What is social media to you?
Social media can be refreshing, relaxing, and enjoyable. At the same time, it can lead to stress, insecurities, and most of all annoyances. There have been times when I have felt either way about social media. To craft a framework for discussion, I will use Dr. Boyd and Ellison from the UC — Berkeley’s definition of what constitutes a social networking site — Web based services that allow individuals to construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system (Boyd and Ellison page 211). I personally have appreciated the functionality of social networking sites to articulate and traverse my list of connections, but for many this can be double-edged. Those who compare their lists to that of others, or who become overly-fixated on their public profile often find that social media can be a big stress factor in their lives.
Social media should play the role of a tool for connection in Western culture, one that can bridge online and offline relations. Connection used here is a broad term which can include networking, gossiping, and more. Online and offline relations are very different, and social networking sites have bridged these relations through the term “friends”. Friends indicate a connection within the sites bounded system. Online friends to me have different connotations than offline friends.
The aspect of social media that I am most interested in is networking. This is the most professional and constructive use of social media, and the best way I have found my time can best be spent through social networking sites. For the sake of networking, more people must continue to utilize and implement social media into professional zones. I hope future social networks and social network research addresses the issue of getting more ethnically diverse populations, including those people from outside of the U.S., on social media.
Day in and day out, social media continues to encroach into our daily lives. For social network sites to continue to serve us like Boyd defines it, and not the other way around it’s important to identify a purpose in using it. For me, identifying whether I am logging on for personal, professional, or academic class-related purposes has allowed me to make the easy decision to keep social media relevant in my everyday life as a networking tool.
Works Cited
Boyd, Danah M., and Nicole B. Ellison. “Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship.” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, vol. 13, no. 1, 2007, pp. 210–230., doi:10.1111/j.1083–6101.2007.00393.x.
FGC. “Annoyed Upset Woman in Glasses Looking at Her Smart Phone with Frustration While Walking on a Street on an Autumn Day.” Shutterstock, 0AD, www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiU39rswJznAhWhl-AKHfzhC_EQjRx6BAgBEAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.shutterstock.com%2Fsearch%2Fannoyed&psig=AOvVaw2DA3HFdNBlCfgYFmSXNHWG&ust=1579964525875419.
