Social Media Isn’t Over
Twitter IS in chaos. Facebook IS facing challenges. Blogs ARE shuffling along. Instagram ISN’T the answer we all were looking for. AND social media is okay.
I’m kind of done with articles predicting the end of X platform or the concept of Y social media. That all-or-nothing mentality: Facebook has record users, or Facebook is done. Either Twitter is bringing us all together around a moment in history, or Twitter is the most dividing cesspool on the planet.
Social media is what users make it become, and we all tend to have a very different experience on the same platform based on which accounts we follow. While some tools are more protective of others, trying to ensure that users have a positive experience, all tools have the potential to break down barriers, expose us to positive ideas, and expand our world precisely what the Internet promised at its birth.
Social media isn’t dead any more than television is dead, books are dead, or movies are dead. It’s evolving. And while it can be dangerous — I think the last few weeks of Twitter have shown the potential for social media to wreak havoc — I also believe that to write, “We cannot make social media good, because it is fundamentally bad, deep in its very structure. All we can do is hope that it withers away, and play our small part in helping abandon it” says more about the writer and their privilege.
I am so glad the Internet exists. I’m happy I get to converse with people I would have never met otherwise. I’m glad I get to hear your point of view because it helps me understand mine. And I’m just really grateful that I can form connections with others and bypass many of life’s limits by getting to form those connections online.
3 comments
I couldn’t agree more with everything you’ve said here, Melissa. For someone like me, Facebook is an easy way to keep in touch with family, friends, and life on multiple continents; Twitter is way to hear reports from parts of the world that are ignored or editorialized by our media. I really liked this article by my colleague, Sunny Singh. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/twitter-blue-ticks-elon-musk-white-people-leaving/
I hope that social media will evolve into something that promotes connection, kindness, and collaboration. I don’t think it will – but I do think it is very much alive and here to stay.
Maybe you are right – “Social media is what users make it become…”. I find LinkedIn useful, but everything else… not so much.
Facebook is aggravating (and scrolling through someone’s recent posts and photos creates an illusion of connection but leaves me dissatisfied).
I don’t have a Twitter account but occasionally check my kids’ school news on twitter (sometimes fun but not super useful). I’ve never tried Instagram.
I love blogs (but I wouldn’t lump them with the rest of social media) – I would love it my friends and family had blogs that I could follow…. I get a ton enjoyment out of blogs… exposure to other people’s ideas, a chance to learn, and yes, a feeling of connection – when I am actively typing a comment :). Also, with blogs, I feel like I am in control – I am the one typing in the url, I am the one selecting what I want to read and who I want to get to know – not some algorithm throwing tidbits of random images, videos, and blurps my way.
Not sure what is says about me….
Good points, Mel! So much depends on who you follow and what parameters you set on your accounts and how you use it. I have a Twitter account (FB & IG too), but my settings are very locked down, and I only have a handful of followers. I very rarely tweet anything original or comment, I just like and retweet, and when I encounter too many awful comments on the posts I’m reading, I move on! There’s a lot of crap on Twitter, but a lot of wit and humour too — and some good information as well.
Everyone talks about blogging as a thing of the past, and yet here we are… I’ll admit it’s not quite like it was when I started out, but hey, we’re still here, still writing, still connecting… it is what you make of it!