From Personal to What's Popular

     When Facebook first emerged on the scene, the emphasis was placed solely on staying in touch with people you may not have a chance to spend time with otherwise. At first, social media was a tool to use to see pictures posted by family members who live out of state or to talk to old friends after you move. Over time, communities of like minded people also began forming on social media with fan pages being made for sports teams, bands, tv shows, etc. A key selling point of social media early on, was that you decide what content you see on your timeline, based on who you are friends with, who you follow, what groups you belong to. Over the last few years however, that formula has been changing. While many people still use social media strictly to keep in contact with people they know personally, sites such as Twitter have become homes for large organizations to reach a very large audience for very cheap. Unlike years ago, much of someones feed on Twitter today likely has many ads, paid promoted tweets, and "viral" tweets from accounts they don't follow.  

    There is a certain responsibility that comes along with using social media, and how someone chooses to use social media can be a determining factor in whether or not it is intrusive to their life. When posting on a social media site, the user must accept that whatever is posted, is now on record on the internet and can have repercussions. The responsibility of using social media is related to standing by what is posted on your account. The internet is a permanent archive of what someone says on their social media. Social media can be intrusive in someones life when they have to deal with consequences related to what they put on their accounts. 

    Recent events such as the murder of George Floyd have been enflamed and brought to a global spotlight because of social media. Social media was used in a positive way in this situation because the video of George Floyds death went viral and was seen around the world instantly. Due to the video going viral and being seen all over, a social justice movement has been brought to the forefront of our countries attention. Without social media and the video of George Floyds death going viral, the movement that is taking place in America, likely wouldn't be happening right now. Had a video not gone viral on social media, his death likely would've just been another statistic that no one outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota ever was aware of. The ability to bring awareness of news and events to people all around the globe in an instant is one of the most valuable traits of social media today. 

    In the future, social media will continue to distance itself from a model based on connecting to friends, and will continue to build a global community between strangers. This is the direction social media is heading in.