By Athar Mudasir
Such mass information exchange has never occurred in the history of mankind. Though it pleases to be flabbergasted but behind the shining veil lies the darkness, where social eveil devore on innocence and ignorance.
We will discuss the product what it sells for and later what it has actually sold.
It offers adolescents avenues for creativity, self-expression, and connection. It also can be monetised after crossing a prescribed limit of subscribers and viewers.
However there are growing concerns about its potential negative impacts on their future well-being and development such as
Mental Health Challenges:
Pressure for Perfection and Validation: The curated nature of vlogs can pressure adolescents to present an idealized version of themselves, leading to anxiety and a constant need for external validation through likes, comments, and followers. This can negatively impact self-esteem when real-life doesn't match the online persona.
Cyberbullying and Negative Comments: Vloggers are susceptible to online harassment and negative feedback, which can be detrimental to the mental health of developing adolescents. Such cases have lead serious impact over adolescents.
Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and Comparison: Watching the often-highlighted lives of other vloggers can lead to feelings of inadequacy and FOMO, contributing to anxiety and depression.
Addiction and Time Displacement: The engaging nature of vlogging, both creating and consuming, can lead to excessive screen time, potentially displacing time for crucial activities like studying, socializing offline, and physical exercise, which are vital for healthy development.
Unrealistic Expectations: Exposure to seemingly glamorous or extravagant lifestyles portrayed in vlogs can create unrealistic expectations about life and success.
Privacy and Safety Concerns:
Over-sharing and Privacy Invasion: Adolescents may overshare personal information and details about their lives, making them vulnerable to privacy breaches and potential risks from online predators. This can have long-term consequences for their digital footprint and future opportunities.
Exploitation and Lack of Regulation: In family vlogging, children may be pressured or feel obligated to participate for the sake of content creation and family income, potentially blurring the lines between family life and work without adequate protections.
Developmental Impacts:
Distorted Sense of Reality: Constant engagement with the often-edited and filtered world of vlogging can lead to a distorted perception of reality and what constitutes normal life.
Impact on Communication Skills: While some studies suggest vlogging can improve communication skills, an over-reliance on online interaction might hinder the development of crucial face-to-face social skills and nuanced communication.
Shift in Values and Career Aspirations: The pursuit of online fame and monetization through vlogging might lead some adolescents to prioritize this over traditional education and the development of diverse skills for more sustainable career paths.
Mind control: the vlogger and viewers are slowly feed content which wires their brain and narrative. Such leads to behavioral changes and collective consciousness and forms a deceive social cohesion.
***