The term "social media” nowadays is the most popular word in the world.  Popular social media platforms include Email, Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, Viber, and LinkedIn, with Facebook being the most prominent among them. There is an undeniable role of social media in enhancing communication among individuals. However, it is crucial to distinguish between communication and genuine bonding. While social media undeniably facilitates communication, it does not necessarily foster deep connections. Instead, it has demonstrated a tendency to weaken familial, friendly, and social relationships that traditionally involve strong bonds. 

The rise of technology addiction has coincided with a decline in human intimacy. Since the early stages of civilization, humans have been inherently social creatures. The prevalence of social media has prompted questions about this enduring aspect of human identity. Elements such as civility, etiquette, joy, sorrow, and empathy are integral to the process of socialization, which encompasses society as a whole, not just individual interactions. These social media platforms seem to overlook these fundamental aspects. It appears as though individuals are residing on isolated islands, even when cohabiting under the same roof, resulting in a sense of disconnection and distance among them.

Thus, segregation and intolerance are taking birth in society. The reflections can also be seen on social media. Let’s take the example of Facebook, the most popular social media. There is no room for doubt regarding the power of Facebook. But its misuse is more prevalent. Facebook has become a tool for spreading hatred, sexual perversion and extremism. When people comment on sensitive topics like religion and gender, many cross the line of decency. When the character assassination of a celebrity starts, people eagerly jump in to torment that person through trolling. If the person is a woman, the degree of attack increases manifold. This misconduct in the name of “trolling” is more aptly called “virtual public humiliation”. 

Mirror of present society

In one sense, social media has emerged as a mirror of society. It has become even more apparent through Facebook that there are more people in society with negative mindsets than positive ones. These kinds of negative thoughts are mostly regressive, anti-progress and anti-women. In some people’s comments, sadistic thoughts are explicitly revealed.

Research published in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health journal conducted interviews with about 10,000 teenagers aged 13-16 years in the UK. The researchers found that social media can damage teenage girls' mental health, make them more prone to harassment and reduce their sleep and exercise. As a result, it creates or exacerbates poor self-image, anxiety, distress and mental health issues among them.

UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health researcher Russell Viner, associated with the study, said in a statement that our findings show that social media itself doesn't cause harm, but that frequent use may disrupt activities that have a positive impact on mental health like sleeping and exercise, as well as increasing exposure to harmful activities, especially the type of online harassment from cyberbullying.

Earlier in 2017, the Royal Society for Public Health surveyed over 1,500 11- to 16-year-olds. It was found that platforms like Snapchat and Instagram are considered the most harmful to young people’s mental health. Seven in 10 said Instagram made them feel worse about their body image and half reported Instagram and Facebook exacerbated feelings of anxiety, depression and loneliness. Two-thirds said bullying or abuse online was made worse by social media.

Decline in reading habits

 A survey conducted by the Mobile Republic in June 2013 covering 800 people in various parts of India in the age group of 21-25 reveals that the reading habits of people are continuously decreasing in India. Even reading newspapers is going down. Most of the text they read other than textbooks is glanced through tabloid newspapers only. They even read those updates on social media because that’s where they spend most of their time. In that survey, 38% of people admitted that they read news on Reddit. 66% made the straightforward confession that they read news on Facebook. 50% mentioned about Twitter. 31% said that they use Tumblr. 23% talked about Instagram. 21% glance towards YouTube. And 19% of people think that they read news and other stuff on LinkedIn only.

What do they do on social media that eats up most of their time? Four university teachers in Pakistan. Muhammad Rafiq and Andaleeb Asim from Punjab University, Muhammad Tufail Khan from Government College University Lahore, and Muhammad Arif, a teacher at Allama Iqbal Open University in Islamabad, researched 430 students aged 21 to 25, whose findings were published in a research gate journal in January of last year. In that article, it is observed that 63% of the students spend more than a day's worth of time on various social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter. As a result, they do not have enough time to read books. The answer to this question is also found in the research. 42.9% of students said that they spend time on Facebook to know the news and information happening around them. 36.7% roam around on social media to exchange academic information with friends and teachers. Fate of 33%, are on Facebook just to chat (chat) with friends. 16.6% only upload photos on Facebook and Twitter all day. 9.9% make comments, and they stay on social media to communicate with teachers. And 7.7% of students create groups on Facebook to discuss various topics with like-minded individuals

So, naturally, they are left with little or no time for reading books after doing so many activities on social media. Neither do they have the patience or mentality for it. The time one would spend opening and reading book pages is now hijacked by social media.

A survey conducted by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics covering 26,000 people aged between 35 to 40 years found that the time people spent reading books has reduced by 30% compared to 2004. And social media obsession seems primarily responsible for this decline.

In 2018, researchers at Khulna University of Engineering and Technology and Khulna University conducted a study on the impact of social media on students in Bangladesh. The research article was published in the Research Gate journal. According to the findings, they surveyed  96 students. Among them, 62.5% said they spend their free time chatting on Facebook, while 37.5% mentioned that they spend their leisure time reading novels.

Interestingly, 77.1% prefer spending time on Facebook or watching movies on YouTube rather than reading books. Only 6.25% stated a preference for reading books over being on Facebook. 33.3% admitted to not reading any books in a day, and 32.3% mentioned spending one hour per day reading books.

Humans becoming unsocial beings

Following birth, a human being distinguishes itself from other creatures through creativity and the capacity for thought. Regrettably, social media has been diminishing these distinctive traits in human beings, rendering them less sensitive. Fundamental human emotions such as happiness, sorrow, love, and pride are gradually losing significance. The pursuit of knowledge is also experiencing constraints. Rather than emphasizing beauty, popularity appears to be assuming precedence. The opportunity to savor the aesthetic pleasures of a beautiful location is sacrificed as individuals are preoccupied with capturing images. A competitive race ensues to promptly upload photos and selfies on Facebook.

This ecosystem prioritizes the augmentation of 'views,' leaving little room for profound contemplation or analysis on social media. Immediate reactions are championed as a core value, resulting in the development of an unstable community.

In summary, we must employ social media for its intended social purposes, avoiding tendencies toward anti-social behavior. Vigilance is essential to prevent social media from transforming into a conduit for criminal activities. Throughout the primitive stages of civilization, humans have inherently been social beings. The pervasive influence of social media is contributing to individuals becoming estranged from their selves. Should this trajectory persist, there is a risk of humans acquiring a new characterization as "unsocial beings" in the not-too-distant future.

(The writer is a Dhaka-based columnist. Views are personal. He can be reached at fbzahir@gmail.com)