The Good and the Bad of Social Media

After reading the two articles (located at the bottom) for class, I have come up with a short summery of bother the positives and the negatives of social medias and how they play into modern society.

Looking first at the positive side of the social media, I can say that there has been, for sure, a good use of social media in the past decade.  The first point to come across was the ability for people to connect with others, from around the world, with a click of a button.  Allowing intercultural communications has allowed us as humans to discover the ways of others around the world and make connections with people that previously were unheard of.  Another point that is made is the use of social media helps those who cannot physically be social with others, whether they are elderly, have a physical body issue, which doesn't allow them much mobility, or they cannot physically be around people without feeling uncomfortable.  It isn’t easy sometimes for people to me others, because they are frail when it comes to who they are, but the Internet has allowed these gaps in their personal lives to change drastically.   Social media can also be used to help people make connection with others, which might have never occurred otherwise offline.  Stereotypes have been tested and many people are now looking at people and cultures in a new light.  Social media has allowed people to connect and discover new things about other, giving them a better understand to something that previously was only perceive by a small percentage of a population.

Following the positive side, the negatives, in the situation of social media plays an important role in how to view this ever-changing style of living.  A front-runner problem brought up in the article, which I have personally seen, is the affects of social media on the human psyche.  Though social media has been known to create connections, it can also cause a person to slip into depression, whether it is from cyber bulling or noticing how much other people are doing than you.  Recent studies show that social networking sites, like Facebook, are causing people to feel that their lives are less than fulfilling, due to the mass amount of pictures and post people make about their own lives. The lost of social privacy was another major issue, discussed in the article.  We, as the users of the social media sites, believe that we have privacy protection on these websites, but the article brings up the fact that we just might not have all the privacy that is being offered.  Our information is being sold to companies for marketing research.  Also, everything that a person says of places on the Internet is free look at that person’s life.  Nothing is a secret if it’s on the Internet.  Other problems to be noted were: Lost of productivity, online predators, incorrect grammar and spelling, and much more.

With everything in the world, there are good a bad things to be said about social media.  The final choice is up to you on how to feel about it.  Do you think social media, being a powerful way to connect with people around the world, is worth all of the dangers and risk that come with it?

A Social Society: The Positive Effects
Negative Impact of Social Networking

My Interview

Brielynn Bell, age 21, currently enrolled at the State University of New York at Buffalo and is a senior, majoring in journalism, sat and talked with me about her first experience about using the internet.  After discussing her time using AIM, she talked of a sight called, "Black Planet," which she stated was very similar to the site I wrote about, Myspace.  There was a similarity found between our two stories, when it came to how we first got involved with the internet.  It seemed that being about the same age, we have the same idea about what we thought the internet was good for.

Further into our discussion we both took a look back at what we did with the internet as kids and realized just how dangerous it real was for us to be on those websites.  When looking back, we now know of all the stories of predators that were caught picking up children on these web applications and sites.

I found more about Brielynn, when we started to talk about what she now does with the internet.  She began by telling me that it was much easier for her to stay connected with her family down south.  With all of the access of social media, the availability to stay in touch leaves her feeling much more in control.  Though Facebook isn't her favorite site, you can easily find her uploading images onto Instagram, or possible tweeting about her day on Twitter.  The internet has become a tool, which both Brielynn and myself will use now in our everyday lives.

My First Internet Use

The Internet is a way to communicate with people around you.  Everyday is a social encounter in a way, which was unheard of not long before.  I remember my first time using the Internet.  I was 14 and had heard my friends talk about it.  My parents decided that it was need in the house and that day I learned about AOL instant messenger (AIM). I spent my first day talking to my friends for an hour on the Internet.  It was great to be able to talk with people without having to utter a single sound.  As a 14 year old, I was very into my privacy and enjoyed the fact that no one knew who I was talking to or what I was talking about. 

While I talked to my friends, I found my way on to a website that would cause me more trouble than it would at making friends.  MySpace was my world.  My top eight were the people I considered to be my closest friends.  These were the people who would appear on my page, when people clicked on me.  Looking at pictures and listening to my music was all I did with the Internet.  Life was great.  It wasn't until a few years that MySpace needed to go, but when I first joined that day, I was amazed by the possibilities to create and change my own sight to fit my personality.

 Since my first encounter with the Internet, my use has grown to the point where I am constantly active on it, it seems.  I have the Internet with me at all times, on my phone or laptop.  When I was first on the Internet as a teen, I was addicted to it, but now it is strange to be away from it today.  I use AIM still, but only to message my girlfriend from my phone.  I current use Facebook, Tumblr and a few other social media sites to advertise my photography and other artwork.  In a day, I sift through thousands of images and watch hours of videos, whether it be clips of people doing dumb things around the world, television shows I might have missed the night before, or even tutorials on photography lighting.

 The Internet has expanded to drastic measures, to the point that what you post on your wall, on Facebook, might cost a friendship.  An image of you doing a keg stand at the party you went to could be the image your boss sees and fires you for.  When I got on the internet the first time, I never thought of how much this would matter, but now seven years later, I worry about every little thing that I type, afraid that the wrong person might see.  The Internet is much more a part of ever person’s life that it is the basis for how the live and deals with the real world.  Who knows what it will be like in another ten years though.