Social Media and the Internet: Do You Really Need It?

As most people know, the Internet and social media as a whole has been a topic of discussion. Is it good? Is it bad? There are many different viewpoints and people are conflicted. Does anyone know how the Internet was made? Most people probably don’t, but here’s a rundown. According to History.com, in the 60’s there was a “workable prototype” called ARPANET. Then in the 70’s, a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP) were created and finally in the 80’s all three were combined and the Internet was created!

From there we were granted things such as the World Wide Web and a plethora of social media websites. The Internet and social media has changed drastically from the 90’s to now. Most millenials first social media platform was probably Myspace. Nowadays most people have multiple social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc.). Society enjoys being connected to friends, family and celebrities. This could either be a good thing or a bad thing. 

On the good side, society stays updated on important news and events without missing a thing. For example, a few weeks ago every social media platform was bombarded with news articles and status updates about the Amazon being on fire. There were news articles saying “The Amazon is on fire and no one seems to care” that were being shared constantly. This brought attention to the issue and is currently helping everyone stay up to date with the destruction. 

On the bad side, there can be news articles that give fake news. Maybe they say the destruction isn’t as bad or it is a lot worse than it is. As long as people look into multiple sources, they won’t be caught in the trap. Another thing is that society sees EVERYTHING a person is doing at an instant. Does everyone need to know that their favorite celebrity just got Starbucks for the 10th time this week? Secondly, how does anyone have anything to talk about in person anymore? By seeing everything someone posts it creates a barrier in real life. Because of this reason, social media can be a little intrusive. 

With everyone's information out there it is really easy for people to know things about others. It is very easy to “stalk” people's social media (especially if they are not even on a private mode). If someone wants to know something, it is only a few clicks away. Social media needs to be used responsibly. If someone isn’t responsible with their social media there can be a lot of consequences for that person. There is also a lot of talk about kids and when is the right age for them to get social media but since the Internet and social media is ever changing, there will never be a right time to introduce a child to it. Because social media is forever changing it is hard to determine what sites will be introduced and which sites will go to the social media graveyard (sorry Myspace).