While researching what classes to take back in August for my first semester in this program, I have to admit, I was hesitant to take a class on Social Media. What possibly could I learn? I have spent so much of my time on Blogger, on Twitter, on Facebook, on Tumblr, etc. I am, by no means, an expert, but I felt like I was a social media pro going into this class. Little did I know, I would learn so much.
Taking this class made me approach and question social media in an entirely new way: What is it exactly that I am getting by utilizing all of these social media tools? Why do I invest so much of my time using these tools? Is it worth it? It truly made me analyze myself and my behavior, and the only logical answer I could come up with to explain my excessive usage of social media tools was connectivity. Go figure.
According to freedictionary.com connectivity is defined as:
- The quality or condition of being connected or connective.
- The ability to make and maintain a connection between two or more points in a telecommunications system.
This brings me to William Powers' Hamlet's Blackberry. How is it that I am alone, but still feel connected to people? And I don't mean an emotional or spiritual connection. If these tools didn't exist, would I feel lonely when alone? Probably not, but you get what I'm saying. Hamlet's Blackberry laments that technology is pulling us away from real life by our overwhelming need to be connected all the time. Powers suggests that such alone time should be used for reflection, a time to smell the roses, a time to enjoy life. Put it down and walk away. Now, I definitely need to put my Blackberry down and walk away, but I can also argue that there have been countless times I have been alone with my Blackberry and have had revelations. Revelations that have allowed me to enjoy life to an even greater extent. My Blackberry practically houses a virtual diary within the Notes application -- there you can find to do lists, recipes, and some of my deepest thoughts -- and even my personal statement that I wrote for my application for admittance into this program. It's a healthy relationship. Well, kind of, sort of...
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Although I feel like I have become a slave to technology and social media, it truly has--as cheesy as this sounds--helped me to discover a layer of myself I didn't know three-four years ago. And that's what I think is good and bad about social media.
I certainly haven't discovered who I am through Facebook, but I have cringed at past outfits. Seriously, what was I thinking? However, Facebook has allowed me to connect to my social world outside of my immediate friends. Frankly, something that wouldn't be possible without it because I wouldn't put in the effort. Oddly enough, Facebook has also moved me to protect those relationships and friendships that I hold dear to me by not discussing or displaying every little detail about them including our status. I find it rather strange that I am more scared of Facebook than Google. Facebook has turned me into an intensely private person when it comes to my real life. Of course I fell into the trap, as everyone has, and have shared my life on Facebook through pictures and words, but for the most part, those days are long gone. I can't tell you how many times I deactivated my account to later return. I'm currently on. Three weeks from now? We'll see.
My blog poor & fly helped me channel one of my greatest passions-fashion, and the other allows me to share photography, music and quotes, also things I am extremely passionate about. To me, this is a good thing, because these are the things I am passionate about and none of them causes harm to anyone, not even myself. Except for maybe sore eyes.
Then I think about the people who take advantage of social media and abuse the tools. Last week's lesson was frightful; it showed me that we are all passionate about things, but not everyone is passionate about quotes and fashion and music. Some are passionate about harming and killing others. That was painful to learn. I remember Kate whispered to me: "What if Jesus had a YouTube feed?" Clearly, social media has done some amazing things, but it has also turned some incredibly dangerous people into easily accessible and manipulative forces. Very scary, but therein lies the power of social media -- it is readily available to anyone who wishes to use the tools.
I think to determine if social media does more harm than good is like asking if people do more harm than good? After all, we are the operators of these tools. In my opinion the good outweighs the bad. Here's the way I see it: there will always be people who violate morality, take advantage of things and people, break the law and want to cause harm to others; that is why we have a judicial system and prisons. But I'd like to think, and maybe this is a naive thought, that most people are good at heart and have pure intentions in life, especially when using social media tools.
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Life isn't meant to be lived in isolation; it truly fascinates me how social media has caused a social revolution -- the name of this blog, if you haven't noticed. Never before have we ever been so connected to people whether they're right next door or in Japan. Whether or not it is a true connection is another story, but for the sake of this class and final blog post, it is still a connection. Never before have we had so much information at our disposal. Social media has allowed so many of us to gain so much knowledge about people, things, governments, places, etc. It has minimized the time we spend searching for things and maximizes the time we spend connecting -- or attempting to connect -- to others.
In an ever increasingly social world, I don't see the social media "fad" fading away any time soon. It is intensifying at a pace that is difficult to keep up with and it is almost hard to believe that there was a time when these tools didn't exist.
I never approached social media as more than just a user--as a bargainer--but I was really surprised to learn how much depth this sphere had. Exploring social media has been adventurous, scary and even self-revealing. I appreciate the lessons that this class has taught me and I value the challenges that came along with learning about social media and the people behind it -- all of us. We are all a part of this social revolution.
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