Thioro Ndoye

English 101
Prof. Kairis
11/13/2015
Social Media and Society
In todays society, social media has had a monumental impact on the way we
communicate, access news, and even enhance our businesses. A new era of digital politics has
emerged, in which politicians have begun to maximize their reach, turning followers into votes.
The Internet is now a platform where gifted minds can connect in a plethora of ways, sharing
their talents and ideas worldwide -- the good, bad, and ugly.
One social media site that has become very popular over the years is Twitter. Twitter
gives people the privilege to network with anyone around the globe and as a result, politicians
can also make a name for themselves on the site. It gives them the credibility that they need to
reach out to the public. An example of the positive aspects of politicians using social media
would be the time President Obama was running for office. He was one of the first politicians to
gain so much popularity and attention from the youth due to the fact that he engaged directly
with them constantly and as a result, the young voters stepped out of their comfort zone by
participating in the presidential elections and helped him win the presidential seat.

Twitter also allows people to target their focus filter based on their interests and they can
verify anyones credibility judging from the tweets posted. The down side of politicians using

social media as an outlet for their political campaigns includes their increasing focus on people
utilizing social media and as result, they tend to neglect a large portion of their electors who
arent necessarily on social media sites. People often become rude and excessively defensive
since they attain the power to be anonymous behind their computer and phone screens. They feel
entitled to express their thoughts on particular matters in a negative method, causing key
individuals to retaliate against negative remarks, which often tarnishes their public image and
credibility. Another down side about social media sites in general is online bullying. Especially
in the younger demographic. We often see young people targeting people within their age group
by harassing them and leaving them with very unprofessional and nasty comments about their
appearance, the way they sound, the religion they practice and so forth. As a result, youll see the
young individuals being targeted back lash in a negative manner. People need to understand
exceeding ones limits and rights excessively does more harm than good.

In today's generation, social media seems to be the main news source for many. People
practically gain knowledge about current events through Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc. and
they also possess the ability to express their thoughts and concerns on particular matters. At
times, major events that are spoken about can either cause division amongst groups or enable
unity. For example, the Black Lives Matter movement was a major turning point for people of
color in particular. It raised awareness about the hardships people of color are still encountering
till this day, especially when it comes to police brutality or in other words, unnecessary force
upon individuals who encounter police officers. After the numerous coordinated attacks in Paris
that took place this past Friday, many people expressed their outrage and concern over the people
that carried out such a vicious and barbaric act. Which also caused some people to categorize the

Islamic religion as a whole negatively and classify the religion as a threat to society, when in
reality less than 1% of Muslims engage in such atrocious activities which some people dont
seem to grasp. After the negative comments were being made about Muslims, a trend became
popular on Twitter and it was called Muslims Are Not Terrorists. People from all crosses of
faiths, backgrounds, countries, etc. were able to provide moral support and reassure to the
Muslims that there are many individuals who dont tolerate the medias method of judging an
entire religion based on the actions carried out by a small minority.
When it comes to finding romance, social media has become a major platform for
individuals looking for a special person whom they can relate to and eventually spend the rest of
their lives with. Many stories we hear about in regard to this particular matter often starts with
couples meeting the love of their lives on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. There is still a wide
amount of people that dont necessarily find social media and love compatible. The reasons why
they may find the two incompatible are for safety and security reasons. With crime rates being so
high, individuals may not find it safe to interact with a person they dont know personally. Also,
the profile pictures being used by social media users are often fake or photographically
enhanced, in a way that makes it practically impossible to even recognize someone in person.
There are also times when people may use a strangers random picture and claim to be that
particular individual. In the security aspect of online dating, the person an individual may fall for
can potentially be using someone they claim to love for financial gains such as receiving access
to personal bank statements, credit card numbers, social security numbers and a variety of other
personal information that should never be shared with anyone in particular. And so for that
reason, they have their doubts and take the traditional route when engaging in dating
activities.

In conclusion Social media has had a huge impact on our society. Some
people may argue that it has impacted us in a negative way but in reality social
media has opened our eyes to many opportunities that we otherwise wouldnt have
access to. Social media is slowly become an indispensable part of our lives, it is
essentially up to us on how we use it.