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.
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| 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.
