Social media – everybody knows it and everyone uses it. Many love it, others hate it. In today’s world, social media has become more inclusive and incorporated into our everyday lives. So much in fact, it’s becoming a little too addictive.

Remember those good old times when we had to rush to copy notes from the overhead projector or whiteboard? I missed those days. Those were the days before social media and technology took over with just one snap of a button, now you could store your notes on your phone. No copying from the board needed.

Now social media is everywhere: in classrooms, at work and anywhere you name it, it’s there. Some might view this as heaven. Well, I don’t. There used to be a time where social media was just Facebook and YouTube. Then Twitter came along followed by other platforms we have today. All pretty good until TikTok arrived and ruined the party.

Let me begin by saying I do not have a TikTok account or use one. That may change later down the road but not anytime soon. When TikTok first began to rise as the new popular social media outlet, I didn’t give it much thought. I simply brushed it off and went about my day. And then the trends began.

There have been many dangerous TikTok trends, so many too count that I don’t even know where to begin. The point of the matter is TikTok is such a toxic environment like many social media platforms. For those who don’t know or don’t care, TikTok is similar to Instagram except you post short skits or videos instead of photos.

Many of the big social media influencers rise to fame through TikTok and while there are a variety of trends you can follow, you are bound to come across something gruesome. Such as the instance of a group of teens who discovered body parts stuffed in a suitcase while filming for a TikTok. That gruesome video has since then been removed, this is just one instance where social media can pose a danger to young viewers.

It’s not TikTok that’s problematic, it’s what we share on social media that’s the real issue. With one click of a button, part of our lives are uploaded onto the web. It stays there forever with the possibility of that video or photo going viral. While many people uploaded their photos or videos with the conscious thought of it staying there forever, there’s still a possibility we might have filmed or uploaded something that might one day become controversial.

Again, TikTok is not the only platform that’s the issue. Instagram has had its share of issues as well. The most recent case was two teenage cousins who killed themselves while streaming live on Instagram. The young cousins were playing with a gun, one of them shot the other before taking her own life. The video has been removed but it has been shared all across instagram pages where multiple people had viewed this tragic incident.

While the majority of gruesome videos have been shared or viewed across all social media platforms, it’s not fair to say it’s a complete waste of time. It can be fun at times to scroll and see what others are doing, but some people have taken to social media to bring awareness to issues such as the ever growing popular true crime.

For some, it may be a way of sharing helpful tips such as the secret hand gesture used to call for help, aimed mainly at those who are in danger and can’t verbally say so. Even with the positives of social media, it still doesn’t change the fact that social media can be a dangerous place.

There’s always a risk of people with malicious intentions who are set on destroying lives. Anything can happen while you’re scrolling through social media. The only real suggestion here is to delete it from your life or limit how much time you spend on it. Social media is only part of a small world on the internet that we are part of. It should not be taken as part of our everyday lives. If that doesn’t appeal to you, then proceed with caution.