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People are always talking about how social media is toxic and if you are following the wrong types of people and getting a lot of haters I would agree with that but I don’t think that all social media is bad and for some disabled people it’s necessary because it helps you cope and get ways for managing pain that you wouldn’t get from your doctor. Social media will always have some element of negativity because trolls do exist and people tend to be more rude to you on Facebook than they would ever be in real life but it’s not always as simple as deleting your Twitter . I do agree that social media can be a very toxic place and I would recommend a social media break if your Instagram feed is making you depressed but I don’t think that having a more positive life is as simple as not having it and for some people it’s not a choice because we have blogs to maintain and as long as our blogs are active we can’t just abandon it because someone was a little rude. Why do people have social media if it’s so toxic and wouldn’t the most obvious solution be to just delete your social media? In this post, I am going to talk about why some people use social media and why some people can’t just delete their accounts when someone is rude to them.
Sometimes it’s the only interactions you have– As a disabled person, I do not leave my home much because I can’t drive and typically the only places I go to are family events and church which is not an everyday occurrence. I have family that I interact with but a majority of my family and friends I don’t live with and only see on birthdays and holidays. As a disabled person, I don’t have a lot of friends because it’s harder to make friends as a disabled person, and the real-life friends I do I have not seen since before Covid because they are still isolating and don’t feel safe to leave their home. Most of the social interactions I have are with people that I meet online and if you were to tell me to delete my social media because it’s toxic it would be doing more harm than good.. Abled-bodied people can sometimes go places and meet people but when you have a disability that is not always the case because some people can’t drive or are low-functioning or need to be monitored 24/7 and social media is the only place we can meet people like us. If you know a disabled person that is not able to leave their house much you should be encouraging them to meet people online because sometimes that is the only interaction you have and although it’s not the same as real-life relationships it’s better than sitting at home all day thinking about how you wish you had friends.
It’s your job– Most people that have Facebook use it to keep their families updated about their lives and are not being paid to post a selfie. If you are a content creator that works with brands sometimes it’s different because sometimes you are being paid to promote a brand and telling someone to delete their social media is just like telling them to quit their job. There are many ways to promote your blog and Facebook is definitely not a requirement but if you do happen to have Instagram it is your job to regularly. If I was getting a lot of haters that were affecting my mental health I could take social media break but it would be as simple as deleting my social media because I have already made a name for myself through social media and it’s too late to delete it. Some people follow my blog but not everyone does and sometimes people expect me to update them on social media when I make a new post and if I wanted to stop using social media I’d have to be okay with losing readers because that’s what would happen. Social media is not a requirement for bloggers that write for fun but it can help get in front of more eyes and may be necessary for serious bloggers that want to make money because a lot of brands want to know your social media following. The only people that can get away with not having social media are those who never had it to begin with or didn’t have it very long because after you make an online social media presence it’s your job to maintain it.
Social media helps people find answers– I do not think that you should be using social media to diagnose yourself and avoid going to the doctors because a vast majority of people on the Internet cannot diagnose you we are telling you about our experience but yours could be different. When you are disabled often you have to go to the doctors more than abled-bodied people because our health is more complicated than the average person but doctors know everything and sometimes have no idea what’s wrong with you and give up which leaves a lot patients not knowing what to do. Patients do not necessarily reach out to an online advocate to get a diagnosis because advocates are not doctors but a lot of the time people reach out to us because they have lost hope in their medical team and need to talk to someone that is understanding of severe pain and won’t tell them it’s acceptable to live with the pain. I hate that sometimes patients have to resort to their own online research but it’s a reality for many and I think it’s okay to reach out to an online advocate as long as you are not expecting us to give you a diagnosis because sometimes a patient experience can be even more helpful than what a textbook would tell you.
Social media can be toxic because there will always be people that have nothing better to do than sit at their computer all day and be rude to someone in the comment section of their blog. Social media can be very negative for some people because some people get more trolls than others but it’s not all bad and sometimes it’s where you meet your friends. There is a lot of negativity on social media but it can also be a very positive place when you follow the right people and aren’t so concerned with getting thousands of followers in one day. I think social media is necessary for many disabled people because a lot of the time it’s the only social interaction you have which I think would be worse for your mental health. It is important to practice online safety and don’t go giving random strangers your home address but don’t be so quick to tell people to delete their social media when you don’t if it’s benefiting them. Do you think deleting social media is the solution to having a more positive life?
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