Social Media: Does Social Media Encourage Voyeurism?

Nowadays, someone no longer needs to get in touch with their friends in order to find out what they have been doing. The only thing they need to do is to go online and to use a social media site.

During this time, they could get an in depth understanding of how their friends have been spending their time. And if some of the people they know don’t share a great deal, there is still the chance that they will get a rough idea.

Part of Life

This is then something that can make their life a lot easier, and this is because they will be saving time and energy. Also, this can take place no matter where they are or what they are doing.

Staying up to date with their friends can then be as a normal as moving their arm or their legs. It has seamlessly integrated with the rest of their life and it could be said that this is one reason why so many people use social media.

A Device

However, if it wasn’t for the Smartphone and other devices that are available, this wouldn’t to be the case. As if it wasn’t for these devices, one wouldn’t have the same level of freedom when it comes to using it.

Instead, they would need to sit in front of a computer and it probably wouldn’t be seen in the same light. What it would be is just something they use as opposed to something that feels like another part of them.
Celebrities

Along with their friends and family who they can keep up to date with, there will also be the people they don’t know. This can be the musicians, actors, athletes and the so-called celebrities.

There is then no need for one to read magazines or to search the web, for instance, as the information they want to know can be found in once place. The time that they save through having everything in one place can then be used to do other things.

An Addition

As a result of this, it is going to be seen as something that supplements certain areas of their life. One is then not going to believe that they can use social media to replace the kinds of things that have taken place for thousands of years.

For example, social media can’t replace to face-to-face contact, and so one will still need to spend just as much time talking to their friends in person. It is then similar to how protein supplements are commonly used in today’s world, and yet it is still necessary for people to eat real food.

On The Other Hand

One way of looking at social media would be to say that it is like a knife; it can either cause harm or it can make one’s life easier. It all comes down to how it is used, and this is why it is neither good nor bad.

Clearly, if one spends too much time in front of a screen and not enough time in front of real people, their well-being is going to be effected. Just as if one was to live on supplements and didn’t take the time to eat real food, their health is also likely to be undermined in some way.
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Being Curious

When it comes to using social media to stay up to date with what other people are doing, one can find that this doesn’t stop them from living their life. It is then no different to them meeting a friend in the real world, hearing about their life, and then carrying on with their own plans.

The alternative can be for one to be in a position where they spend less time on their own life and more time checking up on what other people are doing. This is not to say that one’s life will come to a standstill, as it can mean that they will put certain things on hold.

On The Sidelines

Through experiencing life in this way, they are going to end up neglecting their needs and watching other people meet their needs. One is then no longer in the driver’s seat of their own life; they are in the passenger’s seat, so to speak.

Yet, if they are so caught up in what other people are doing, they might not even realise what is taking place. Looking at what other people are doing and ignoring their own life could then be what is normal.

Emotional Consequences

Nevertheless, this is not to say that one will be completely content with what is taking place, as this is unlikely to be the case. One could find that this causes them to feel down and even depressed.

And they could find that the longer they watch other people live their life, the harder it is for them to live their own life. Watching other people’s lives could be what feels comfortable, and they may even have moments where it allows them to vicariously experience what someone else is doing.

A Good Thing

It can then be seen as something that has a positive effect on their life; especially as they will avoid a lot of discomfort through watching other people do things. Even so, this is going to take a lot of enjoyment out of their own life.

If one was simply here to watch other people, it wouldn’t matter if they overlooked their own needs. But as they are here to live their own life, they are not going to be able to fully accept this experience.

Conclusion

Ultimately, this all comes down to balance, and how it is important for one to pay attention to how they use social media. If they are living their life and look at what other people are doing from time to time, it is not going to be a problem.

Yet if they are not living their life and they spend a lot of time looking at what other people are doing (or what they say they are doing), it is going to set them up to suffer in one way or another.