In this day and age, internet has been so influential to the lives of many and it is close to being a necessity. More than 4 billion people around the world are using the internet, according to the 2018 Global digital reports from We Are Social and Hootsuite. Most of the usage was due to social media, with more than 3 billion users. Internet usage went up by 7% and social media by 13% year-on-year.



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The amount of time spent on the internet is around 6 hours each day, as per GlobalWebIndex's data. In terms of time spent on social media, Philippines has taken the global lead (3 times in a row) where almost 4 hours everyday was spent. This is followed by Brazil, Indonesia and Thailand respectively.

Given the tremendous growth on internet usage, especially on social media, what benefits do we get from it? Facebook is still the most used social media platform for this year followed by Youtube and Instagram. But other than self worth coming from likes on posts, what else do we gain from spending time on these platforms?

Effects of Social Media Sites (i.e. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter)

MISINFORMATION (leading to bad decisions)

One big problem on social media is the widespread hoax or fake news. One day you will see a popular person dead, when they aren't. I wonder how it feels to be pronounced dead by someone else when you are still breathing? The unreliable information may also lead to wrong decisions. There are posts that might tell that marijuana is already legal in the Philippines when it is not, hence we end up in jail (that's an exaggeration but probable).

SADNESS

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. affects or trigger sadness. Seeing acquaintances or family members successful will cause us to compare our lives (admit it or not). Most of the posts depicts a happy life and we tend to envy these people (consciously or unconsciously).

UNPRODUCTIVE HOURS

"Time is Gold" but time spent on social media is a wasted time. If we are connecting to people to check them out or checking legitimate news then we are doing fine. However, we are all guilty that it isn't what we spend most of our time with. We usually stalk others, and what benefit do you get from that?

LOWER SELF-ESTEEM

Social media usage can lower down self-esteem more than boosting it. According to study at Penn State University back in 2016, viewing other people’s selfies lowered self-esteem, because users tend to compare themselves to photos of those who were at their happiest. Comparing our lives with the others also add up to this.

Though social media can have positive effects, its negative effects weigh more. Most of the time it is how we use it, so as an alternative I discovered one of the best platforms that can replace it all without feeling guilty of its usage. This will turn the positive effects to weigh more than the negative.

You are invited to join Steemit!

Finding Steemit is like discovering a treasure. So what is Steemit?

Steemit is a blogging and social networking site founded in early 2016 by Ned Scott and Daniel Larimer. It is powered by blockchain technology and uses a new cryptocurrency called Steem or Steem dollars to reward users who upload articles. I am not an expert to expound more on cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. All of these are jargon and I don't want to place you in an information overload state.

So what makes Steemit special when it is also a social network site? What makes it stand out among the rest?

We don't just blabber, we put effort on our posts. You will see different kinds of post from inspiring, entertaining, informative, creative, to artistic and many more. We also don't tolerate plagiarism and there are bots to check this. That is how we value the work of others and how we value this community. We don't want hoax or fake news, we will know it and a comment will be left on a post which in turn will lower down your reputation. You can rely on the value of posts here.

Not a writer? Not artistic? No talent at all? Impossible, but if you are worried that you cannot do this, do not fret, because at Steemit we help each other enhance our skills. There is no such thing as unskilled person, you just have to learn what you are good at with people who will not judge you, rather will help you along the way. I am not good myself but with the help of the people in the community (special mention @maverickinvictus, all ohana @steemitfamilyph, and @promo-mentors), I got my way in and is now enjoying my stay.

We don't just live our own lives, we engage with people. We make people feel welcome in this community. When we engage we don't bash posts, we encourage. Encouraging each other to post more, because we appreciate each other's work.

As what I have mentioned earlier, steemit will pay you for your posts. This part is technical and full of jargon, it has been and still is difficult for me to understand. Honestly, I put this on the latter part because this is the least thing that you should be focusing on, it will only burn you out. As much as possible enjoy it and just pour your heart out then later on learn how you are earning. Earning was actually the very reason why I joined here, but that will not make you stay. What will make you stay is the community and all the fun things and learnings you'll gain from Steemit.

Have you decided to join?

If you are passionate with writing stories or novels, poems or songs, informative articles, blogging, drawing, sketching, painting, singing, etc. then Steemit is a better platform for you. If you are willing to improve and to learn, then you are on the right place.

Your posts are worth more than the likes and reactions. You deserve more and Steemit will give you what you deserve, something that other social media sites can't give.

I am always giddy and all smiles when sharing Steemit to friends and colleagues, although most of the time they thought it is networking/MLM (I am so done and over with that). I am happy to share the platform because I know to myself how life changing it is. It helped me in many ways and one is through expressing myself. It also serves as an outlet for my pain and sadness. It gave me hope in terms of achieving my goals. Goal to be better on my skills (may it be writing blogs or poems) and to finance some of my needs.

I won't mind spending 4 hours of my time here if it will make me a better person.

Joining Steemit?

That is the greatest decision you've made. The first thing that you must do is to sign up and wait for the email saying that you have been approve and that's it. You can start following people who might caught your interest, engage and have yourself introduced to the community.

There are only three major rules here; share quality posts (seek help if you need to), for the reputation of Steemit, engage and encourage, and enjoy.

This is an official invitation for you to join Steemit and let me welcome you as early as now.

_{Source: Wikipedia, Pixabay, BBC, We are Social}