Can you go a day without going on your phone and texting your buddies? Do we really need social media? Is social media bad for your health? Everyone wants a new, shiny, pretty phone, but do the creators of these products have us in the palm of their hands?

There are so many questions when it comes to how social media affects us today and will continue to affect us later in our lives.

Let’s start with the positives. We can go on so many apps just to stay connected with our friends and family. We can watch videos and share what we are wearing for the day to our friends and followers. We can look for a job or advertise our business for free on Craigslist. I think we get it — social media is at the heart of entertainment and easily shared information.

Now for the bad news. We get lots of news from social media, and the hot new gossip about our idols. But how do we know if it’s true? We don’t, and that’s the truth. Three billion people, around 40 percent of the world’s population, use online social media – and we’re spending an average of two hours every day sharing, liking, tweeting and updating on these platforms, according to Brett Williams, a tech reporter at Mashable.

According to Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin at the Cyberbullying Research Center, cyberbullying is a huge problem. About 34 percent of students are reported to be cyberbullied in their lifetime, and 15 percent of children commit to suicide due to cyberbullying.

Social media is also dangerously addictive. As Sarah Snow writes on the website Social Media Today, getting a like on one of our posts can give us the same high as taking a hit from cocaine. She also explains that 27 percent of people admit to logging onto their social media apps right when they wake up for the day, and 51 percent say they continue to log on throughout the day. This type of addiction can be very stressful when you get your phone taken away in class or you are in a meeting and can’t use it. This issue can cause depression.

So, poison or cure? You decide.