What’s so Different?
“Unlike most compulsions, teens are not less social when they engage deeply with social media. On the contrary, their participation in social media is typically highly social.”- Dana Boyd, it’s Complicated
Rough translation: No duh. Social media is a platform on which to be social.
This isn’t new. Teens have always found a way to communicate. Whether it was sending letters to stay updated, staying up all night on the landline or constant alerts on beepers, there was always an element of communication outside the face to face. The medium has just evolved and expanded. Some complaints I often hear are that teens use social media too much and that we end up ignoring others.
This isn’t new. People always found ways to ignore eachother. Whenever someone posts those stupid pictures of millenials on their phones ignoring each other I always think back to this cartoon. It was a drawing of a bunch of young people on their phones and in the next panel was a bunch of older people on a bus with their noses buried deep into newspapers. Humans will always find ways to defer their attention. It’s just a necessity. Interacting with humans in a face to face setting all the time gets really tiring. Even as an extrovert who loves people, if I was never on my phone and had to fill every awkward small talk situation with fabricated bullshit I would literally go insane. I fully admit that I use my phone to distract myself and to create a barrier in unwanted social situations.
This is just a new meduim. I am absolutely enammored by the amazingness of the technology that we have at our disposal. I just don’t understand how people can detest something so amazing. I know there are downsides to these technical advances, like constant surveillance and tracking my companies. Those things a reality and a very creepy one but they do not discount the astounding magical boxes we carry around that let us communicate with people all over the world. Social Media changed the world by giving you the ability to change the world. Social media is one of the best inventions of the 21st century. If you have the choice to take advantage of this great opportunity, why wouldn’t you?
