Monday, January 24, 2011

Social Media

In today’s society, it’s difficult to go a day without contact with some form of social media. Whether it’s an ad on the subway containing a twitter link, a YouTube video on your computer, or a Facebook wall post viewed from your phone, social media is everywhere.
I think that social media is great and can be a very effective tool if used properly. It is a great way to get up-to-date news and share your favorite stories with friends and family. It’s a great way for businesses to market to consumers and communicate with them and receive feedback. It’s also helpful for reconnecting with long lost friends and family members who live far away. Today, it is easier than ever to connect with others via social media on a computer or even on your mobile device.

However, many people use it the wrong way and waste way too much time on it. If you update your Facebook or Twitter 10 times a day, I think that can get a little excessive. Social media was created for users to share interesting articles, videos, and links, and share interesting happenings from their lives, not to tweet every other minute about insignificant things. Another issue users have to deal with is privacy. It’s important for social media users to realize that what they put up on the Internet may be accessible to bosses, parents, and the general public. It’s crucial to use social media responsibly, and recognize that you have to think carefully about what you want to put up.

Social media is great, but it’s important not to become too dependent on it. Social media should add to our face to face communication, not replace it. As long users use it responsibly and don’t over-update their social networks, I think it can be a powerful and effective mode of communication.

1 comment:

  1. but is there really a wrong way, or just different ways? and what makes a certain level of activity excessive? I just want to avoid making snap judgments about these things.

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