Mark Zuckerberg was right when he said social media brings people together. He cited Facebook groups, but there are ways people come together that are less rigid and defined than being in a group. Here are some examples.
Modern day love story
We’ve all heard of the classic love stories, the Romeo and Juliet’s of the world. But in today’s digital age, replace the disapproving families with 10-second video calls to try and meet a random stranger.
At least that’s what happened at the University of Wisconsin. Two students, “Mystery Girl” (Abby) and “Vikings Fan” (Reed) met up posting to the local campus snapchat story (video included), captivating the campus community in the process.
Chipping in
Social media provides some of the best feel-good stories, with brands pitching together to make dreams come true. That’s the case with Hailey Dawson.
Bleacher Report posted a tweet video saying that the seven-year old girl wanted to throw out the first pitch at every baseball stadium with her 3-D printer hand.
7-year-old Hailey Dawson wants to throw out the first pitch at every MLB ballpark with her 3-D printed hand pic.twitter.com/onStqhEzyB
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 7, 2017
Scrolling through the thread of that tweet, we can see that many MLB teams responded shortly after, asking for Dawson’s info so they could reach out. Here are just a few examples.
Sounds great! Can you DM us Hailey's info, so we can reach out?
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) September 7, 2017
We'd LOVE to have Hailey at CBP!
Can you please DM us her information so we can reach out?
— Phillies (@Phillies) September 7, 2017
We'd love to make it happen! Please DM us her info.
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) September 7, 2017
Blending cultures
Oftentimes, people will gravitate toward relatable people and content on social media. Sometimes, though, it provides users with a beautiful opportunity to learn about different backgrounds.
That was the case for Twitter user “Will Wadas”, a white man who saw a picture of candied yams, traditionally a soul food. When he found a photo of it on Twitter, he set out on a mission to try and make it himself and experience the flavor. This tweet thread tells the story. (*WARNING*: Some tweets contain NSFW language).
I'm also noticing a certain demographic doesn't know what this is 😂😂😂
— Tyree♿️ (@theonlytyree) July 26, 2017
All together, it’s clear that social media can be used to bring people together, whether it’s to make dreams come true, to find love or simply to try something you never have before.