People have learned to navigate social media and to use it to their advantage. Some people cheat their way to a higher follower count. Others digitally alter their photos to get rid of any bodily imperfections, or to enhance certain parts of their body. Social media allows people to show off the best parts of themselves, but this can make everything seem so artificial.
Conversely, if social media allows people to show off their best parts, it also allows them to hide the parts they want no one to see. Some people have separate private rant accounts on Twitter, or “finstas” on Instagram. People submit anonymous confessions to Facebook pages to have their voices heard without compromising their identities. This allows people to direct their negative thoughts into trustworthy, private channels, but this can contribute to a culture that encourages unfiltered, hurtful complaining that abuses the anonymity dynamics of the situation.
Social media was also designed to facilitate communication with people who can’t be reached in person. More programs are equipping themselves with video call features, and multimedia platforms allow people to catch up with one another via text posts and photos. On the flipside, of course, social media’s notorious reputation stems from the prevalence of cases where people, seated at a dinner table, have their eyes glued to their phones, instead of socializing with one another.
These perceptions of society have led people to blame social media for certain communication problems. The rise of social media has definitely influenced our society and has become a key factor in how our environment operates, but I think social media doesn’t deserve all the flak it receives.
In communication theory, we learn that computer-mediated communication can be just as intimate, if not more intimate, than face-to-face communication. These online channels allow for selective self-presentation on the end of the sender, and the receiver can reply to these messages at their convenience. When taken at face value, social media sounds like an excellent platform for communicating, and sounds almost innocent. This leads us to ask: How did social media get such a bad reputation?
Before anything else, social media is a tool. Tools are inherently harmless, because what matters is how we use them. You can use a knife to cut ingredients for a meal, or you can use it to inflict harm on others or yourself. You can spend money on a worthy investment, or on unhealthy vices that will affect you in the long run. But we never blame the gun for killing hundreds of people. We never blame the bank’s security for making it easy to rob its money. We blame the rape victim’s clothing, but thousands are working to fight against this way of thinking, precisely because it is the perpetrator who should be held responsible for the damage he or she has done.
Times are changing, and new technologies are being introduced. Thus, we need to responsibly adapt to these developments in society, and hold ourselves accountable for how we use technology.
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