Could you live without social media?
Since the launch of my website I’ve been making the effort to get out there and start increasing my presence through social media.
According to Merriam Webster, social media is defined as “forms of electronic communication (such as websites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (such as videos).”
Social media is popular nowadays and I think most people are engaged with, or have experience of using, this medium. Our businesses certainly rely heavily on social media to connect with our customers and ‘followers’.
I paused to think this week: What if there was no social media – No LinkedIn/Facebook/Instagram/Google/Wikipedia/Youtube? How would we cope?
One of my best friends is Google. If my husband asks me a question and I don’t know the answer, I Google it. How old is that actor and when was that film released? How would I know who the cast of the latest Netflix series is? Would we even have Netflix?
And Google Maps … How would I find my way anywhere without being able to punch an address into the App on my phone and follow that little red car from home to my destination?
LinkedIn is a great way to connect and network with colleagues, ex-colleagues, businesses and inspirational leaders. Then there are the informative articles and inspiring videos that are posted to let us know that there is still good news out there and we’re all human after all.
Facebook and Instagram: friends and followers wouldn’t know what a great time I was having on holiday – I wouldn’t have the money to buy a thousand postcards and stamps, write them out and send them. My holiday would be over by the time I’d completed that task! And how would they know I was celebrating a milestone in my life if they didn’t receive an automatic reminder? Life would be lonely without one thousand good wishes for that special day.
Wikipedia: I don’t use it that often so I’m not sure I’d miss it.
Youtube: great for watching Ted Talks amongst other things. Without Youtube I wouldn’t be able to take the VAX apart to clean the filters and other various bits, and how would I cook that fantastic recipe by Gordon Ramsay without watching him on Youtube. Yes, I would miss it.
Finally that old hot potato and continual subject of controversy - COVID and anti-vaxxers. If social media wasn’t so readily available, would this have dumbed down the anti-vaxxers? Would they even have existed without the availability of false information being spread by this medium?
As we’re all aware, so much more information is now available to us at the press of a button, and some food for thought - next time you use a form of social media, pause and think how you would cope if you didn’t have this medium?
