your coffee or yourself in a mirror”

I found these particularly interesting because it is a perception of social media shared by many people, including myself, yet we still see no change in how social media is used. The persistent question portrayed in this is whether it is all really necessary, or whether social media is a friend or foe?

I have also included how social media can make a difference and how good digital citizenship enforces these social media trends: 

•The 2015 ALS Ice Bucket Challenge which raised millions for the charity in just 3 weeks

•Empowering hashtags such as #BaltimoreUprising, #HeforShe, and #IamRELENTLESS which bring people together in unbelievable ways and in astonishing numbers. I personally find it amazing how one ‘hashtag’ can provide global support for the LGBT community, the feminist movement and equality for all. 

My own drawings represent the major problems of social media which I have come across often, throughout my time interacting on Facebook and what is still a pressing issue. 

•The hands held together symbolises self-harm and how social media encourages this by the sharing of images and the encouragement of cutting through groups and profiles. Also, how the manipulation of social media can lead to a person finding comfort in harming their body. This manipulation being carried out by people who use social media as a platform to send anonymous threats, hate and bullying messages online.

•The underweight girl in the corner is symbolic of how social media feeds off the prejudices in society where there is the belief that if you are not ‘super skinny’, then you are ‘fat’. The distribution of pictures of photoshopped models, the ‘thigh gap’ envy phenomenon, abuse by ‘fat shaming’ and ‘skinny shaming’ and verbal abuse on social media platforms often lead to people feeling pressurised to lose weight. From this, users, predominantly teenage girls, suffer from eating disorders and anxiety - all as a result of one shared attitude on social media, usually by a person who they do not even know in the first place! 

•The rope wrapped around ‘Cyber Bullying’ is open to interpretation. It can be illustrative of:

-how people get ‘roped’ into the realm of cyber bullying and how they believe that just because they are clicking away on a digital screen, they can do no harm

-how cyber bullying victims often commit suicide because they can no longer cope with the constant hate and abuse online. 1 in 9 cyber bullying victims end up committing suicide

-how social media has a tie around our daily lives

The centre piece is of a person’s body with an explosion around the head. It is representative of overthinking and how social media can affect one individual, and people in general. This is further enforced with the bold words and information written on top which portray what I believe to be the key factors of social media that affect individuals and also masses of people and how the actions of one individual digital citizen on social media can have positive and negative consequences. 

Finally, the collage of magazine print words is suggestive of hate speech which is enforced on social media, and the feelings and attitudes of users and how social media can affect one’s personality.