The Silent Lessons of Social Media

How many of you here don’t have a social media account?

Go ahead, be honest.

There might be a few brave souls who will proudly say they don’t have one… and the rest of you? Well, we already know the answer. 😊

Because whether we admit it or not, many of us start our day the same way. The moment we wake up, the first thing we reach for is our cellphone. While eating, something is playing on our phone. And when it’s time to take a bath… some people even bring their phones into the bathroom!

Am I right, or am I right?

Aside from checking your Hive account, you’re probably also checking Facebook messages, watching TikTok videos, stalking people on Instagram, and scrolling endlessly on Twitter.

Let’s be honest — the world today, especially the younger generation (our children’s generation), is heavily influenced by social media.

Now here’s something that might surprise you.

Would you believe me if I told you that I only gave my son his first cellphone when he was 15? Meanwhile, my daughter, who is now 15, still does not have her own cellphone. By the way, the two of them have an eight-year age gap.

Seriously! I only gave my daughter an old iPad, and even that is controlled either by her brother or by me. She doesn’t even have her own password! We check her online activity like customs officers inspecting smuggled goods.

I constantly remind my kids, especially the younger one, about the negative effects of social media. I talk about how it can influence the way we think, the way we speak, the way we act, and even the way we behave.

Sometimes I even ask myself, What exactly is wrong with social media? After all, aren’t we supposed to be grateful that we are living in a time with all these amazing technological advancements?

I admit, social media has its benefits too, but when it comes to younger users, I really believe they need to be strictly monitored.

My daughter always wonders how I somehow manage to notice every time they break my rules. The answer is simple. The moment I call them for a serious conversation, both of them suddenly transform into deaf and mute creatures. And that behavior instantly transforms me into a dragon!

But one day, my daughter came to talk to me. She realized that I’m not just worried about screen time. I’m not even angry because of the gadgets themselves.

What I’m really afraid of is what social media might be silently doing to us, especially to the younger generation.

She began to notice something I had been observing for a while. Every time they spend time on social media, they sometimes come back a little different. A slightly different attitude. A different opinion. A different reaction. Sometimes even a different mood.

That’s when I told them something very simple: “Social media doesn’t just entertain you. It shapes you.”

At first, my daughter didn’t completely believe me. So she started observing people online — her brother, cousins, friends, and classmates.

And slowly she realized something important. Social media itself is not dangerous because of the technology. It becomes dangerous because of what it feeds us. It’s powerful because it can influence our beliefs, our habits, and even our identity… often without us even noticing.

In your case, how has social media shaped you and your loved-ones?