Social Media: An Ever-Changing Platform for Change

Social media is an ever-growing platform for people around the world to connect, interact, and share ideas with one another. It has become so large that if you're not involved in any kind of social media, some people may look at you as a little weird or even distanced from society. It has become something far beyond what it was when it came into existence. Social media has even changed drastically since I have become a part of it a mere 8 years ago. At the age of 12, I took my first step into the world of social media. During this time, AIM & Myspace were all the rage. Oh, the days of Myspace layouts and AIM away messages. I wish I could go back there on some days. Social media at that time did not have as much of a civic duty as it does today. When I was 12 almost 10 years ago now, social media was used solely for fun. You over-edited selfies taken on your digital camera for likes and comments, you hoped you could become friends with someone who was “Myspace Famous”, and found your new favorite band in the depths of the Internet. While social media today can be intrusive, cause fights between friends over a generalized tweet and so on, I would much rather take today’s social media. Social media 10 years ago had yet to become a marketing tool, it wasn’t a way to state your political views, and it certainly wasn’t a way to band together in a group of people’s time of need. In recent years, social media has become all of these things and then some. Companies have begun to use social media as a way to further their reach into our society. People use social media to share their opinions to people all over the world, in ways that wouldn’t have been possible 10-15 years ago. Social media, especially in the past 5 years or so, have begun to use it to help a cause. An example of how social media was used in a positive light was in regards to the recent Flint, Michigan water crisis. On Twitter, many of the musicians and bands that I enjoy listening to are posting about this issue and how we, as well as them, are able to help. Currently, artists such as local band Pentimento and Craig Owens are signing onto a music compilation to help raise money for this cause. If these artists didn’t give me enough of a reason to look up to them with their music, the social activism and awareness is another. In the future, social media will continue to be a driving force of change throughout the world. People will be able to band together to help a cause they hold near and dear even more than they already have. Besides that, there are many other aspects of social media that will continue to evolve. For example, I think you will be able to further customize what you see on your social media, eventually allowing yourself to only see and be involved in the things you really do care about. Social media as a whole is an ever-advancing monster, driving both disaster and change, but is a thing that I am so thankful for in my life.