In today’s society, social media has been a constantly growing platform that allows us to make the world smaller, as it grows bigger. Having the world at your fingertips is a pretty powerful thing that brings positive as well as negative effects. Being mindful of this will help us be more media savvy and avoid conflict on a very public stage.
Pros:
1. Free Advertisement
Although most of us- especially us college students- don’t own a huge business of some sort, there are still ways that we can use social media as advertising. A lot of clubs at universities have their own Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts, which let students know when they are holding meetings or fun events. Also, selling textbooks between students has been incredibly helpful through using Facebook groups. Both of these scenarios use social media as a platform for free and make life way easier!
2. Long Distance Communication
The world might seem too big at times, knowing that someone who lives in Australia is thousands upon thousands of miles away. On the other hand, we have social media platforms that let us follow people in other countries or connect with companies on different continents. This helps us tremendously because it lets us go beyond our state or country’s borders. Social media is erasing the concept of distance in a great way.
3. Stay In Touch
Staying connected with family members that live out-of-state or even out of the country has never been easier. I have a lot of long-distance family members living in places like New Jersey, Bolivia and Scotland. Connecting with them on social media, more specifically Facebook, allows me to see what they’re up to and not miss much of their lives even though we’re thousands of miles apart. Also, it’s great for keeping in touch with those friends who moved out of state or went to another college.
4. Ideas Heard
Social media is an aspiring writer’s best friend. Using all of the social media platforms to get my articles out there, to share my voice with the world, is crucial to my writing career. Not only does it get my writing out there, it gives others ideas that they might not have been able to think of on their own. Another amazing example of this would be Pinterest. For all you DIYourselfers out there, the people that post their ideas of how to make creative things for your apartment/dorm or aesthetic food displays are pure geniuses. If they hadn’t taken the time to make these tutorials and post them online, you might have never known how to make those adorable cupcakes for your roommate’s birthday.
Cons:
1. Less Privacy
Sometimes we feel that because we have an Instagram or Facebook account, that we need to share every photo we take or check-in to every place we go, and that should definitely not be the case. There is no sense of privacy when you post every aspect of your life to the Internet. This especially applies to the use of Snapchat, where you are letting everyone know you’re location and that can be dangerous if it’s not on private.
2. Too Much Investment
Nowadays, we spend so much time with our eyes glued to the computer screen or on our phones. There is so much out there in the world to see, for yourself, and not through the lens of someone else’s iPhone on Instagram. Go out and explore, live in the moment and make connections with other people. We are constantly texting, chatting and snap chatting to where we feel like in-person meets are unnecessarily. A YouTuber named Prince Ea, made a video called “Can We Auto-Correct Humanity?” which sums our over-media consumption perfectly.
3. Cyber Bullying
A very negative effect of social media usage is the fact that people are constantly judging our posts. Comments that are made on a post, slamming what you thought was a good photo, could ruin your day or self-esteem in an instant. Social media can have a negative effect on your own image and it’s because of cyber bullying. Don’t let others put you down, just keep doing you.
4. It's Forever
This is the most impactful, scary part of social media. The fact that social media stays with you forever, just like a tattoo, can be nerve-wracking. One of the first things that employers do during the interviewing process is try to find you on social media, to see what kind of person you are. Do you go out and party every night and post it on Facebook? Or are you a dedicated student who is serious about their future? Being careful of what you share on the Internet is crucial because a future employer could probably see your personality with the click on a button. Always filter what you post online because it could come back to haunt you in the long run.
