A Social Media Observation
I have been struggling this past week with what to write about today. My last 2 blog posts in my social influence series are not quite done and I’ve done the last two on Twitter follows. So I guess this is more of an observational post on social media.
I come across businesses who do not truly understand the power of social media. Some still see it as a fad, some see it as a way of life. Social media has taken on some sort of superpower no one could see coming. Don’t believe me? Here’s what social media has done over the past 6 years…
– Helped citizens to revolt again the Egyptian government
– Reported deaths before the mainstream media ever knew (i.e. Whitney Houston)
– Reported the landing of the US Airways Flight on the Hudson River
– Brought the Chilean Miners rescue worldwide
– Reported the death of Osama bin Laden first
– Fueled the various Occupy protests
These are just a few. They (media) say social media will play a huge part in the US 2012 Presidential Election.
Social media is now a part of our everyday lives. From our smartphones to our tables to Twitter streams on TV, it’s not going anywhere.
Social media has allowed friends and family to stay in touch. When I was little, we wrote letters to our grandparents who lived out of state or called them on our rotary phone. Now my daughters can Skype or text my parents who live out of state.
Social media is also hurting the way we communicate. Teenagers text each other from across the room or talk online rather than getting up and talking face to face. No one talks to each other anymore – they text, email or Facebook. I have a feeling that gone are the good old days of authentic in-person communication. Oh, it still exists…if you are over the age of 30.
Social media is blurring the lines of what is appropriate and inappropriate. College kids think it’s okay to post pictures of themselves with a keg on Frat Beach on St. Simon’s Island during Georgia/Florida weekend and then wonder why they didn’t get called back for that job interview. Thirteen year old girls are posting pictures of themselves and their friends in bikinis on a summer beach trip not realizing that some child predator may be looking at them online. Scary, I know.
Social Media is changing our lives. We’re more wired and connected than ever before. Everything is at our fingertips. Is it for the better? Maybe. Things are more convenient now than they were when I was my oldest daughter’s age (she’s 7, so we’re talking mid-1980’s here). I remember signing up for Facebook in the fall of 2006. She’s grown up with it.
My point in this whole observation post is that social media is here to stay. For better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, it’s not going anywhere. We just have to sit tight and take new innovations as they come.
What are your thoughts about social media in general? Do you see if ever going away or getting even more integrated into our lives?
