Look around an airport terminal, doctors office waiting room, or scarier yet, the fellow drivers on the highway and you’ll see people on their mobile devices. Teens today don’t even know what it’s like to live in a world without social media. From a perspective of our community and sociological perspective, our world is breaking down. However, from a digital perspective, social media is not all that bad. We can still learn a few things about community from social media; those lessons just look different than they did years ago.
Lessons We Can Learn About Community From Social Media:
- The old phrase of “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all” still applies. Your words still matter, and perhaps even more so! When you tweet or post something, it can go viral in a matter of seconds and it can be very difficult to take those words back once they are out in the Internet.
- Yes, feelings can be hurt on social media. Just look at cyber-bullying. As a piggyback thought to #1, your words matter and they can hurt a lot if you want them to. Social media means that someone is still seeing those comments, even it it’s through another screen.
- Your words have the power to do great things. Just look at some of the kickstarter campaigns and awareness campaigns about nonprofits and other humanitarian work! Just as social media has the power to spread a bad message quickly, it has the power to spread good messages quickly as well!
- Distance isn’t quite so far. With posts, tweets, messages, photos, videos, and more, you can now stay in contact with people from all over the world if you want to. Digital media has allowed us to get to know details about people and relatives that we previously would have never known.
- Digital media allows us to be encouraging and grateful. Some people have a hard time verbally expressing their feelings. However, they can give a shout out to the folks that helped them move, or for a thoughtful gift they received. We can build up the people in our lives that mean a lot in a very simple way.
- Social media and other digital tools allow us to have common ground with people. Between forums, Facebook pages, groups, and other platforms, we can see that the passions and frustrations we have, are ones that others have as well.
- Reminders of important dates. I just have to thank Facebook and LinkedIn for reminding me of my contact’s birthdays. It is a lifesaver!
Yes, the social landscape has changed. Some argue it is for the worse , but in many ways, it has improved my communication. I’ve also allowed myself to analyze how I use social media and how it has affected my relationships. That scrutiny allows me to be more transparent and present in my relationships both virtual and in person! Either way you look at social media, you will see that it has changed our world and it isn’t going anywhere. Digital relationships, of a variety of sorts, are here to stay!