Faster than the speed of light...

 

Since its inception, social media has been used as a way to connect with individuals or to connect individuals through space and time. It created a place where people could come together and share ideas. They could virtually meet and share schools of thought that had previously been limited due to geographic separation. A movement that had once been limited to those who would see a flyer could now be spread from coast to coast in a matter of moments. Aside from shaping a new realm for the spreading of information, it shaped how we are able to perceive information and shattered the construct of how that information was shared. How many more people would have gathered in Washington DC on August 28, 1963 if they had known ahead of time that MLK was "doing something big." How many people would have considered the facts of Watergate differently if those opinions were shaped by the outpouring of posts from their friends across the nation? Although we will clearly never know the answers to those questions, it highlights some of the biggest impacts social media has had on our lives today; it changed how we document history and has been used positively and negatively to mobilize people around the globe. 

Possibly one of the greatest impacts that social media has had on the world is forever changing the way history is being documented. Over time, we have consistently seen growth in the way people are presented with news and information. News that once would only be carried by travelers moving through village sand towns eventually morphed into written newspapers. Newspapers were later replaced by radio broadcasts that would air at a certain time and if missed, would likely be gone forever. Radio broadcasts become a thing of the past when CBS aired Richard Hubbell on television twice a day to bring news into the family living room as early as 1941. But perhaps the greatest breakthroughs in information sharing were the introduction of the 24 hour news cycle during the years of the Vietnam War and the introduction of social media in the early 2000s. With the introduction and mainstreaming of social media came an improvement in personal devices that could capture breaking news first hand. People everywhere were able to open their camera phone and stream or capture on video historic events as they were taking place. This way of gathering and sharing news gave perspective that had previously been unavailable. People could now witness events live from birth to death. It provided true dramatic first-hand accounts and views of breaking news as it was breaking. Gone were the days of rushing a camera crew or helicopter to a scene. News was not just available all the time but it was available to be created by anyone. 

This power to document information and share has been used in many ways. It has been used to oust dirty politicians, expose private photos from soured relationships, and it has provided perspective to situations and events that people once thought to be an exception rather than a rule. One major way that social media has been used negatively was discovered following the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election. While there have been claims that many entities played a part in the spreading of misinformation during the campaign season, the "who" is less important than the "what" in this case. Studies have since shown that items containing misinformation received 6 times more engagement than factual information across social media platforms. While there are certainly ways for this data to be disputed, it is very clear that social media has amplified confirmation bias by allowing users to create an echo chamber for like-minded thinkers. Conversely, social media has also been sued to bring issues to light that otherwise would have stayed tucked deep in the thoughts of those private interactions that many don't see. A perfect example of this would be the rise in ways that people have documented injustice on behalf of law enforcement professionals. Regardless of these injustices being systemic or isolated incidents, the ability to document and share these cases have helped bring justice to situations that might have otherwise gone unnoticed or unvalidated. Instances such as these have helped bring about a movement and have generally led to a police force that exercises more caution in their engagements with citizens. This example serves as a perfect example of how our ability to document and share can lead to true movement in a community or nation. 

 The Pew Research Center wrote a fantastic article discussing activism and social media, which can be found at here.

The creation of social media trends and hashtags have enabled the rapid spread of information as people "subscribe" to the things that they want to see or read. But more importantly, the ability for information to go "viral" has forced people to see information that they may have otherwise been isolated from. This ability to tag information and send it viral has led to some undeniably uncomfortable moments for some. However, it has provided a way for activists and causes to reach a broader audience in a short amount of time. By highlighting an issue and enabling others to virtually "rally" behind a cause, movements have gained support and traction where they have otherwise fizzled. 

While the verdict for social media and its implications to society may not come before it becomes so engrained in our thinking and way of life that we cannot shut it out, the impacts it has already had are far-reaching and deep. It's ability to rally behind a cause, spread information and create long-lasting negative and positive side effects are irreputable. Personally, I'm terrified and excited to see how it shapes our world and the information environment as we move into the future.