Social Media as a Distraction

Question: “Social media is nothing more than a distraction.” Discuss. Step 1: Identify your key words in the question • “Social media” – give examples: Twitter, FB, Youtube, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. • “Distraction” – from what? Distraction from studies (from students’ POV), distraction from work (adults’ POV), distraction from real news? (For the public – especially with the new concern over the spread of fake news) • “Nothing more” – this prompts you to consider the multitude of functions that these social media platforms have Step 2: Setting up your conditions Ask yourself: 1. Is this an absolute question? (Are there absolute terms such as “definitely”, “always”, “constantly”, “will”, etc.) 2. Does it require that you set conditions for when something would happen? Yes, it is an absolute question because it contains the absolute term “nothing more than”. Surely, if you think closely enough, you would realize that these social media platforms are more than just tools to distract you. 3. So the question comes now: under what conditions do social media become a form of distraction? ***SOCIAL MEDIA BECOMES A DISTRACTION WHEN:*** 1. The person using it does not practice self-control and limits his usage on these platforms 2. The individual on social media platforms do not browse these websites to gaining greater knowledge about what is happening in the world around him? 3. The individual on social media platforms are viewing content that will not contribute to making him a better, more informed, well-aware person? 4. The individual is abusing the anonymity on social media platforms to post up fake news, distract others online by posting hurtful insults or slanderSing others, etc. 5. The person uses social media at inappropriate times and places (school, lesson time, working hours, etc.) So as long as these conditions are NOT fulfilled, does it mean that social media platforms can actually serve more purposely functions than being a distraction?

Yes, social media is a distraction if/when… No, social media has other useful functions as well… 1. Social media can be a major distraction for both students and professionals when the individual is unable to practice self-control and spends excessive amount of time on these platforms  Despite the fact that there is no actual medical diagnosis for the existence of a “social media addiction”, the trends of destructive habits/behavioural traits that certain social media users have  garnered the attention of researches to delve deeper into this issue  So cial media can pose as a huge distraction for many people today because of how influential of a role it plays in our lives today  M ost of the communication we do in today’s world is done online, through these exact same platforms  W e know about our friends’ and idols lives through the pictures they post on Instagram, the snippets from their day’s activities uploaded on Snapchat, their thoughts through their tweets  When social