The Effects of Social Media
The Effects of Social Media
Last year on May 2nd, 2011 I was browsing facebook when suddenly I see a flood of statuses all with the same topic. Osama Bin Laden had been killed by US troops. My friends were posting their emotions, feelings, and opinions on this news for everyone to see. My friends had reacted to this news so quickly but I was hesitant to respond. They had seemed ecstatic regarding the death of this malevolent man. Although my feelings were ambivalent, I had always been taught that death is never something that is to be celebrated. However with all my friends seemingly sharing the same jovial opinion, I fell to the peer pressure and began to share the same sentiments as my friends. I posted a status praising USA and applauding the death of this man. Even though I’m sure there were other people who shared the same initial thoughts as me, I adjusted my ideas completely to match the ideas of my friends. The reason I had done this was because like every other human being I yearned for the approval of my peers, so I did not publicize my original feelings because I was not sure if anyone would agree with me. Facebook is a form social media, which are primarily internet-based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings. Social Media encourages people to go along with their peers instead of forming their own individual opinion. In Revolution 2.0, one man shares his opinion and creates a movement that changes the government of Egypt, by spreading his ideas through social media. Wael Ghonim, an unknown 30-year-old Google executive, launched a Facebook page anonymously to protest the death of one Egyptian man. The page's followers increase quickly and launched from online protests to non-confrontational public gatherings. Then, on January 14th, 2011, they made history when they announced a revolution. Over 350,000 people joined this cause and on January 25th, as the revolution began Ghonim was captured and held for twelve
Last year on May 2nd, 2011 I was browsing facebook when suddenly I see a flood of statuses all with the same topic. Osama Bin Laden had been killed by US troops. My friends were posting their emotions, feelings, and opinions on this news for everyone to see. My friends had reacted to this news so quickly but I was hesitant to respond. They had seemed ecstatic regarding the death of this malevolent man. Although my feelings were ambivalent, I had always been taught that death is never something that is to be celebrated. However with all my friends seemingly sharing the same jovial opinion, I fell to the peer pressure and began to share the same sentiments as my friends. I posted a status praising USA and applauding the death of this man. Even though I’m sure there were other people who shared the same initial thoughts as me, I adjusted my ideas completely to match the ideas of my friends. The reason I had done this was because like every other human being I yearned for the approval of my peers, so I did not publicize my original feelings because I was not sure if anyone would agree with me. Facebook is a form social media, which are primarily internet-based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings. Social Media encourages people to go along with their peers instead of forming their own individual opinion. In Revolution 2.0, one man shares his opinion and creates a movement that changes the government of Egypt, by spreading his ideas through social media. Wael Ghonim, an unknown 30-year-old Google executive, launched a Facebook page anonymously to protest the death of one Egyptian man. The page's followers increase quickly and launched from online protests to non-confrontational public gatherings. Then, on January 14th, 2011, they made history when they announced a revolution. Over 350,000 people joined this cause and on January 25th, as the revolution began Ghonim was captured and held for twelve