Social media connects people from all over the world. Helps people to keep in touch with those who are hundreds of miles away. It removes all reasons for not keeping in touch. It can be the home of inspiration. You can find inspirations on Pinterest. Memes and motivational quotes on Instagram. Many people have turned into a DIY specialist by watching a YouTube demonstration. We see others doing things on social media sites; we become confident that we can do those things as well.
It also helps to know that, whatever crisis you are going through. Someone else is either going through or has gone through it and has overcome it. In this way, social media can be very beneficial in helping users to cope with whatever comes their way. These are some of the merits of social media sites. A simple means to converse without restriction is interesting, fun and exciting. Online is convenient. Why go shopping when you can do your shopping from the comfort of your own home. Or go a cinema when you can stream the latest releases from your computer?
The simple truth is that social media sites are tools and whether they are good or bad depends on the user. You decide how you use these platforms. What you say and how you say it, what you share and what you keep to yourself, what you like and don’t like; it’s all up to you. One of the many attractions of social media is acceptance to have more friends and likes. When we are online we are competing with everyone for attention.
We live in a society of connectivity. We have become especially dependent on our phones. I can’t count how many times I’ve left my phone at home on charge. No matter where I was going or how late I was, I would feel compelled to go back to get it. We convince ourselves that we have legitimate reasons for needing our phones with us 24/7. What if there’s an emergency we say, what if someone need to reach us? If we are stuck in traffic how will we let our clients know that we are on our way? We have many scenarios to justify our need to have our phones with us. There is a genuine fear of missing something or a Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) which motivates us to be online. Online connections doesn’t equate to face to face or direct communication. Are we really connecting?