I don't think I need to write too much about it because I'd hope that you all already know about the harms of it and how it passively manipulates you. But in the event you're not aware of them or try to ignore them thinking you won't get affected by it, let me point it to you loud and clearly.

Social Media is technically a virtual space where we present ourselves.
We may choose to have the same friends circle in social media as we have in our physical world or we can have a completely different circle over the internet consisting of people from all over the globe. 

You can be whoever you want to be on the internet, but make sure that you aren't being affected by other's lifestyle. I've seen this happen a lot and this used to happen with me too. I was scrolling my Instagram and I see my friends hanging out in a pup, drinking, having fun and what not. And it felt bad thinking they are having fun, enjoying while I could not. They are going to all these posh places but I couldn't and they are posting pictures which gets hundreds of likes and reactions. It did feel bad at that point because what my mind saw was that they were more liked than I was and nobody really likes or appreciates me. And that resulted me rolling down into a depressive period of my life.

Here's how Social media can harm you:

It can have a negative impact on your self-esteem:
Do you envy the possessions of your Facebook friends? Many people do, and their self-esteem suffers as a result of these associations. After engaging with someone they thought was more beautiful, a Canadian study of 188 female undergraduate students published in the journal Body Image in 2019 found that the participants felt worse about their own looks. Inflammatory comparisons don't stop at body image...though they can (or at least can be reduced) if you spend less time on social media.

It may alter your appetite:
You can restrict the amount of time you spend scrolling through photos of "food porn," as it can contribute to overeating. Looking at incredible images of mouthwatering food will cause your brain to experience physiological and neurophysical changes, making you feel hungry even when you aren't hungry, according to a 2015 review published in Brain and Cognition.

Continued to Part II