I entered the social media world in high school. MySpace had recently launched, and it was the "it thing" to do. My page was frequently updated with status messages, a hit single and photos of my friends and me. Once I entered college, Facebook was the new MySpace. I logged on numerous times a day, checking my feed often. I signed up for Twitter about a year ago, and just like my addiction with MySpace and Facebook, I tweet often. Today, I joined Foursquare, and I really hope this doesn't take over my life as well.
I said all of that to say, "What did humans do before social media entered our lives?" Did we simply jot our thoughts in a journal, meet up with our friends to discuss our day, or simply keep all our thoughts to ourselves? I personally cannot remember. Social media has really transformed the world. People now have the ability to display their opinions and thoughts for the world to see. I am still trying to figure out if this is a good or bad thing.
Have you ever thought about going back to the days that consisted of calling your friends and not tweeting them? Or how about the days when creating a scrapbook was cool and not uploading your latest pictures in a Facebook album? What if the norm was to still have a magazine or newspaper subscription and not be able to read your favorite blogs?
Reverting back to those tasks can be done, but is it actually worth it? Social media plays a big part in today's world, and not having a presence on the Web could probably hinder you.
Hi Kayla,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post on social media. Your question about a consideration of going back to the days of calling friends instead of tweeting them would be a great question on a social media survey.
For some reason, I am not so crazy about using social media around the clock. My facebook page usually suffers, and I only tweet for business purposes. Maybe I am just a bit old-school when it comes down to social media.
Hey Kayla:
ReplyDeleteIt is funny how time repeats itself. By me being older, Blackplanet.com was the "it" thing during my high school years. I just realized that it was my first social media experience. Wow, I am getting old.
I ask my friends all the time what is going to be the next big thing. Social media is getting so intense and it is really hard to focus on other things. I honestly say that I have checked Facebook about three times while writing this response.
You have introduce me to something new. I hope it does not capture me like the other sites.
Hi Kayla,
ReplyDeleteI remember when Myspace made its debut, I was in high school. I was one of the last people to create a page. Social Media then was purely for fun. I was still growing up and I would interact with my friends by posting the cool cartoon graphics.
Social media now has evolved into a way of life. People are still using it in order to stay connected, but also for business purposes as well. I think it's incredible that millions of people from all over the world can share through social media. Although social media isn't as personal as traditional communication, it is amazing how far messages can reach.