[Kan Yen Li] Discussion 1 Response

The phenomenon of Social Media is an enormous and significant one. Of the 6.9 billion people in the world, almost 90% of them has had exposure to social media, be it the internet, the television or the papers. Simply put, it has an impact on humans a scale so large, we would never have thought possible. Going back to the root of this social phenomenon, the creation of paper enabled the speedy recording of human activities and happenings so that everyone from the current to future generation can know what has happened. Spreading of news and information was further assisted by the availability of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg. The social media culture flourished; people were educated and sophisticated despite their difference in class, gender and age. Following suit was the invention of the television, from black to colour and now, high definition. News could be easily spread within minutes as long as you owned a television set.

The next important evolution of social media happened because the internet was made available to the mass in the 1990s. It made a great impact on our lives, culturally and financially. At first it was simply work and educational tools, but then social networking surfaced, turning the tables. The whole world is connected by a virtual platform, and everyone had a voice. Lost friends are found again, strangers meeting and ending up together, news spreading like wild fire within a matter of seconds, new trends starting up here and there... the list is endless.

That all may sound incredible and fascinating to one's ear, but to some, it could also mean disaster. Privacy has become a much questioned factor in lessening the use of the Internet and television, but users throughout the world relentlessly advocate the development of these technology for a better future. Other than that, news spread easily regardless of their authenticity and reliability. This shortcoming provides evil speakers of the Internet with the upper hand, taking advantage of the weak and misunderstood. As the world continue to rely on the internet for almost every aspect of their life, wrongdoers are gaining more advantage whenever they wish to strike and create massive chaos throughout the globe.

Overall, the impact social media has brought and still is bringing to us is colossal, regardless of its benefits and disadvantages. Like the Taijitu, in the dark there is a light, in the wrong there is some right. We as humans have the ultimate control of ourselves, the world and everything that are in it are what we make of it.