Just like 2.2 billion people around the world, I use social media. I love being able to catch up with people who live all across the world while I am away at college and being able to see a glimpse into my friends and families lives. Last week, I read an article titled “Is Instagram Choosing Our Colleges?”, and found it surprisingly accurate on how Instagram may aid a lot in millenials' decision making in regards to college. The author touched on how we may start to consider a certain university a “party school” solely on constantly seeing our friends who go there post pictures of themselves in a bar or at frat parties every weekend. Or we may believe a school may not be "not as fun," since our friends who go there hardly ever post photos or videos. And let’s face it, we as a generation have a tendency to trust what we see and what we hear.
I really related to the article and I wanted to take that stance a step further than just college decisions, but into our everyday choices and think about this idea: we are making decisions based on social media.
Now, like I said earlier, social media is a wonderful thing and can be very informative. However, some people tend to rely on it as the only way to gain information. I can even blame myself for this, because often times the first thing I do in the morning while still in bed, is spend about ten minutes just scrolling through the apps on the my phone.
Think about the current election. Almost everyday as I am scrolling down my Facebook timeline, I see someone has posted an article, video, meme, etc. on a presidential candidate -- some in favor, some against. Oftentimes, if the title intrigues me enough I will click on the article. Without even researching or finding the original statements used, I tend to believe many of the articles I read, which in turn can be detrimental. However, even though I know this a bad habit, I know I am not the only one who does this. When I talk to friends and family members on how they are informed about the things going on around them, they too often say social media apps and websites, rarely ever truly just sitting down and watching the news on TV or reading a newspaper.
Or even as recent as the death of music icon, Prince. Being completely honest, I found out about his death through a post on Yik Yak (extremely creditable news source, I know). And I'm betting many other people found out about his death through a post on Facebook or a tweet.
It's hard to change the current social media culture, especially since it provides us with so many benefits and conveniences. I'm not saying we should stop using social media and delete all the apps off of our phones, but I wonder if we could start using some of the time we are on social media to really spend time to talk to others.
Instead of arguing in the comment section of a post, really hear others peoples ideas and opinions firsthand and stop hiding behind a keyboard.
