Social media; is it just a fad or the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution?
In my personal opinion, social media is the furthest thing from a fad. Social networking sites have become embedded in our everyday lives, to the point we check them first thing in the morning and last thing at night. Social media sites have fads and trends within them; different topics trending everyday and popular hashtags used to describe certain fads, such as the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and the more recent #stopdropandselfie.
Where was civilization before the industrial revolution? Where was civilization before Facebook? Although the industrial revolution and Facebook are not directly correlated, they are both significant events that have changed and improved our way of life. From the industrial revolution, we got better technology, weapons, etc. Social media gives us unique and special ways of communicating with people all over the world, whether they be family, friends, or strangers. A simple tweet about a trending topic can connect you to people who are tweeting about similar friends. Facebook is great for sharing photos and life events with people who may not be involved in our everyday lives. Instagram is great for sharing pictures of our daily lives and perspectives.
Also worth mentioning is that social media is not only for fun and games. There have been many social and political issues shared through the many interfaces of social media. The events in Egypt, Syria, Burma, and Palestine were exposed and shared through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, Tumblr, and many more. Not only foreign news, but local news as well such as the #OccupyWallStreet and #BlackLivesMatter movements.
Is social media a fad? Absolutely not. I strongly believe that someday, maybe sooner than later, there will be another significant change in technology that will create another shift.
I definitely agree with you that social media has become embedded into our everyday lives. I noticed you pointed out how fast news events can spread and go viral around the world, this is partially a downfall of social media, for example, if something gets posted about yourself online, it could be seen by anyone around the world, which could include future employers.
ReplyDeleteGreat work Alaa. I definitely agree with your point of view. Social media has indeed changed the way people interact with one another since the Industrial revolution. I like the point when you mention that not only we use social media for fun but we also use it for many different reasons such as political issues, and we can say that things go viral when using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube to share the news.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you that social media is the furthest thing from a fad. It is true that social media is already a part of people’s lives. I agree with you that we check social networking sites first thing in the morning and last thing at night. I check my social networking sites everyday. Social media has changed our everyday lives since the industrial revolution. There are many social networking sites can be used to post updates, share photos, events and communicate with different people. I also think there will be another significant changes in technology that will create another shift in the future.
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