EDITOR – WHILE researching on the effects of social media in our country, I came to the realisation that it is a looming disaster threatening our society.
Editor, I am as guilty as the next person who is spending too much time on our phones, or whatever gadgets we will be using.
The majority of adolescents are being negatively affected socially and academically.
When I hear the word ‘addiction’, I think of drugs and alcohol.
I would never have associated social media with addiction. Most of us choose not to do anything about it because social media is just assumed to be a positive force.
Our social media usage, since the inception of the internet, has constantly risen, but it has now reached a point where we, as teenagers and young adults, are spending nearly most our time doing nothing productive.
Due to heavy reliance on social media, studies have shown that young people are experiencing effects such as internet harassment and consuming harmful content such as violence and pornography.
Academic performance, lives and relations have been negatively affected by social media.
Editor understanding why this is becoming an epidemic is extremely important in trying to control it.
I believe educating young people on the detrimental effects of social media can help tremendously in the fight to avert the looming disaster.
Parents and educators play a pivotal role as they spend most of the time with children and are most influential in their lives.
They must be the first to monitor and control use of social media.

Killian,
Harare