To be honest, I believe that my answer to this question changes everyday.  I believe that at times, social media can bring us together but at other times, it has brought our society farther apart then it ever has been. At the beginning, people thought social media would only be a fleeting social experience, but now it has surpassed anyones wildest imaginiation. Many social media celebrities such as Mark Zuckeberg have been trying to change the overall mission of social media to bring people and to stop the polarization that has occured through out the years.

For me personally, social media has brought both positives and negatives into my life. It has allowed me away to connect with my friends and family virtually but has also made me very aware of the power that the internet holds .This is why I post pictures so infrequently. The amount of pressure that comes with posting these photos is sometimes ridiculous and I honestly look at myself and say, ” Do I really care THAT much”. One of my favorite things to do when I post a new picture is to turn off my Instagram notification or be away from my phone for a while. This allows me not to constantly wonder how many people are liking my photo. This pressure really didn’t come about until I started get 300 and 400 per pictures. Now obviously that’s a lot of likes for an average person, but unfortunately, when I do not recieve as many like or as much positive feedback on a picture or post, I begin to wonder what have I done wrong and why did this picture did not recieve the same love as the others did. Then I begin to think about all the people who have ten times the amount of followers I have and all of the pressure that it must put on them.

https://t.co/Wny4pDrSfu Mugshot shaming is just another form of Criminal #Cyberbullying

— Mugshot Extortion (@S_MugshotExtort) September 11, 2017

You also have to think about the people who’s lives have been really impacted by social media in a negative way. Many teens have tried and unfortunately been successful at hurting themselves when bullied or teased by other students on social media. Now although, I can go on and on about the controversial negatives that have come with social media I can also discuss the positives. One positive that has come with this new generation fascination with social media is many underrated and unknown artist beings able to use this platform in order to get their foot into the music industry. Look at Cardi B. for instance. She was an unknown rapper/comedian until she used her instagram and twitter to gain a huge following. This led her to be on TV and eventually come out with a #1 charted song all over the United States.

There are also events all over the world that are able to be broadcasted to a larger audience through social media outlets.When situations such as Hurricane Harvey occur, social media is there to spread the news and make people aware of what is happening to their friends and family who are affected. It has also been a huge help in countries when situation such as the Arab Spring  where freedom fighters were able to use social media for liberation purposes. Now although situations like the Arab Spring did not go as we woudl like, we were still able to spread the news and get the word out to people who migth be able to help whiel also preventing the situation from happening in other areas of the world.

Is This The Start of An Arab Spring for UK, Europe and Potentially The US https://t.co/j6FYq78Wwm #Leadership #Florida #Business

— Gordon Tredgold (@GordonTredgold) September 9, 2017

In short, I think my final answer to this prompt would be that yes, social media does bring our world closer together but at a cost. Hopefully, through out the next couple of years, social media will become a safer space for people to share while also bringing together all different cultures, ethnicties, and groups.