We are overly reliant on social media, but does social media care?

Over the last decade, more people have started to depend on the internet for information, their social lives and even for their livelihoods. However, the internet is somewhat of a double-edged sword in this respect, as our reliance on it can work against us.

I remember a friend of mine was recently locked out of their Google account for over 12 hours. Those were some of the most stressful 12 hours of his life, which makes sense when you realise that everything from your bank account to your personal documents might be linked to your Google account.

The algorithm isn't your friend

Social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram run on algorithms that determine the kind of content which is pushed to its users. And this algorithm is constantly being tweaked to make the sites even more engaging for users, leading to a lot of volatility for content creators and businesses.

One minor change in the algorithm might result in many small businesses losing visibility amongst their customer base and as a result, losing a big chunk of their revenue. These social media platforms refrain from disclosing guidelines on how to adapt to the changing algorithm, leaving users in the dark.

If we look at YouTube's algorithm change around 2018, we can see just how many creators lost their audiences because they could not adapt to the changes.

Data leaks

For many of us, our lives now live on the cloud. Google has so much of our data, that if one were to lose their account, they would be in quite the bind.

On top of this, data leaks have recently started springing up more and more, with Facebook and Google having massive data leaks and breaches in the past five years. These companies failed to take adequate measures to protect it, in the process losing the data of millions of users, between Facebook and Google alone. These leaks can result in users losing their accounts, which can prove catastrophic for those who use their accounts for business, work, or something equally important to their lives.

Your news feed isn't for the news

"Just because it's on the internet, doesn't mean that it's true" – Abraham Lincoln

I am sure we've all seen this meme at some point, but misinformation on the internet has continued to grow exponentially. Or have you forgotten parents discovering Whatsapp groups during the peak of the 2020 pandemic?

The consequences of fake news can be devastating, ranging from people using horse deworming medicine to literal genocide. There are people whose internet usage consists of only social media, who rely on it as their primary source of information. Getting them to be more sceptical about news on social media is already an uphill task, and it'll only get harder in the future. When social media companies fail to filter out fake news, especially for non-English posts, this reliance becomes a dangerous thing.

I suggest we acknowledge our dependence on such platforms. And in doing so, start to branch out to other platforms, digital or physical, to get our news, run our businesses and share our art.

Aaqib Hasib will someday finish writing his book. But not today. Write to him at

aaqib.hasib@thedailystar.net