Arguably the most significant advancement of the 21st century, social media has had a profound impact on our lives. But has it improved our lives? It is a question with a philosophical ring and one that opens up a host of other queries.
First we must analyse the conveniences and abilities social media has given us.
Social Impact
If one was to measure the noteworthiness of broadband by calculating the amount of time spent on specific elements, than social media would come out on top. Facebook boasts 700 million users and Twitter 500 million, together amassing 1.2 billion users.
That’s one out of every seven human beings alive on earth and this doesn’t even take into consideration the numbers conversing online through Google+ and what not.
It isn’t just how many social media users there are on Earth however that indicates how much an influence it has had on our lives. It is the amount of time such a large proportion of the human population spends on these sites. A study late last year concluded that one out of every seven minutes online are spent on Facebook, while similar figures are to be expected with Twitter.
Psychological Impact
However, has this actually improved our lives? A report by published in the Guardian in mid-March established a correlation between Facebook usage and levels of obsessions with self-image, shallow friendships and being a socially disruptive narcissist. The theory was that the social media site had become a platform for empty self-expression and popularity contesting.
Political Impact
Social media does have its benefits of course. One would have to look no further than the Arab Springs to identify these. The platform’s ability to organise and mobilise protests has been cited as the catalyst behind the Arab protests that saw the overthrow of prominent dictators throughout the Middle East. These uprisings were branded ‘Twitter Revolutions’ and it is supposed that the ability to network and spread news through social media sites helped the protests spread in a way that would not have been possible otherwise.
While one cannot exactly obtain a broadband speed test and determine the connection levels in the countries involved in the Arab Spring at the time; it is accepted that high speed connections were available in the right places throughout the Middle East. This increases the likelihood of social media having a fundamental role to play in the uprisings.
However, it has also been suggested that the impact of social media on these revolutions has been overstated, particularly in the Western media. This logic argues that there were large scale revolutions before social media, indicating that the protests would have spread regardless and had similar impact.
In truth, it is likely that social media did play some role, although the extent of this role has been overstated. Nevertheless, that it was impactful in the toppling of unjust regimes and tyrannical governments is a credit to the existence of social media.
Although, the role social media has to play in the art of uprising can have negative effects if the cause is unwarranted and unjustifiable. The riots that shook Britain in 2011 were helped on by social media, which allowed the organisation of rebellions to occur.
Such negative aspects have however brought about positives as many rioters – who used social media to arrange and express their involvement in looting sessions – were soon easily tracked down by the police.
What Constitutes an Improvement to Our Lives?
Upon deliberation, the question of whether or not social media has improved our lives is somewhat unanswerable without knowing the full meaning of life. What is improvement for something you do not know the nature of?
What can be said is that social media has changed our lives and made many aspects incredibly more convenient. But that is all that can be said.
