I was recently approached by a friend who was complaining about how much they hated social media. They claim that they think the idea of social media is just weird to them and they do not use it as much. I’m sure we all know people like this. I call them social media haters. I am not a social media hater. As a person who is constantly on all social media platforms, I appreciate it more than most people my age. I used to intern at a social media marketing firm (zinteractiveco.com) and am well aware of the effects that social media can have on a person.I guess you can say that this will be a bias post, but if you wish to continue reading this, I hope that you will get a new perspective on social media today.
The people that I know who claim to be social media haters have Facebook and Twitter accounts, but they just don’t use them as much. I have seen numerous statuses on my newsfeed proclaiming “Facebook is so stupid,” or “Social media is ruining our real ability to connect with people.” You think that it ruins our youth. You think that it creates communication barriers instead of fixing the gaps in our communication sphere. Okay, okay, we get it – you don’t like social media. To these SM-Haters, I say, “If you really hate it that much, just delete your account.” However, I am not here to tell SM-Haters what to do, so I will share a letter that I have written to all the social media platforms I am on each and everyday. Hopefully, it’ll give a new perspective to some SM-Haters and encourage them to log back on every once in a while. This is a thank you letter to FB and Twitter.
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Dear Social Media,
I would like to thank you for existing. Without you, my generation would not be able to organize significant social movements that can change our quality of life, have a close-up view of our friends’ lives around the world, or share our ideas with everyone. You allow the cowardly side of me to have enough courage to send a connection request to someone who can change my future. You are not an addiction, but a helpful platform for communication. Thank you for turning my smart phone into the most useful communication device I have ever owned.
Thank you Twitter for always being there at the end of my long day to tell me what everyone in the world is talking about whether it be the #olympics or #justinbieber. Thanks to you, I know about important news and events in the world without having to sit in front of the nightly news for an hour. You have allowed me to conduct my guilty pleasure: stalking celebs and pretending like I know their life. Thank you for showing me links to cool blogs that I would have never seen if I were to mindlessly scroll through WordPress.
Thank you Facebook for connecting me with everyone I know and used to know. I am glad you are there to solve socially awkward family dinners and long lines in public places. You allow me to broadcast my life to relatives and friends living halfway around the world. Thanks to you, I know what my friends have been up to in real time. Thanks to you, my favorite brands have a finally gained a human voice. You have created a quick and easy way for me to talk to everyone in my social circle (and even outside my social circle) without missing a beat.
A million hip-hip-hoorays for social media! Thank you for existing and making this college girl’s life a little bit easier to manage.
Sincerely,
Me.
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I hope this helps you see my point of view and why social media is not something that has made me forget how to talk to others, it’s actually encouraged me to have more conversations and interactions with the world around me. I will always appreciate face-to-face interactions more than digital ones, but in this day and age, I’ll take what I can get. A tweet, status update, or wallpost, I’ll welcome them with open arms. Social media is not a preventing us from having human interactions, it’s actually just allowing us to extend our reach even further.
The Attention Currency 