Social Media and The Internet

At just six years old twitter has taken the world by storm. It is the word on everyone’s lips and is more popular than a girl in high school can ever wish to be. However, twitter is just one child of the family we know as social media.

Social media is a term that is familiar to most people. According to the Oxford dictionary the definition of social media is: “websites and applications that enable users to share content or to participate in social networking.” Even if a person has never experienced it they know what it is. It has revolutionized our means of communication and continues to grow every day. Social media has many children including Facebook, MySpace, Whatsapp, Friendster, Blackberry messenger (BBM) and the likes.

Of course social media would not exist without its grandfather the internet. Many of us cannot live without the internet. This is where we get our recipes, news, tips, ideas and it can even tell us a scientific fact if we need one. The internet provides us with a lot of information and basically anything that we need. In order to use social media we need the internet or rather an internet connection. Some people have such a strong connection with the internet that it is impossible to separate them from it!

Teenagers are known to live on social networking sites and typically vent their feelings, ideas and experiences.  Social media and the internet has become a platform that provides an easy way to learn about anything and everything, be it what a celebrity is having for lunch, whether the electionshave begun or how many assignments your friends have gotten. It is a quick and convenient way of staying in touch with those you know and even those you don’t know.

Social media and the internet provide us with a lot of benefits. Instead of going to the store to buy a dress for my cousin’s wedding, I can now order one online from the comfort of my bedroom. For many people it makes it a lot easier ( and cheaper) to communicate with their loved ones, sending you parents or you wife/husband a loving message can brighten up a day and cause them to smile.

Want to share how happy you are with the world? No problem, just log on to your nearest available social media app and let everyone know what you think. Social media and the internet has become a powerful tool, in fact you’re making use of it right now!

Dangers of social Media:

 

Now for the dangers of social media and I know that you’re tempted to skip past it because you might have heard it a thousand times before, but please don’t. This just informs you of what can happen if too much time and effort is spent on sites that are about as addicting as chocolate. Many parents are searching far and wide for solutions for their children to spend more time with them rather than on the internet. Their pleas and worries are not in vain. Recent studies have shown that nearly half of 16 to 19 year olds log onto Facebook every single month while 26% of them use Twitter ever month.

As regular users of these social media platforms we care about the opinions of others and what they will think off the words we post, we also rely on others and their opinions. This can destroy our ability to think critically and causes us to become lazy because instead of formulating our own opinions we look at what others are saying. A lot of advice is offered on these sites and while many are informative and helpful we may also fall prey to harmful and dangerous advice. It is important to stick to your values and what you know as right and wrong.

Social media has become so convenient for us because it doesn’t require effort or a shower; it doesn’t even nag or whine to us. It has become part of our everyday lives. So while you should enjoy your social networking rememberto be responsible. Also remember that your mom told you to never respond to messages from strangers…or was that never accept rides from strangers? Oh well, you know what I mean.

Happy blogging, tweeting, posting and whatever else you can do!