While social media in general is viewed positively for allowing users to connect with each other all over the world, there does seem to be a general wariness in the media that these sites are becoming too powerful. After all “there is a strong tendency, especially when technologies are new, to view them as causal agents, entering societies as active forces of change that humans have little power to resist” (Baym 24). There is a very active user base amongst the various social media platforms as checking one’s feed has become an almost hourly ritual. With so many people glued to social media it can be argued that people are actually becoming more detached from the world around them as keeping up with what is posted on social media comes to be more of a priority. A great example of this was featured in an episode of Black Mirror where one’s likeability ultimately decided their social standing. While this may sound like a preposterous future society, it is not altogether incorrect as a lot of users today follow celebrities on social media. Also, as innovations continue to be made in this field and as the world becomes more connected it is important to watch how our interactions with one another change.
In the years leading up to social media there were often depictions in science-fiction films in which characters would have “face-to-face” conversations through monitors or teleport themselves to places across the universe. While we have not accomplished the latter to that extent there have been innovations made in which a person can enter a screen covered room and can then view a live broadcast from a camera anywhere in the world. Applications such as Facetime have made the world seem like a much smaller place as it seems that the human need to communicate with each other has been able to use technology to make it nearly limitless. As Baym states, “because physical and social spaces are separated through electronic media, people who use them lose their own sense of place” (26). This isn’t necessarily a bad thing though as users could be cultivating a broader perspective of the world as they make connections with people across the globe.
In today’s day and age social media has practically become domesticated as it is now a societal norm by which we communicate with others and consume media. Many developers continue to innovate their platforms to bring new ways of consuming and distributing media for users. Facebook for instance started out as a site where users could simply communicate with each other, but has since evolved to include, most notably, a news feed of trending stories and a live feature where users can stream content. It is due to innovations such as these that some media outlets are worried that sites such as Facebook are becoming media conglomerates where they are able to dictate what deserves to be seen. “Facebook has the audience news organizations are trying to reach, so they have little choice but to chase it there” (Greenberg). It is because of this that businesses have to change their media tactics in an attempt to produce viral content. So in this regard, social media is actually changing how some industries work.
Work Cited:
Baym, Nancy K. “Making New Media Make Sense.” Personal Connections in the Digital Age.
Cambridge, UK: Polity, 2010. 22-49. Print.
Greenberg, Julia. “Facebook Has Seized the Media, and That’s Bad News for Everyone But
Facebook.” Wired. 13 Apr. 2016. Web.
https://www.wired.com/2016/04/facebook-seized-media-thats-bad-news-everyone-facebook/.
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