Is social media “Bringing the World Closer Together?” Well, in Mark Zuckerberg’s opinion, Facebook is excelling at its new mission. But, after reviewing what other people have to say, I saw that opinions varied. While social media does create conflicts, I believe that when used correctly, it can bring us closer. In reality, social media is just a tool that is used in the way WE want it to be. This means that “social media” cannot be blamed for our actions. In the end, it is up to us to use it to help society, not hurt it. So, is social media the one bringing the world closer together, or are we? I choose the later option.
We have the power through social media to unite in ways that were once unimaginable. For example, on a national level, Snapmap has recently displayed footage of the Hurricane Harvey victims.
Hurricane Harvey on SnapMap:/ it's insane pic.twitter.com/a9JhNZ4Iq6
— dlvpz (@dlvpz) August 29, 2017
As a result of tweets like @dlvpz’s, more people were able to understand how disastrous Harvey was.
On a global level, we have been able to experience different cultures within seconds. Even while in Syracuse, the events of Dubai are only a click away, as shown by Peter Hamby.
Incredible Snap map video of the Dubai skyscraper fire right now pic.twitter.com/cdTsV1xnlj
— Peter Hamby (@PeterHamby) August 3, 2017
But, what truly makes social media special, is the power it gives us to voice our opinions. Every day people reach out to those they have never met to offer support. Even during the Barcelona attacks, people were uniting around the world via social media. As demonstrated by Margaret Russell, you do not have to be famous to make an impact.
the love and support of the people of Barcelona after the attack makes me realize that there is good in this world pic.twitter.com/xKrBMvmiO3
— Margaret Russell (@russellm101) August 20, 2017
Unfortunately, there are people out there using social media for the wrong reasons. But, if we all go the extra mile and use the benefits of social media, we can bring the world closer together.
I really like that you see social media as just a mean, but that, in the end, it’s the people themselves that actually bring the world closer together.
For the audience it would probably be more convenient if you put the hyperlink in the beginning of your post behind a word, instead of writing it out.
Your comment about it being up to us to use social media effectively and as a helping hand is spot on. It’s great to see people utilizing the platform in positive ways, as in Hurricane Harvey’s case, but it’s also scary to watch bullying unfold via social media. There are so many positives and negatives that it’s sometimes hard to balance. As you mentioned, it can definitely bring us closer together when it’s used correctly.
I agree with all of this. Social media definitely makes the world seem smaller and these places feel closer to us than they ever have before.
I do agree with you that social media is bringing us closer, in a sense, to people around the world who we may never meet, but what about the people who we already have established relationships/friendships with? I find that sometimes we use social media as a crutch instead of actually getting in touch with people and checking on their current life status. I think it has me us kind of lazy in that aspect.
I completely agree that it’s not necessarily the platforms that are a problem when it comes to social media but rather the way people use them. I think you highlighted some really good examples of people using social media for good (especially in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, I had no idea that Snap Maps had added that to the maps which could be helpful to first responders as well as to show the scale of the hurricane).