Social Media in Everyday Life
Our generation has grown up always with some form of social media in our lives, evolving from AIM and AOL homepages to MySpace to Facebook and Twitter. Having access to instantaneous communication with our friends and some sort of public medium of expression has been a standard of everyday life.
Every day, I’m on Gmail/Gchat and check Facebook periodically; the novelty of my new LinkedIn account is starting to wear off. I just moved into a new apartment and have been without easy access to Internet for a week—this could have been my experiment into a life without social media, but I always found myself reaching for my phone to check email, sign into Gchat, and get my fix of Facebook updates more often than not. The Internet and social media has removed most all barriers to communication and made people’s lives much easier, but I do wish that I didn’t feel the need to be constantly connected and in tune with other people’s lives. Email is indispensable when communicating with professors and potential employers and as a means of receiving information. But in terms of Facebook, sometimes it’s nicer to have your friend tell you about getting that new job rather than reading it on your Newsfeed first.
Someone mentioned during our last class that they went without Facebook for a while in China, where it’s blocked. I studied abroad in Shanghai for a semester, and somehow one of my first priorities was getting around the “Great Firewall.” Facebook allows you to be connected to a world that you’re familiar with, no matter where you are. People move around often and lose touch; Facebook is a common space where people can communicate more casually and with more ease than through email. I think it’s a valuable medium where everyone in your social circles can interact with photos and links and thoughts, but it can become too much when your group of "friends" expands too far and you end up reading one too many deep, self-searching status updates. As with most things, it seems to be best used in moderation.
Cindy H