Social Media change

 Social media has had a huge impact on communication and will continue to change the way people communicate in the future. There is a much quicker spread of information not only domestically but also globally. Globalization would not be possible without the use of the world wide web or the various social media platforms available. Let us consider the news surrounding ISIS, or from a domestic standpoint, the Ferguson trial. Twitter feeds blew up during this period with hastags talking about the news surrounding these very important events. I very rarely watch TV or the news so I get the majority of my information from networking sites. I learned everything about ISIS and Ferguson strictly from my social media sites. The news articles that appear on Facebook and Twitter are quick and to the point which is exactly what all college students need. Not only does news spread faster across the world because space and time aren't an issue, but now news is available right at your fingertips. You can "Google" anything you want now-a-days and get the answers you are looking for in a matter of minutes. I would say social media has made every day life more convenient. You can meet up with old acquaintances via social media or even collaborate with people and groups using Facebook.
 Though there are many positives that come from increasing amounts of social media sites, there are also many negatives. People are having a much harder time with face to face or voice to voice communication. We would rather send an email or text message to someone then call them on the phone or meet up with them in person. Social cues and communication skills are dwindling just from the lack of practice. People (including myself) are also becoming less formal with how we communicate. When i was growing up i had a "Pen Pal" that i would write letters to and i really enjoyed it. Now-a-days people just communicate on social media platforms. Call me old fashion but i would rather go back to a time when things were a little bit more formal. People built stronger connections with others because they had to see them in person if they wanted to talk to them. Also, our use of library books has significantly decreased. No one wants to spend hours looking for a certain book when you could type it into the internet and get a quick answer. It is a sad thing to think about that books will slowly start to disappear even more. There are both up sides and down sides to social media becoming such an integral part of our lives but i think no matter what, social media will only keep expanding and we will become even more dependent on it.