The
question, "Is social media really social?" is quite interesting.
Merriam Webster dictionary defines social as follows:
1so·cial
adjective \ˈsō-shəl\
: relating to or involving
activities in which people spend time talking to each other or doing enjoyable
things with each other
: liking to be with and talk to
people : happy to be with people
: of or
relating to people or society in general
They will need to update that
definition as social in their definition meant sociable in presence. To me, the
term social media is a medium to facilitate communication and sharing of
information. Indeed, we are having less and less conversations as the use
and prevalence of social media continues. I am certainly guilty of that. On
occasion, my daughter or husband have had to compete for my attention as I
peruse Facebook or respond to text messages. I have had to consciously remind
myself that this is but entertainment which can cause distraction from
important issues at hand. That being said, I think social media serves an
important function in our day to day lives because it makes communication
"fun" and "interesting". Without it, I would not know what
is happening with many of my friends and family. I learn interesting tips and
facts, get news and important information quickly and instantaneously. However,
I am also exposed to nudity, inflammatory and inappropriate information as well.
Social media use and texting
has given many a voice and audience that they would not have had in person.
People can "hide" behind who they really are and communicate
freely. Messages allow people the ability to communicate in silence.
Conversations call for audio. As we learned earlier, moods and emotions
are expressed without the need for bodily cues. It has broadened the number of
people I can communicate with simultaneously. Before that, one on one
conversations would likely occur. I think that overall this is good as it
represents progress. Progress usually represent some trade off of current
practices. However, as with press releases, there will be some relevancy to
having conversations instead of messages.