to think there is nothing positive about social media

[meloncotton]

I am trying to find anything positive about social media, we all know the negatives but are there any positives?

YABU - There are positives which outweigh the negatives
YANBU - Social Media use negatively affects people overall

I live in a country where social media had a huge part to play in making people aware of how corrupt the government was. This led to huge protests and uprising and some years later, social media again kept the public informed in order for them to make an unbiased decision as to who to vote for in elections. This was a country where in the decades past, the government controlled media and oppressed people. So yes there can be a lot of good in social media.
However, I don’t think children should be on social media.

Agree with this. It's full of adverts so I can't see my friends post. I also hate all the bragging posts.

No, I think thought is very important, especially where children are concerned. Do you not?

A constant theme from people who don’t realise mumsnet is social media.

All social media is the same as every other avenue of life: if you’re a dick,
you’ll be a dick on social media.

A normal functioning adult will be that anywhere also.

I think I'd be a worse parent if it wasn't for SM as I'd just be doing what my parents did without much outside influence. So for me it's been a good thing mostly, although I am slightly addicted to Tiktok

Normally I am not a fan of social media but when my MIL who has dementia went missing she was found due to the SM campaign that the police ran.

you can reach 1000s of people within seconds

It depends how you use it-

Facebook
I'm only friends with my actual friends and family , literally about 60 people, the people who would get a day invite to my wedding. . it's a nice way to post photos that my aunts and cousins can see. And I can catch up on their lives.
I also use Facebook for a book club I'm in, local selling/village info pages and local autism groups.

Instagram
I follow my dds , my nieces and a handful of comedians I find hilarious. I also get some feminist news articles which are interesting

Snapchat
Literally my dds, my sister and my nieces we send funny pictures to each other

Mumsnet
My place to chat, ask advice and give my opinion all anonymous!

I get only positives out of sm , I wouldn't bother it was negative.

I've alway encouraged my dds to use it for fun. One loves tik tok and follows a number of vloggers but it's generally baking, video games .

The other loves to post on Instagram and shows the lovely creative things she does.

Neither are obsessed or constantly posting. I'd say i spend more time on Mumsnet than they do on sm

I don't have Insta, Tiktok etc. Used to have FB but deleted it as I speak to my friends list IRL anyway.

MN is as close to social media as I get now. I have learned a lot and had great support. But it has noticeably changed over the last couple of years. More bots, more trolls and a subset of posters who are set on being dicks no matter the topic - like the current pile on to the Christian MN board.

I think it depends on the user and benefits vs negatives will be different if we're talking about children rather than adults.

I don't get any of the negatives(in part because of my temperament/personality) , but then again my SM use is quite limited/specific compared to a lot of users.

Mumsnet is social media…. So why are you here ?

For me there are loads of positives. But I curate my feeds carefully and manage my feed. I use it to find out about events and activities in the real world. It enhances my life and connections with my friends. I only follow strangers, businesses or charities/organisations who enhance my life and make me feel good or enable me to do more good things, I use the “don’t suggest things like this” option for anything I don’t want to see more of.

There are no negatives to it for me.

hands up! connecting with other parents with special needs kids. It is so isolating. You can think you’re going crazy. Following the SM accounts of other mums going through it is a godsend.

It is useful for interest groups and social groups.

The one and outs of most people's lives does not interest me much.

I like WhatsApp the most.

Yes this is what I've found with my missing cat(obviously not in the same league as your MIL). Her picture and my posts have been shared to the extent that the whole neighbourhood is now looking out for her and people tell me they look for her when they walk to the bus or to the pub. Our vet have shared her pictures and done an appeal as well so even more people have seen that she is missing.

It has its uses.

It's exactly what you make it.

Mine is lovely. Only have people I know and content I enjoy. I feel like a lot of the issues people have with sm are jealousy, insecurity and so on.

Anything or anyone that annoys me gets muted or blocked.

It is up to the person to use it responsibly same as anything.

I don't do loads of social media,.don't have twitter/x, have but don't use Instagram

but I do have Facebook which I like to keep in touch with people and then the interest groups on there are great and I find the local groups useful and Facebook marketplace is great. I like whatsapp and signal for group chats etc all v useful, especially for arranging events etc I like you tube for content. I don't feel harmed and don't feel my use is negative for society.

I hate Facebook. It's all very much "look at me" posts for personal validation. I would delete it but I use it to find local events, and keep up to date with certain charities/businesses.

I like tiktok to a degree. I use it for history, booktook & cat memes. I stay away from the drama on there though.

I don't use any other SM.

So depends really!