56.2 million people in the UK had been on social media in January 2024, which is 82.8% of the whole population.
History of social media dates back to the late 1960s with roots being in morse code, however it has been on the rise ever since, gaining mass popularity in the early 2000s.
And with increased access to computers, new ways to connect, as well as the sudden surge of new platforms, people flocked to experiment.
Now social media agreeably affects the daily life of many users, but is it for the better?
There are various factors that could affect people's perception of social media as many use it for different purposes, with generational aspects being prominent, since modern devices such as new phones and tablets, weren't created until around the 1990s.
When students were asked if social media was helpful or not, they all responded with roughly the same answer, one student responded
"It can be helpful because it allows me to access more information to help with my studies but there's not enough regulation on social media to prevent young people from seeing things that could potentially be harmful to them"
this seemed to be a common factor when senior citizen Maureen McMaster stated,
"I think it wants policing more as it has been detrimental to the legal world as well as all the fake news
and when asked if she'd of preferred to have social media growing up her response was,
"No we managed well without it, as for the young of today they spend too much time indoors on their computers and phones. Its socially isolating"
Social media is both good and bad although many people need it for work, however it can also be extremely damaging, and exploiting for younger children, so there should be careful use of it.
Yet it depends on different people's perceptions as they vary, since different factors could be involved in determining whether social media is bad or not.
