Social media has impact

By Stephany Reihing

Social media is where we get our news. It’s where we chat with our friends. It’s where we look for romance. It’s where we educate ourselves and connect with people. It’s a craze, but not one that looks like it’s going away anytime soon. For the purpose of this blog, I surveyed a handful of social media users in their mid- to late-twenties. All of the users have personal blogs with. All of the users except for one use Twitter and they all use Facebook. One girl reports using the new website, DailyBooth, a photoblogging website where users document their lives by taking a picture of themselves daily. Another girl uses DailyMile, which is a fitness website where people update their exercise progress by posting how many miles they ran, walked, swam, etc. Users can follow other users and post motivation and comment on their profiles.

 

All of the girls said they are usually multitasking when they use social media. They are either at work, doing homework, watching TV, or doing something else not related to social media. For the most part, all the girls were frequent users of some type of social media. If they weren’t too active on Twitter, they were very active on Facebook. And vice versa.

The connection aspect of social media is what drew these users the most. Many of them have formed friendships they never would have been able to form, were it not for social media. They reconnected with family members and old friends. One user actually reconnected with an old boyfriend through Facebook and is now engaged to marry him in December! Now that’s a great example of just how powerful social media can be. Another girl reported that DailyMile gave her to motivation to run a half-marathon and train for her full marathon, because of the support she received from other users.

“I love building relationships on social media and maintaining relationships. Some people say it is impersonal, but I would never maintain many relationships if it wasn't for Facebook!” said Natalie, who has over 2,700 followers on Twitter and uses social media frequently for her job. “Relationships from high school and such would simply fall by the wayside.”

Social media has changed these girls lives, for the better. They have become better writers, better designers, and better communicators thanks to the power of social media. These girls are telling their stories every day in the hopes that it will help someone out. Social media gave one girl an avenue to open up about inner struggles she would never have talked about before, while helping another girl land her current job.

“I got my job in part due to my social media savvy and ability. My blog served as writing samples and my Twitter know-how helped me land my current position,” said Amy, a Twitter user with over 850 followers. “It literally has changed my life in the most significant of ways.”

For the most part, these girls use social media on a personal basis. They use it to connect with friends, as well as to promote their blogs. A few also mention that it’s been helpful for work. One girl maintains a Facebook and Twitter page for her job, while another uses Twitter to promote events and other happenings at her job, which is something that was asked of her early on. Social media was able to make a dream come to fruition as it has helped her open an Etsy shop and start making money off of her designs.

All of the girls have positive experiences with social media. They have connected with so many people across the globe and sometimes a simple tweet can send the right opportunity their way, be it a cooking class in France or a job. They all recognize the power social media has and how much it can improve life. That said, there’s also a fine balance between being present in the online world and not present in your own, less virtual world. You have to know when to turn off the computer and phone, when to stop obsessively checking Twitter and Facebook, and when to just be in the moment. Some of the users have been able to find a balance between the two, while others struggle with wanting to check Twitter all the time to make sure they aren’t missing anything important.

“I think that an offshoot of being plugged in all the time is that you training yourself to be constantly consuming information, not to be a creator of interesting or creative work,” said Kyla, a blogger and designer who is launching her own Etsy shop this month.

I already knew the power social media has. I know because I’m deeply entrenched in it and have a hard time turning off social media. It has infiltrated everyone’s life. (Even my 70-year-old grandfather has a Facebook account!) People have stopped relying on newspapers and TV to give them information, and instead quickly check their Twitter feed to find out the news. We can’t ignore it. It’s here and it’s staying. We have to embrace it.