Addicted to the screen

Social media provides a useful platform for us to share ideas and information. We can communicate and contact each other at any time. Students can learn new skills at home, earn money through freelance and remote work, connect with classmates and teachers and expand their knowledge. During Covid-19 applications such as Zoom and Google Meets played an important role in allowing many students to continue their education while schools remained closed.

However, none of this should distract us from the pitfalls of increasing social media use. Apps such as Twitter, WhatsApp and YouTube have tremendous educational potential but mostly serve as convenient avenues for entertainment, socialising and procrastination. Many of these platforms are engineered to give their users a rush of dopamine, shortening attention spans, memory retention and making young people more vulnerable to anxiety, depression and insomnia. There needs to be greater regulatory oversight of social media, with greater restrictions on apps that are solely for entertainment and leisure purposes.

Parvez Iqbal Lak

Chiniot