Social media has faced harsh and unfair criticism since its creation.

Today, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter are all constantly used as scapegoats for many prevalent issues in society.

This blame has caused many to quickly jump to the conclusion that “social media is bad” without considering the positive things that it can create.

The world is currently more connected than it has ever been, in large part due to the growing use of social media.

There is communication across cultures and continents that would have been nearly impossible in any other point in human history, and people are no longer socially limited by the environment that they are born into. Kids who grow up in the middle of nowhere have a large chance of interacting with a diverse group of people across the country and the world every day thanks to social media.

This connection has also allowed for information to flow more easily than ever before. A large portion of Americans get their news from social media, and without it many of them would likely be much more uninformed.

There are issues of bullying and misinformation on social media, but these problems are things that would still occur if the platform did not exist. Kids being mean and people trying to lie are everywhere, so instead of attacking companies like Twitter and Instagram, society should address the root of the problem — the people who are at fault.

Social media is undeserving of the backlash that it often receives. Though it can be a place where people spread negativity, the benefits that it brings to society as a whole far outweigh these issues.