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.