In today's society, the Internet is becoming less of a luxury and more of a necessity. Almost everything we do as a species is online -- from jobs to entertainment, from communication to learning. Social media is one of those developments that has blown up in the past few years in terms of usage and involvement. Below are listed six ways that social media is changing the world, for better or for worst!
1. Becoming a necessary component of any business strategy
In the past, social media was a tool that was considered as "nice to have," a component that helped put you ahead of some of your competitors. Today, however, managing some sort of active online presence in the form of social media is almost considered mandatory. Without it, your business will be sorely lacking, especially in the communication and engagement department. Social media is a major way to keep in touch with your audience and it helps get your mission, product, and services across to the many who use it.2. Shaping financial services
According to Richard Eldridge of Lenddo, social media might very well become the banks of the future -- allowing you to make investments or pay bills through your favorite social media platform."Social media is transforming banking relationships in very significant ways, from improving customer service to allowing users to send money to others via online platforms. New financial technology companies are using social media to help people simply open a bank account."He even says that it might even affect your ability to get a loan. Some problems in this lay in the security issues and maintaining them, but with how big social media is growing, it makes sense that the banking business will start to infiltrate it. Already, there are features where you can link your credit card and buy stuff with the click of a button -- this will just take it to the next level.
3. Keeping tabs on public health
Social media is already established to be a great way to communicate and get in touch with those from all around the world. With this comes the grouping of people sharing health stories and advice. While this could be a good thing, it can also lead to misinformation and wide spread falsehoods. In order to counteract this, the health industry must put out a series of plans to counteract said misinformation and spread true and expert information. This comes with activities such as private Skype calls with doctors and managing up-to-date websites with discussion boards and certified, professional responses.4. Influencing the government and how it governs us
In the most recent presidential election, we saw a huge spike in candidates using social media as part of their platforms, especially to reach the younger generation -- those who grew up with social media and are just now getting ready to vote. Bernie Sanders, for example, tailored his campaign towards the college-goers and reached out using multiple platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Even now, current president Donald Trump has caused quite a few stirs in the world with his seemingly uncensored and inappropriate usage of social media platforms -- from war threats to accusations, everything said can affect how the future comes to be. Social media reaches so many people all around the world -- nothing is really private anymore, so using it to keep the public informed is one thing, and using it to do official business is another.5. Preparing people for disaster
Unfortunately, we live in a world where everything is not always great and safe. Crises like natural disasters and terrorist attacks happen unexpectedly and more often than they should, and social media is one of the first places people go to get information and make sure they are prepared. For example, Facebook has a safety check crisis response where you can,"find information about recent crises, use Safety Check to connect with friends and loved ones during a crisis, give of find help to people in the affected area, and create or donate to fundraisers to support recovery efforts."Digital responders are those who use their time, technical skills, and personal networks to help mitigate information overload on the platforms.
6. Raising awareness for many causes
Social media has so many active users from all over the world, that people are using it as platforms to get their messages across -- messages like human rights violations, sexual abuse, climate change, diseases, and so on. Social media has been home to many very successful campaigns such as the ALS Ice Bucket challenge raising awareness of the fatal disease, and the Me Too campaign empowering sexual assault victims to speak up and not stay silent. Social media has the capacity to bring together people who share similar mindsets and allows them to not feel alone. It allows them to come together and work on a cause bigger than the individual -- two minds are better than one, and a million minds are better than anything. Without social media, these causes might have been swept under the rug.What are other ways you believe social media is changing the world?
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