How social is social media ?

There was a time in our lives that going for a party or hanging out with friends actually involved having fun, exchanging meaningful information or simply just hanging out. In those days, making new friends actually involved speaking to someone about a topic or idea and being able to understand if you need the person in your life as a friend. In those days, you would need to pick up the phone to call a friend just to check up on them and from the tone of the person's voice you would know if he/she was okay. In those days, children were engaged in learning and developmental activities which included writing on a chalk board or playing fun games such as Hide and Seek with other children in their age group. Do you remember?

Beautiful Social Media Heart Collage by Kathleen Donovan on Flickr.com

According to Wikipedia, "Social media is the interaction among people in which they create, share or exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks". 

Some of us spend the entire day behind the laptop only to wonder where time went. Many of us find it difficult to have meaningful face to face conversations. Some folks are very interesting and inspiring on Facebook or Twitter but are the opposite of their online persona when you actually meet them. Can you still look a friend or stranger in the eye when speaking to him or her without flinching. I came across this video titled 'Look Up' - A spoken word film for an online generation written, performed & directed by Gary Turk. The message of the video is very clear. It talks about the need to drop that smart phone and look up. Don't let your life pass you by. It is a very inspiring video and it was the stimulus I required for this post. Ironically, the video has been viewed by over 27 million people on Youtube and I hear that it has also gone viral on Twitter but I am not going there....lol.

Facebook Connection Social Network Media by Simon on Pixabay.com

The effect of the surge in the use of social media platforms can be construed as both beneficial or detrimental to personal interests. However, the degree of satisfaction or detriment perceived from social media should be self assessed. Please do not assume that I am against social media. I am not a hypocrite. Without social media, I would't dream of blogging neither would you be reading this post at your convenience. I am of the school of thought that everything should be used in moderation.

This is an advanced age and social media helps one to become aware of activities happening worldwide without actually leaving the four walls of your room or office. For instance, the ongoing case of the teenage girls kidnapped in Chibok, Borno state, Nigeria by Boko Haram. The use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram has helped spread the word especially the #Bringbackourgirls campaign. The united voices of concerned Nigerians are being heard on a global perspective through these platforms and hopefully these girls would be found and rescued soon. We all have these girls in our prayers. It just occurred to me that Boko Haram claims to be against Western education or Westernisation but how come the leader records videos to send out the group's messages? I know that the first video tape recorder was invented by Charles Paulson Ginsburg (a Westerner). In addition, how come these so called videos are created in a form that is compatible with Youtube and other social media platforms?

To be continued.

Photo Credits

Kathleen Donovan created the beautiful Social Media Heart Collage Flickr.com
Simon on Pixabay.com