Digital Native

Hey everyone! I hope everyone had a great week! :)

Here are my personal thoughts on this week's prompts:

Do different social networking sites offer different benefits and drawbacks?

Absolutely. While some social networking sites such a LinkedIn are typically used for connection, uplifting others (coworkers, former coworkers, employees, etc.), others are full of toxicity and hate. Although I do love it and it had its funny moments, Twitter is one of the most toxic forms of social media I have seen. Especially with today's current political divide, Twitter is  full of hate and aggression. This article by Amnesty International explain this phenomenon and ways that we can overcome it: 

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/research/2018/03/online-violence-against-women-chapter-8/

Is there an ideal number of “friends” or connections individuals have on Facebook that can improve their mental health?

My personal answer to this is no. Absolutely not. When I was going through a severe mental health crisis, I had over 1,200 followers on Instagram and over 1,000 friends on Facebook. Did any of that matter? No. Did any of those numbers help me overcome the deep issues I was struggling with inside? No. There is no number that can magically cure you. Only you and those interpersonal connections with those that you trust around you can help you. 

What factors might influence whether Facebook has negative influences, like links with depression, versus positive influences, such as boosts in self-esteem?

Some factors include false images from others of a "perfect" seeming life, which display a facade that is not real. This causes some to reflect on those images and compare their lives to the lives of those they are viewing. If they believe that the quality of their life fails in comparison to those they see online, this can trigger episodes of depression and anxiety. People are pressured to have a life consistent or better than those of people they see online, while many of those posting the pictures of their seemingly perfect lives are struggling behind the scenes themselves. 

Do social networking sites have any responsibility in promoting mental health in their users? If so, how might they go about doing so?

Social networking sites 100% have the responsibility of promoting mental health in their users. According to the above linked article, Twitter should implement the following: 

• Twitter should publicly share comprehensive and meaningful information about the nature and levels of violence and abuse against women, as well as other groups, on the platform, and how they respond to it.
• Twitter should improve its reporting mechanisms to ensure consistent application and better response to complaints of violence and abuse.
• Twitter should provide more clarity about how it interprets and identifies violence and abuse on the platform and how it handles reports of such abuse
• Twitter should undertake far more proactive measures in educating users and raising awareness about security and privacy features on the platform that will help women create a safer, and less toxic Twitter experience.

These practices will help ensure that Twitter users have a healthier, more positive experience on the App, instead of one that leaves them hurt, angry, and confused. The following video exemplifies this phenomenon very well, but I should mention that it does contain explicit language and depictions of verbal abuse: