Argumentative Essay:

Topic: Do you believe that the social media culture now forces one to be
dependent on other peoples’ opinions for validation?

Many would say that validation should come from within, and that one should not rely on the
validation and opinions of others. However not everyone agrees with that, because while it is
true that relying whole heartedly on other people’s opinions is not a good thing, the human mind
at the end of the day will always crave the approval of others. The mind would always hope and
wish that there is someone out there that would tell them it’s all right, someone that would tell
them they are proud of them, and this is how social media comes to play.
It is unquestionable that people all over the world share core needs or necessities, and one of
those needs is a sense of security or safety, studies even show that this is something that humans
seek the most. And one of the most frequent ways people achieve a sense of security in
themselves is by feeling approved by society, which has become easier with the advancements in
technology, and more specifically social media and communication platforms. In today’s world,
people across seas and across continents are all connected through the internet, and by posting
one picture or video individuals across the planet can express their opinions through likes,
dislikes, comments, retweeting, unfollowing, following, and many other actions. And while there
are many who only comment negative things with no other intentions than to bring people down,
that is not always the case. In fact, many gain strength from others by posting their feelings or
situations they’ve gone through and finding out that they are not alone, that they are not crazy or
weird, that their feelings are valid.
Paulo Coelho once said that “Our human condition makes us tend to share only the best of
ourselves, because we are always searching for love and approval”, and on the authority of
Erupting Mind’s article, titled “Understanding the Psychology of Guilt”, humans are conditioned
from a young age to only feel a sense of achievement and satisfaction after acquiring the
approval from their parents. As such over time the human mind becomes conditioned to look for
approval from others, and when people can’t, they start to flounder about, unable to function
without that sense of satisfaction they get from meeting the standards of those around them.
In contrast, however social media proves to be a dangerous platform for one to seek approval, as
the number of people on there that only wish to comment harmful things, and the thousands upon
thousands of cases of cyberbullying drive many who go to social media apps such as Twitter and
Instagram to get validation, to develop many mental illnesses namely depression and anxiety.
Nonetheless, to quote Syed Hasan Faraz who one said “Everything has both positive and
negative sides, but it depends on how we take it”, it is up to the person; will they allow only the
negative comments people have written anonymously never knowing their backstory to rule their
lives or will they use those comments to strengthen themselves and focus only on the positive
comments?

All in All, I believe society has conditioned the human mind to rely on others for validation and
social media apps and platforms are only a byproduct of that, and that whether social media is
present or not humans still rely on the validation of others. Even then, many might argue that it
has become a problem only with the appearance of social media, but that isn’t true, getting
validation and approval has been an ever-present aspect of society since before technology, it has
only taken up a different appearance.

Sara Thabit Al Abdulsalam

11GA