Social Media and its positive effect on society
Uploaded by yours_truly96 on Oct 23, 2017
12/4/16
Social Media
(introduction) Out of all Internet based technologies, none have had the same positive impact on everyday communication as social media. Social Media is defined by Encyclopedia Britannica as ,"technologies, platforms, and services that enable individuals to engage in communication from one-to-one, one-to-many, and many-to-many."(Media Convergence) I believe, social media is the fifth media revolution in human history. The first revolution was the printing press, then, telegraph/telephone, motion camera, radio/television, and now social media. Today, social media is in a position to replace all other communication technologies and facilitate positive relationships.
(introduction) Since the advent of the first digital machine "ENIAC" in 1946, innovation in the field of digital technology has been unparalleled to any other innovation in human history. (Da Cruz) The continuous development of telecommunications led to the development of the Internet. The Internet provides the perfect infrastructure for easy accessible, and inexpensive tools to communicate. Some examples of these tools are; emailing, instant messaging, blogging, and advertising. The Internet is the ultimate communication tool for society.
(Narration) With the advent of the modern smart-phone, the Internet has evolved into a new pocket-sized format that provides seamless and constant communication. Due to its omnipresence, social media has evolved from emails to modern websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. As with any new tool, this technology is still evolving. It is difficult to determine the long term impact of modern social media upon society. As I reflect upon the evolution of social media, I am amazed at the transition over the years. During a talk at the TED@state conference, Clay Shirky explains that previous technologies, though revolutionary, offer only one kind of communication. For example, the television, radio, and the printing press changed the conversation between an individual and the masses. Today, social media acts as all types of communication. In Shirky’s own words, “For the first time, media is natively good at supporting [all] kinds of conversations.”(Shirky) Social media can serve the purpose of multiple communication technologies. For example, Facebook is a telephone and a radio. Twitter is a newspaper and it functions as a printing press. Social Media has created a realm where all consumers are able to create news without the fear of censorship or need for capital.
(Cliam1) In totalitarian countries, media not controlled by the state is considered a threat. Facebook calls the countries that censor...