What is Social Media?

Social media is social platforms in which we choose to participate in online. Whether it be Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, etc. You are constantly choosing to put yourself on those platforms, it is not something you have to do. I have grown up my whole life with social media. When I was younger social media platforms especially Facebook began to grow quickly. I have been exposed to social media my entire life. We now use these sites/apps as a way to connect or chat with others. It plays a huge part in our society. Whether it is good or bad. On the good side, we are constantly able to meet new people experience new cultures, and learn about other people. You are able to chat with old friends as well as make new friends. You can connect with people you would not normally connect with on a day to day basis. These are things you may be unable to do without social media. On the bad side, social media has had negative effects on many people. Social media can be a “highlight reel” of someone’s life usually, no one is being their true selves, therefore, causing a lot of issues for your mental health. Many people can become addicted to the “high” that social media gives them (the likes, the comments.) Social media was created to trigger your brain to produce dopamine ( a chemical causing happiness.) I am interested in the way that we are able to communicate with different people from different backgrounds. You can learn about their heritage, culture, and what daily life may be like for them. It is so exciting to be able to experience something that you wouldn’t normally get the chance to. Social media has been at a bit of a standstill. With all of these platforms practically being the same or even owned by the same company it’s been difficult to experience new platforms. I am excited to see how the metaverse will play into social media. As of now, not much in the metaverse has been launched. But, it is a great opportunity for social media platforms. There are going to be a lot of interesting things that come to life in VR that wouldn’t have with the technology we have now. How will the metaverse change social media?