Social Media: Fad or Revolution?

This video presents alarming statistics about social media. It proved what was already pretty apparent: social media is deeply ingrained in every person's life and is probably not going away any time soon. I thought that the first interesting point it made was that we don't search for the news anymore, it finds us. While I have become accustomed to finding out about stars' deaths and sports teams' wins via Twitter and Facebook, it never really occurred to me that this would have been considered unusual in the past.

I also thought that it was crazy how it took radio 38 years to reach 50 million users, TV 13, Internet four, and the iPod three, yet somehow only 200 million users signed onto Facebook in under a year. Facebook could now become the world's third largest country. I feel as though these facts alone proves how social media is not a passing trend.

This video did a really good job of presenting unknown facts in an interesting way in order to prove its point.

A Modern Family

My family has not been exempt from the influences of social media. Like hundreds of millions of others worldwide, each of us logs in nearly everyday. What I find most interesting, though, is the different ways in which we utilize the networking sites. From what I have observed since starting my blog, I have come to believe that the way my family uses social networking can serve as a microcosm for the patterns of most users.

First, there is my brother. He is a 10 year old boy with an overwhelming interest in video games. He does not have a Facebook, however, because I think that he is a little too young for that. Him and his friends do use other forms of social networking, however, such as video games online and through the x-box, and forums to talk even more about their video games. By the way this use of social media is utilized by all of his friends, I have come to believe that most 10 year old boys with access to the Internet use it this way: to have constant contact about the things that are important to them, or just to explore the Internet, but not really to deepen friendships. Also, since my brother has grown up with easy access to these technological advances more than any other generation, he heavily relies on it for after school activity.

My age group, on the other-hand, is very well acquainted with Facebook and other social networking sites. From what I can see online, and through my own personal use, I have noticed that people in high school generally use it to share things about their own lives: pictures, relationships, thoughts, etc. While we use it to keep in contact with long distance friends, that is not its sole purpose. We also use it as a way to talk to people we could just as easily go see in person. Also, we are friends with people who we probably wouldn't call friends in real life. Different from my brother's generation, though, is that we also know how to have other types of fun and socialization. Because we were not so heavily dependent on it as children, we don't have trouble going without it for a period of time if necessary.

My dad and my mom use Facebook differently. My mom uses it mostly for business: she is a real estate agent, and often posts pictures of the houses she is selling or has sold. She rarely logs on or comments for purposes other than to promote her business (although even if she wanted to, she has no idea how to use it). My dad, on the other hand, uses it solely for the purpose of keeping in contact with old friends. Even if a peer from high school adds him on Facebook, he will not accept unless he actually wants to talk to them and they liked one another in the past. I think that, though the roles of my parents may change for other situations, this is generally the way social media works for adults. They either use it for business or for maintaining real friendships.

Saving Face(book)

Social media is becoming an integral part of today's society, and its widespread affects are already palpable. Admittedly, it was unavoidable that these cyber networks would be so influential: 845 million people use Facebook alone. Add this to the fact that the website offers a multitude of ways to meet new people and express your relationship status, and it inevitably turns into the perfect place to meet your next potential partner. According to How Social Media Affects Relationships, the  many societal changes to dating include, but are not limited to: the possibility of over-analyzing your significant other's online activity, obsessing over your exes new life post-you, facing the embarrassment of a public break up, and inappropriately sharing too much information. The average relationship initiated online lasts about 18.5 months, while meeting the "old fashioned way" leads to a relationship that will probably last over two times longer (to counteract this alarming statistic, guidebooks are even being written to help people navigate the evidently treacherous realm of cyber space). And, pathetically, 21% of people lack the dignity to break up with someone in person and now believe it is socially acceptable to do so online. Lawyers, picking up on this new trend, are quick to use social media as a defense tactic in divorce cases.

I found this article interesting because it shows all of the unintended, and often times unnoticed side effects of Facebook. People are quick to "like" the photo of someone whom they find attractive, and maybe gain the artificial confidence to even send them a message because they are behind a computer screen, but obviously the relationships which form over these networks are synthetic and ultimately end badly (for the most part). Of course, there are exceptions to every rule so with that I ask: What do you think? Do you believe that sincere bonds can be formed over the Internet, or are you, too, skeptical of Facebook's practicality as a platform for viable relationships?

Why Social Media?

For this semester in Sociology, I have decided to research the impact that social media has had on society and the way we are responding to it. I realized that this would be an interesting topic when, during class, Mrs. Wren gave the example topic of how most people are not actually friends with their "Facebook friends." This made me wonder how the meaning of the term "friend" may be evolving. This topic is very relevant, as most people with access to the Internet are now immersed in social media and no one is unaffected by it. The research of social media's impacts is current and continuous, and directly affects me. I hope that through this blog, I can learn about the impact various social media websites are having on every day relationships, their pros and cons, the way specific generations are being uniquely affected by it, and what changes to society it may lead to in the future.