Week 1B: Social Media Use Today

    There are many different social media outlets that are utilized for different purposes to ultimately reach a goal. The basic idea associated with social media deals with the idea that a website or application is used to allow users to participate in sharing content in order to network. Social media has the ability to develop various primary concept such as making the purpose posting photos or posting thoughts/feelings. An important aspect of social media is the ability to have open communication resources allowing for comments and reactions to one another post. Personally, I believe that are many pros and cons that are associated with social media and it is hard to determine whether it is truly a negative component  of society or if it can ultimately beneficial to society. I think that social media is defined by its users and the way that the users utilize the many different apps. 

    Social media has the ability to gain a negative reputation based on many different theories. A more common theory relies on the idea that people must live up to expectations that are unrealistic. This issue is most common on social media platforms such as Instagram. With the sole purpose of posting a photo and seeing how many likes you can get, it has become increasingly competitive and discouraging too many. As a society we have developed titles such as "Instagram Models" in which many people have strived to change their bodies, demeanor, and personality in order to fulfill this role. While the journey to become something we're not can be difficult, there are also comments from peers that can be discouraging to many. With freedom to post reactions reactions and comments at our own leisure, it can be difficult to manage the negative comments vs. the encouraging comments. 

    While the negatives often overpower the positives when social media is in discussion, I believe that social media can be a great source of community and networking. When social media is used for the appropriate reasons, you can gain many things from it. Social media can be used to promote businesses or even simply stay in touch with family and friends that you haven't seen or been around in awhile. By using social media for beneficial purposes such as promoting your business, you have the ability to reach a wider range of customers as well as gain knowledge on what can be modified or altered to be ultimately successful. In order to ensure that the platforms stay positive, I think that it is in the hands of the users. We need to be more mindful our actions and comments that we share. It is important to remember that whatever is posted on the internet, remains on the internet and you never know who is on the other end of the screen.