Pop Culture Essay

Nowadays social media is popular, and almost every person uses it. According to statistics the percentage of 18-24 years old who already use social media is 98% (Social Statistics) (2). Even though social media like Facebook or Twitter is very helpful, and is used by every country, but some people argue that it is very unhelpful and even more these people say that social media corrupts society and corrupts values. In this essay I am going to explain why social media is helpful. Social media help people to stay connected with each other; people become informed, and social media is good since it reinvented social activism.

According to an article published by The Economist “Those who have resisted the urge to join Facebook will surely feel vindicated when they read the latest research. A study just published by the Public Library of Science, conducted by Ethan Kross of the University of Michigan and Philippe Verduyn of Leuven University in Belgium, has shown that the more someone uses Facebook, the less satisfied he is with life”. Moreover, “Past investigations have found that using Facebook is associated with jealousy, social tension, isolation and depression. But these studies have all been ‘cross-sectional’—in other words, snapshots in time. As such, they risk confusing correlation with causation: perhaps those who spend more time on social media are more prone to negative emotions in the first place. The study conducted by Dr Kross and Verduyn is the first to follow Facebook users for an extended period, to track how their emotions change.

But if you see from another perspective there is nothing perfect in the world. Scientists make research and statistics about people, but we all know that “unhappy” isn’t just about one factor. People unsatisfied with their lives or the way they live is for many reasons. Who knows that thanks to social networks some people opened their eyes and saw life different from before? As a person in favor of social networks my point is that these networks marked a new phase in the world. People are more connected to each other and obviously with all these new instruments not everyone can be happy. As an illustration, I am a Facebook user. I feel great being part of social networks since I stay close to my family, friends, and relatives even living in other continent. As I said before I cannot deny that problems exist, and there are people in the world being unhappy because social networks, but nothing in the world is perfect. Imagine the world without social networks; everything in the world changes and transform, and people have to become part of it, moreover get used to it. The big change from the 20^th century is all about technology; people are connected with each other more than ever before. New instruments were created for the world’s improvement, and social networks are part of these instruments.

George W. Hunt, a famous blogger, posted in his blog that Facebook corrupt our society (1). He argues that since Facebook there are no privacy at all; moreover, he claims that every word posted in this social media is stored. And of course someday that information could be used against him and everyone who using Facebook. Moreover, George W. Hunt says that this network is very dangerous, and it is leaded by powerful institutions which don’t care about human’s rights. These people want humans under their complete and constant control through Facebook.

According to this view, social networks corrupts our society because there are no privacy, furthermore, people should know how far go with social networks. Users have to set limits on how much information they put on them. Networks are just tools of innovation, change, etc. People are agent of corruption. If we talk about morality we can see that even religious groups have joined social networks, because they have accepted the fact that communication is changing and everyone has to be in it. For example the Pope joined Twitter. Pope Francis gives messages through Twitter.

It’s needless to say that social networks help people to stay connected with each other. In almost every country people use social network. Thanks to these networks people not just learned what globalization means, moreover people is part of globalization. These social networks help citizens to connect with each other in real time. Back in time people who traveled had to wait days to call, and tell their family that they are okay; maybe some people didn’t know about their families in a long period of time, but now we can say that thanks to these networks people stay together  in real time. I have seen people in my country who didn’t want to learn how to use a computer, but since they know that they can be in touch with their relatives they decided to join. I can give you thousands of examples to convince you about social networks are very helpful for our society. My own view is that everyone could certainly benefit from social networks. Though I concede that not everyone is happy with these tools of communication, and I still maintain that setting the limits on how much information users put in these sites could be for the enjoy of everyone. For example, old people joining these sites mean for me that it is really helpful. Although some might object that with social networks privacy has been stole; I would reply to these people: limit the information you put in social networks. This issue is very important because social media makes us stay connected with each other.

Besides than religious groups we have seen the magazines, channels, TV programs, everything is in the social networks. Once you have an account on these sites, you are informed. Users are not just informed about other users, but you can see  news, articles, stock market etc. We are in a time when these sites are not just social sites to keep people connected, besides, these sites turned into platforms. Once I enter to my Facebook account, for example, I see everything which I am interested in; I see news from my country, from my city, from my College. Here is a short story: I was about to drive all over to Annandale campus to take my Placement test, so before get out from home I checked my Facebook, and I found out that there was a power outage, yet all activities were suspended. This is a clear example of social networks give us information in real time, and this is why is very helpful.

Social activism is one of the better things which social networks gave us back. Nowadays social activism is reinvented. People are getting organized defending good causes. The spread of information is very easy with these networks. Social networks gave us a social change.

In the article “Small Change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted” by Malcolm Gladwell, a Canadian journalist, states in his article “The world, we are told, is in the midst of a revolution. The new tools of social media have reinvented social activism. With Facebook and Twitter and the like, the traditional relationship between political authority and popular will has been upended, making it easier for the powerless to collaborate, coördinate, and give voice to their concerns. When ten thousand protesters took to the streets in Moldova in the spring of 2009 to protest against their country’s Communist government, the action was dubbed the Twitter Revolution, because of the means by which the demonstrators had been brought together.”

I couldn’t express much better with these lines. The social network is becoming an essential tool nowadays since people are making their voice heard. The connection between governments and citizens had become very close. Citizens are protesting things which aren’t good for them.  This is an important reason why I strongly believe social networks are very helpful in people coming together.

            As a conclusion on one hand I recommend to users of social networks to set limits of how much information they put in these sites, because as George W. Hunt states, all the information on social networks is stored, and that information could be used against users. There are people being unhappy because social networks, but sounds radical to say that social networks is bad for our society when these tools of innovation gave us good things like better communication, and gave us back social activism.

Works Cited

"Facebook Is Bad for You: Get a Life!" The Eonomist. The Economist Magazine, n.d. Web.

Facebook Is Corrupt and Dishonest. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.

"George Washington Hunt: Facebook Is Corrupt and Dishonest." George Washington Hunt:

Gladwell, Malcolm. "Small Change." The New Yorker (2010).

"Social Networking Statistics." Statistic Brain RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

Works Consulted

Atlas, James. "Get a Life? No Thanks. Just Pass the Remote." The New York Times (2013).

Bissell, Tom. Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter. Vintage, 2010.

Crystal, David. "2b or not 2b." The Guardian (2008).

Gladwell, Malcolm. "Small Change." The New Yorker (2010).

Johnson, Steven. "Watching TV Makes You Smarter." The New York Times (2005).

Stevens, Dana. "Thinking Outside the Idiot Box." Slate (2005).

Audience

This essay is for my naysayer, and my classmates, and Professor Denny

Purpose

My purpose is to influence my opinion over my audience.

Role

I am in the role of College student.

Thesis

Why social media is helpful. Social media help people to stay connected with each other; people become informed, and social media is good since it reinvented social activism.