Social Media: Is It Good for Society?

“Television is so yesterday” was tweeted by a popular Twitter user. Ironic? In today’s society, we have figured out a number of ways to communicate and connect with other people. This includes phones and text messaging, the radio and television, and of course, actually talking with someone face-to-face. Recently, there has been a bigger explosion of a new way of connecting with people, which is the internet. A website or any form of connecting with someone is called social networking, and when connecting with a targeted specific audience is called social media. It is also known as cloud computing. This technology includes concepts such as e-mail, instant messaging, photo and video uploads, audiobooks and podcasts, blogging, and even status updates. The list can go on and on. All of this was envisioned by Marshall McLuhan, an educator of mass media. He visioned that media would transform the world as it was known. His famous quote “the medium is the message” explains that the technology use today has a greater story than the information on it. Some believe that social networking and social media are not helping society at all, but this medium has a greater and more positive message. It does have an advantage and positively affects people that do use it. Whether it is businesses, facilities, political leaders and parties, or even religious leaders and activists, social media and networking has a positive effect on them. Many even say that teenagers are just wasting their time on it, but this computing does increase their skills. Also, studies show that social networking and media may be seen as positive when it comes to one’s psychological well-being.

A phrase that teenagers hear often is “kid’s these days.” Today, according to Pew, seventy-three percent of teens are using social networking, but many believe they are wasting time on these social networking sites, but reality is that social networking can fulfill adolescent needs, and help a teen on their path to adulthood. Teens call social networking sites such as Facebook or MySpace a place to “hang out” or “chill.” They may not realize that it is more than that, and that it does fulfill adolescent needs. Teenagers do communicate one-on-one with friends. Much of their communication is about what they are currently doing, but they also realize what is going on in society. Teens are more exposed to the news and are expanding their knowledge. The teenage years are for discovering identity. Social networking gives teens new tools to express themselves. They can do this through blogging, or even by creating and sharing photos, videos, audio, or creating websites. As teens do this, it is easier for them to grasp feedback from a greater audience. In fact, according to a Pew study in 2007, sixty-four percent of teens are involved in creating photos, videos, audio, or graphics for websites, and sharing them online. One professor at the University of San Diego, Susannah