Social media platforms are awesome in that they allow us to connect with our personal communities and beyond! On an individual level, social media connects us to our family and friends from all over the world. A comment on a photo or a tagged meme can make us feel like our loved ones aren’t that far away. We’re able to offer support and gratitude to the friends who affect our lives on a daily basis but who may not be physically in our lives. After a long FaceTime sesh with my friend who was in Brazil for the summer, he posted on Twitter to express his thanks. It made me feel more connected to him even though we haven’t seen each other in about 2 years.

Thanks for the moral support half way across the world @r_hipster !!!

— Aaron (@AaronJShehan) July 20, 2017

Not only does social media bring individuals together, it has the power to bring the entire world together.  “Hashtag Unity” as this Huffington Post article calls it, provides us with the opportunity to express support for a cause and rally with others to bring about change. Take the #IceBucketChallenge for example. People were dumping ice cold buckets of water on their heads all around the globe for a great cause. Filming your own video and including the hashtag connected you to a larger community. You were no longer an individual contributing to a cause, you were an individual becoming a part of a larger movement. The movement, while fun and comical, actually caused real change as reported on in the tweet below.

Incredibly successful #IceBucketChallenge fundraising movement's getting amazing buzz for research accomplishments https://t.co/svbLp7dU4T

— stephanie forman (@stephaniefnyc) July 27, 2016

So my answer to the promt is, YES! Social media is bringing the world closer together, and it’s awesome! From our personal relationships to our personal values, social media allows us to speak out, speak up and speak with those we know and those we don’t all around the globe. Now that’s some #unity!