Social Media—The Modern-Day Newspaper
Social Media and its effect on the English language
One of the most notable achievements throughout American history is the Revolution that secured our nation’s independence for good with the signing of the Declaration of Independence in the year of 1776. What’s often overlooked, however, are the pamphlets and newspapers that spread the word of rebellion and helped the United States become what it is today. Similarly, countries such as Tunisia or Egypt wouldn’t have been able to overthrow their corrupt governments without the help of social media. Social media is a modern day newspaper with the world as its audience, using an unlimited supply of ink and paper. With its ever-changing properties and community building assets, social media has helped our ability to communicate through political, social, and educational aspects.

Social media is known for its easily accessible library of entertaining or comical trends, but such trends can also be political and dynamic in nature. Trends on social media tend to influence the minds of people all over the globe; whether you’re from Indonesia or Pennsylvania, you could be laughing at the same vine--and that’s absolutely mind blowing to me. From personal experience, it’s not unusual to hear constant chatter about the same video over and over when one is at a high school. Internet sensations are the center of many of this generation’s jokes--and it’s unsurprising. In a second, one person can post a tweet and create an avalanche of threads, retweets, and controversy. Such power has been utilized to overthrow corrupt governments. Mohamed Ben Hazous, a Software Engineer and blogger living in Tunisia, calls said upheavals “Cyber-net revolutions”. Hazous says on that Friday of January 2011, “Everyone in Tunisia was connected to the Internet, to the site of the bloggers, to the site of Facebook, to Twitter, to organize the revolution.” Economic regulation was never in the minds of Tunisia’s troubled government, and the country was a continuous scene of oppression prior to the revolt. Even today, Tunisia still has an enormous way to go politically, but the improvement after the revolt was definitely noteworthy. Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube aren’t your everyday hero dressed in capes or gleaming armor. But the superpowers of communication are often underestimated, as well as technology’s ability to overcome seemingly unstoppable forces.

Modern day examples of social media’s role in politics are seen within the United States as well. It has made politicians easily accessible to the world; there’s been a noticeable bond forming alongside the direct contact of political figures and voters. It provides future leaders with free advertisement that’s within their control to create their ideal image, and it provides citizens with a readily available platform that gives them a voice in political issues. Twitter spoke of Obama’s presidential run back in 2012: “As a presidential candidate in 2008, Barack Obama (@BarackObama) used the Internet to successfully reach voters and organize supporters in groundbreaking ways.” During his first term, the President used digital platforms like Twitter to stay connected with Americans, share personal and policy insights as well as respond to breaking news in real time. Fittingly, in April of 2012, the President announced his re-election campaign in a video titled “It Begins with us” posted on his website. It’s always amusing to see hundreds of tweets aimed at President Obama as if they were close friends--and him sometimes even responding back. Even present-day examples of people such as the notorious Donald Trump has exploited his 6.63 million followers to put him on a controversial pedestal, giving him the power to publicly harass his political competitors. His infamous insults and jabs at others make him seemingly superior, all from the standpoint of one in almost 7 million.

Regardless of the political sway of follows and likes, there are communal aspects to social media. Social is in the name—so it’s only natural that it connects thousands of people together each minute. Seth Masket, the journalist who wrote “Don't Fear the Network: The Internet Is Changing the Way We Communicate for the Better” stated, “We use the internet and social media to largely stay in touch and make plans,” he continues on, “recently, we have become…simultaneously involved in both local and long-distance relationships.” This heightens our norms immensely, opening up doors to people that we never would’ve come in contact with, or allowing ourselves to talk about our day with family at home. Texting, calling, or email isn’t necessarily the same as face-to-face contact, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Those forms of communication may lack body language, but it still amounts to a form of contact that might not otherwise be there without technology—an altered version of communication is better than no contact at all. In the article “Why Can’t Johnny Write? Don’t Blame Social Media”, Hofstra University Assistant Professor of Writing Studies and Composition Ethna Dempsey Lay, suggests that social media isn’t a negative thing at all. In fact, she goes on to say, “I find twitter very useful in my writing class. It gives my quietest students a moment to own.” She even stated that if twitter is used appropriately, “you can get quite a lot of conversation going, as opposed to one person sucking all the air out of the room with their ramblings.” Several experiences have the same conclusion; social media connects us, and it’s here to stay.

As soon as a user logs into twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, he or she is bombarded with information and news. Over the years, we have been able to utilize twitter or Instagram as networks for presenting knowledge the fastest way possible. By educating every tech-savvy person, without them knowing it, we’ve managed to unite people both near and far, and create a huge online community. However, some say that the youth’s reading has lessened, and our need for general English classes has heightened. Websites such as Daily Mail have made the claim, “A study has found that the exam results of those who used the social networking site while working, even if it was on in the background, were 20 per cent lower than non-users.” Though that may be the case, “R Grammar Gaffes Ruining The Language? Maybe Not” reads, “Today’s students are actually much better writers than they were 30 years ago.” The article also gave the notable truth about how “Students are no longer being drilled endlessly in grammar.” With the shift of focus from strict grammar to innovative writing, our generations shouldn’t be blamed if technical writing is up to judge. Not only that, “R Grammar Gaffes Ruining The Language? Maybe Not” furthermore states that “If clarity of communication is the aim, most prescriptive rules of usage do not really cause misunderstanding.” So why does it really matter? With better writers than 30 years ago and easy access to information, we have increased our vocabulary and added vibrancy to literary work that wasn’t present previously.
Whether people like it or not, social network isn’t budging. But with the social, educational, and political advantages that come along side it, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s up to users to utilize networks for positive reasons. Instead of slumping over in a chair and scrolling an infinite amount of times, there’s a depth to technology a lot of people don’t realize. If you think about it, online communication can never replace traditional contact; something true, but people fail to recognize that it can enhance it instead. By starting a blog, posting pictures, or tweeting, that doesn’t mean a person is void of emotion and is a zombie in society. Instead, it means that a person is spreading their passions through technology because the Internet is an ever-prevalent tool we use daily. Use your social media wisely—make sure someone is getting something positive out of the content you post. But don’t forget the knowledge you’re receiving from others in the process.