What does social media mean to you? Why do you use it? Is it to interact with a whole range of people, or to stay tuned with world affairs? Are you curious as to what goes on in people’s lives, or knowing what your favourite celebrities are up to?
I asked some people these questions. The first person uses social media to snoop into other people’s lives and to know what they’re up to. She also loves seeing their make-up and clothes and liking others’ posts.
The second person thinks social media is great for keeping in contact with family and friends, particularly those she doesn’t often see. Additionally, social media is a good way for following her favourite celebrities and constantly knowing what they are up to. This is because famous people’s lives are interesting and she’s a little envious when seeing their rich goods.
There are approximately 42 million UK Facebook users
Statistics from the Global Digital Snapshot in June 2017, states that there are 3.48 billion active social media users worldwide, with Facebook being the most popular form. There are approximately 42 million UK Facebook users.
So, does it seem crazy to you that I don’t have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and all the other things people are using these days? I know roughly the purpose of these different forms of social media and what people do on there, but I haven’t used them. I appreciate the many positives social media provide for people, but in a lot of cases I’m confused why there are so many to choose from!
Well why don’t I use social media? Maybe, I’m just worried that I’ll be glued to the screen or will be checking my notifications constantly to see how many followers I’ve got that day. And if I want to take a picture, I’ll probably only take like 50 until I find the perfect one.
I think it’s that fear of procrastinating, and wasting valuable time on social media
I think it’s that fear of procrastinating and wasting valuable time on social media when I could be completing necessary tasks. Well, I thought about this and I just figured I didn’t need social media.
Do I feel left out? If I’ve just met someone, they may ask to add me on Facebook so we can keep in touch, then they’re surprised by my answer of, “I don’t have it!” I have had some strange looks when I’ve said that, but I suppose that it’s because so many people use it and I’m in that minority group still living in a cave. Well, I’ll say, “we’ll just have to find another way to keep in touch,” after all, what are phones for?
I have to admit though, that since arriving at uni, I did start finding some difficulty in being notified of e.g. what societies are up to. If they have an event I have to be notified by another way. As a lot of people are on social media it seems a key way of receiving information. This got me thinking that social media could be beneficial for me so that I don’t miss out on events, or job opportunities etc.
In terms of would I use social media in the future… you never know. I can see some of the benefits it could provide for me, but if I did get social media I would try and restrict my usage to a sensible amount.
Lujain Alkhalaf
Featured image courtesy of mkhmarketing via Flickr. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
In article image courtesy of @craftedmediagroup via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
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