Social media

The world changes constantly. When we studied we heard about the French Revolution or the Industrial Revolution as great moments of our history. I think that in the last century there have been a lot of changes. Sometimes I think that if my grandfather was still alive, he wouldn’t understand anything.

Don’t worry readers. I am not going to bore you writing about all the historical moments we have lived in the past hundred years. It would take me too long and I would have to choose from a big list. However, I would like to point out one of the recent changes that we have had in society: social media.

I have to start saying that I think that sometimes we give a lot of importance to some changes that don’t last much. However, in the case of Social Media it is true that it is something that has arrived to stay and I am sure that in future we will keep talking about them.

When I finished at high school nobody thought that digital newspapers had future. Now everybody thinks that the newspapers could disappear or that many of us will read them in our tablets, i-phones or laptops. Something similar has happened with Social Media.

Most people have an account on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. and every day of your life you have to keep an eye on them to see what is going on. You may not publish any content, but you read your tweet line, see the last posts of your friends or have a look to the photographs.

I think you can analyze Social Media from many points of view, but there is one I am really concerned: the influence in society. Social Media has given voice to anonymous people who can give their point of view, explain what is happening or inform about topics that governments, big companies, etc, don’t want to be made public.

I remember that thanks to Twitter everybody knew what was happening in Egypt and something similar is happening now in Honk Kong. People are letting know the world how the ‘Umbrella revolution’ is advancing and the first decision of the Chinese government is to ban the use of some Social Media as Instagram.

Honk Kong - Umbrella Revolution (Alex Hofford/EPA)

In a way, it is great news because it means that that people are achieving their aim and that the world has information that, probably, in normal conditions wouldn’t be as clear. Not all the points of view or statements have the same importance and we don’t have to take notice of all of them, but it is interesting to see the influence in our society and that now there are a lot of voices to explain reality.

Social Media has democratized information and each person in the world has become, in a way, a narrator of history. 10 years ago we wouldn’t been able to imagine that thousands of anonymous people would explain us the things that are happening in their country. When you think about it, it is incredible!

Social Media has changed our lifestyle and has a lot of benefits. Obviously, there are things that I don’t support or that deserve a longer debate, but we can’t ignore all the benefits. In any case, we will have to keep an eye on it to see what future will Social Media bring.