There are three things that humans need for basic survival: it's food, water, and
social media. We can't live without it. It's fun! It's addicting. By now, we know
the general pros and cons of social media. We've had it long enough. But probably
you all noticed that.
Social media has evolved from what initially just felt like fun websites for
socializing with friends online. Do you remember Cyworld? MySpace? Since then,
social media has become a keystone of our generation. In 2019, where this
hyper-connectivity is now a norm, I think it's time to update and reevaluate the
pros and cons of social media.
In my personal experience, the best benefit of today’s social media is the fact that
it's being acknowledged as a profession now. I work in marketing, but I never
planned to be a marketer just as I never planned and thought that attracting
followers and perfecting my Cyworld page and branding myself would become
actual job skills in my future. Now I just do that for my company’s brand and it's
great. In the past, my mom would ask me, “How many hours did you spend on
Cyworld today?” And I said my answer. I got in big trouble. At my job interview,
though, my boss asked me, “How many likes do you get on your Instagram posts?”
I said my answer, and I got hired. And if working for a company doesn’t fancy you,
YouTube is a legitimate career choice in 2019. These days, some Youtubers make
just as much money as some CEOs. Knowing how to make people engage with
your online content is now considered a highly marketable and lucrative skill.
This is a very unique advantage for millennials. We don’t realize it, but we are
expert strategists when it comes to seeking attention online. These kind of
unconventional business opportunities have emerged from this new society run
by social media. I think they should change the saying to “Another like, another
dollar.”
So then, can you guess the worst part of social media? Advertisements. Social
media has become a breeding ground for advertisements because marketers have
realized that they can stalk our social media to create better targeted ads. Asides
from it just being annoying, the real problem has to do with this blatant intrusion
of our privacy and these unsolicited algorithms that seems to be helping itself to
our data. With every click, you are leaving a digital footprint that reveals where you
are, what you're doing, and who you're with. Regrettably, marketers are not the
only ones “following” us. Since social media, cyber crime such as identity theft and
ransomware has increased tremendously. A study from the University of Maryland
suggests that there is a hacking attempt every 28 seconds on just Facebook alone.
Despite the security and privacy settings, it's very difficult to control or to even
know how our information is getting used once it's out there. And let's all be
honest. Nobody reads the terms of agreements, right? Agree, click, agree, click.
I think we should be aware that using social media these days comes with the cost
of our privacy. It's a rather serious digital dilemma.
With its innocent beginnings as an online chatting and picture sharing platform,
social media has revolutionized our society. And with every revolution has its new
opportunities and threats. To be able to take full advantage of this new online
world, we should be very knowledgeable about both the “like” and “unlike”
spectrum of social media.
Thank you.