The Power and Responsibility of Social Media

    

    Social media has evolved over the years from when it first became popular in the early 2000's. What once was a simple way to communicate and keep in touch with friends or loved ones has quickly turned into a source of power and validation. More so now than ever, it is important to understand the role that social media plays in a person's life and in society, and to understand the responsibility that comes with being an active social media user in today's modern age.

    

    Since first using social media, it has changed remarkably! Not only are there more options of social media like Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter, to name a few, but nowadays, it is used more for validation than communication purposes. Most people post online looking for reassurance and acceptance based on looks, beliefs, and ideas. This is only encouraged with the use of "like," "share," and "comment" functions. It has become highly intrusive in a person's everyday life; barely anyone nowadays goes through their daily routine without checking their social media whenever they can. And what they see impacts what they think about, whether it's about themselves or in general. 

    

   Despite how critical that sounds, social media also has some redeeming qualities to it. It has become an outlet for news delivery. Although not a news outlet itself, most people claim that they get their news from their social media. Social media also allows people to know what is going on on the other side of the world in real time of something happening, like, for instance, the bushfires in Australia earlier this year. With the fires, the whole world knew what was happening and was able to band together to help raise money and volunteer to help the cause.

    This is a great deal of power for anyone considering how dangerous it could be to spread false information to a mass quantity of people at once. With using social media, there comes a responsibility of watching what is said. Words are impactful, especially with the concept of "keyboard courage" where people feel confident in saying hurtful things because they aren't face-to-face with someone. A user needs to be media literate, know what they are sharing, liking, and saying, because it could have a bigger impact on the viewer than they think.

    Although the direction social media has evolved hasn't been all positive, the movements happening in society today, like BLM, are hopeful signs that social media might go back to what it was originally intended for--communicating. And therefore, society might change as well, and become accepting and nonjudgemental. It's important for social media to become a source for sharing and encouraging positive change, especially with how technologically-revolved the world is and will continue to become.

    Social media is powerful, it's an outlet for positive change in the world. It allows information to be shared instantly, and should be used that way. How social media is used now, for validation, is toxic and should not be encouraged.