Kevin Bradley
Staff Writer
There can be no question that the advent of social media created a powerful force in the world, capable of inciting great change as well as linking us all together in a digital web.
Many people lambast this, citing it as decay in our culture where we care more about what we do online than in real life. They lament the days when “people would just talk to each other” rather than stay on their phones all day. While no system is perfect, I firmly believe that this wonderful online community has done far more good in the world than bad.
First, the “problem” of people not talking to each other seems to be completely blown out of proportion. Yes, smartphones can take up more of our attention than they should, but it’s hardly a replacement for conversation. Want to know why I think this? Because people still talk to each other!
Going online to talk to people doesn’t fulfill the same functions as conversing person to person in the flesh. No, people see us on our phones and make the assumption that we’re zombies who would rather tweet about hanging with friends than actually hang with friends, which is more than a little insulting honestly.
Social media is also responsible for great amounts of political and social change not just in America, but the entire world. People are able to post videos depicting horrible acts of police brutality and racial intolerance, problems we had always known existed but rarely ever saw. In Egypt, people used social media to share images depicting the cruelty of the then-current government, leading to a massive political uprising for the people’s rights. Now, we can bring these issues to light and force ourselves to deal with injustice that has gone on far too long.
Crime aside, social media outlets like Twitter have become the fastest way to stay up to date on news around the globe as it’s happening, keeping us constantly updated on situations as they develop. It’s changing the way we receive information, which is an amazing thought considering how stagnant it’s been for the last few decades.
The biggest opposition seems to be the fear of change. This new form of interaction between people on such a massive scale has never been seen before in human history, so people are often unsure of how to react. But with all the good social media has done, maybe it’s time we let down our guard and walk into the future unafraid.
bradlekp14@bonaventure.edu
